Umpires are allowed to call “Time” under many conditions. But when should an umpire be prohibited from calling “Time?” The top of the ninth inning of the Yankees-Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium on Saturday turned into one of the most bizarre half innings of the season as multiple rules surfaced on the same play. When […]
The Onus is on the Defensive Team not to Play on a Retired Runner The Dodgers and Angels played in Anaheim on July 6th. In the top of the sixth the Dodgers had Justin Turner on second and Cody Bellinger on first with one out when Matt Kemp singled to left scoring Turner. Justin Upton […]
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 […]
You cannot assume your players know even the most basic rules. Take what happened at Fenway Park on May 1, 2018, when the Red Sox hosted the Royals. In the top of the 10th inning with the score tied 3-3, the Royals had runners on first and second and two outs when Sox catcher Christian […]
The Dayton Dragons (Reds) played the South Bend Cubs in a Class A Midwest League game this past August. With a runner on first base, the batter hit a shot that deflected off the pitcher before striking the second base umpire. The ball then rolled to the shortstop near second base. The shortstop fielded the […]
Catcher Deflections When a pitched ball caroms off the catcher and rolls into dead ball territory, the award for the runner/runners is one base from their position at the time the pitch was delivered unless the catcher kicks, pushes or deflects the ball into dead ball territory in which case the award becomes two bases […]
The Utley/Tejada play in Game Two of the 2015 NLDS played between the Mets and Dodgers has triggered a great deal of discussion that may result in a rules change involving force play slides. In my opinion, this is long overdue, as I have been critical of the current guidelines regarding force play slides fro […]
In my opinion, first base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt made a questionable baseline violation call in the top of the fourth inning of the Diamondbacks-Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. Of course, having the advantage of watching the slo-mo replay certainly helped me in formulating my opinion. With two outs and a runner on […]