For the second consecutive year, the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo was involved in a controversial slide at the plate. Following is the report from MLB.com. In the eighth inning of the Cubs’ 7-0 win over the Pirates on Monday afternoon at PNC Park, a replay-review ruling on Anthony Rizzo’s hard slide into catcher Elias Diaz stood, resulting in […]
The Yankees-Royals game on Tuesday night ended with a running out of the baseline/DP. With one out and Chris Carter on first base, Jacoby Ellsbury hit a ground ball to second baseman Whit Merrifield, who made progress toward Carter after fielding the ball. The moment Merrifield ran in the direction of Carter, his baseline was […]
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was ejected during the top of the eighth inning by umpire Vic Carapazza after Carapazza ruled a Type A obstruction on second baseman Devon Travis during a rundown with Franciso Lindor in the eighth inning of the Indians-Blue Jays game on May 8 in Toronto. Cleveland had runners on second […]
The Carolina Mudcats (Brewers) executed the hidden ball trick, one of baseball’s oldest ruses, when they hosted the Buies Creek Astros of the Class A Advanced Carolina League on May 3. In the top of the seventh inning, the Astros, with runners on first and second, pulled off a successful double steal when the Mudcats’ […]
Someone once said, “Patience is the mother of all virtues.” That certainly holds true in the baseball sense. Every major league and minor league manager and bench coach needs to show patience in certain situations to maximize the benefits of the rule book. As we saw last week, Reds’ interim manager Jim Riggleman showed his […]
Confusion reigned in the first inning yesterday, May 9, 2018, at Great American Ball Park, where the Mets batted out of order in their game against the Reds. Before we look at what happened, a fundamental point of the rule is, when a batter bats out of order and it’s appealed, the batter who failed to bat […]
The Orioles pulled off a strange triple play at the expense of the Red Sox in Boston’s 5-2 win on May 2. With runners on first and second and no outs in the bottom of the eighth, Jackie Bradley Jr. skied a popup behind shortstop. O’s shortstop, J.J. Hardy, called off right fielder Joey Rickard before the ball fell between […]
According to rule 5.06 (G), when a wild throw by an infielder goes out of play or under a bench, the umpires must distinguish if it’s the “first play” or “second play” by the infielder. Remember, by rule, the fielding of a ground ball, line drive or fly ball is not the “first play.” What […]
The Reds and Indians played in Cleveland on May 23, 2017, when the Reds’ Zack Cozart was called for batter-runner interference. Cozart was clearly out of the runner’s box but did Indians’ pitcher Carlos Carrasco have a good throwing lane to first base? And even if he did, does it matter since Cozart was clearly […]
Before we look at a couple of recent batter-runner interference plays, let’s review the provisions and “interpretations” that cover rule 5.09 (a) (11) and the 45-foot long, 3-foot wide runner’s box that has been around since 1881. Keep in mind that the rule is designed to protect the fielder “taking” the throw, not “making” the […]