Was Thomas Saggese Obstructed? Breaking Down the Cardinals–Pirates Collision and MLB’s Type 2 Obstruction Rule
The Cardinals and Pirates played at PNC on April 9, 2025. In the top of the eighth, the Cards had Thomas Saggese on second base and Masyn Winn on first and two outs when Willson Contreras hit a fly ball in the area of home plate. Pirates’ catcher Joey Bart and first baseman Endy Rodríguez…
2024 Catcher’s Interference on the Rise
Catcher’s Interference: 5.05 (b) (3); 6.01 (c) Catcher’s interference has increased exponentially over the years. In 2002 there were 9 such calls the entire season. In 2022 there were 74 violations and in 2023 there were 97. According to MLB, in 2023 there were 64 challenges following a “no interference” call by the plate umpire…
Pitchers Ejected Without Warning
If the umpires determine that a pitcher is intentionally throwing at a batter, they can eject a pitcher without warning, or they can toss both the manager and the pitcher per rule 6.02 (a) (9) following crew consultation. This past week two pitchers were ejected in such fashion. The first one occurred in the July…
Ball gets lodged in outfield wall. What happens now?
Lodged Baseballs Per rule 5.05 (a) (7), a ball is considered lodged if, in the judgment of the umpire, the natural trajectory of the flight of the ball is interrupted long enough to affect further play. A batted ball that sticks in a fence, scoreboard, shrubbery or vines located on the playing field should be…