How Would You Rule? Archive

How Would You Rule? –XV

You are presented with a situation that actually occurred or might occur in a game. To play along, decide how you would rule or score. Then click the button to find out what either the umpires or the official scorer actually decided.

Opening night 1974: Pirates at Cardinals

Situation: Bottom of the tenth, game tied 5-5. The Cardinals have the bases loaded with none out. Jim Dwyer is on third, Tim McCarver on second, and Jose Cruz on first. Lou Brock is at bat.

Brock hits a low liner that Gene Clines traps in shallow right field. Dwyer and McCarver don't see the safe sign by the 1B umpire Lee Weyer. Neither does 1B coach Johnny Lewis. Clines quickly throws to C Mike Ryan, forcing out Dwyer who didn't even run from third.
Because Dwyer didn't advance, neither did McCarver. So Ryan throws to 3B Richie Hebner on the third base bag.
Meanwhile, Lewis urges Cruz to stay put at first. So Cruz and Brock are both on first base. After receiving Ryan's throw, Hebner throws to 2B Rennie Stennett who is not on second base but tags McCarver who was retreating to second.
Thinking that Clines caught the ball in right field for the first out, Pittsburgh manager Danny Murtaugh rushes out of the dugout to ask why the side is not retired. In the confusion, Cruz tiptoes down to second.

Reference: The Rules and Lore of Baseball, Rich Marazzi (1980)
USA Today Sports Weekly (August 4-10, 2010)

Situation: 6/10/2010 - Kansas City Royals @ Minnesota Twins
Bottom of third: The Twins have Nick Punto on third and Denard Span on second with out out.
Joe Mauer hits a long fly to center. Mitch Maier catches the ball in front of the fence. Punto tags and starts jogging home. Span apparently thinks there are two outs. So Punto yells to him to get back to second. Maier throws the ball to SS Yuniesky Betacourt to double off Span and end the inning. Punto, running at only a trot, is still a few steps short of the plate. So his run didn't count.

Question: If Punto had hurried home and crossed the plate before the out at second was made, would his run have counted?

Reference: "The Elusive Fourth Out," Stew Thornley,
Baseball Research Journal (Fall 2021)

Situation: 7/25/2010 - Kansas City Royals @ New York Yankees
Top of ninth: Rick Ankiel on 3B with two outs

C Jorge Posada flung his mask a few feet to his right after blocking a Chan Ho Park pitch in the dirt to Bryan Pena. The ball ended up under Posada's mask, and the umpires allowed Ankiel to score.Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Posada argued that Posada's throwing of the mask was not intended to make contact with the ball.
Was the umpire's ruling correct?

Reference: "Rule Review," Rich Marazzi, USA Today Sports Weekly (August 4-10, 2010)

Situation: August 30, 1989 - San Diego Padres vs Montreal Expos; one out for the Padres, Bip Roberts on third and Roberto Alomar at second.

The batter hits a fly to right for the second out. Both runners advance as the ball was thrown in. After all action had stopped, the Expos contended that Roberts had left third base too soon and decided to appeal. The ball was thrown to 3B Tim Wallach. Before he stepped on third, however, Alomar broke for the plate. Wallach then threw the ball to the catcher, which started a rundown, resulting in Alomar's being tagged for the third out. Assuming that Roberts had in fact left third too early, would his run count once Wallach stepped on third after the rundown to complete the appeal?

Reference: Peter E. Meltzer, So You Think You Know Baseball? A Fan's Guide to the Official Rules (2013)

Situation: June 24, 2000 - Braves vs Brewers

Top of 1st: Brewers have a runner on first with one out with Marquis Grissom at bat. As P Greg Maddux delivered the pitch, C Fernando Lunar was straddling the catcher's box. Umpire John Shulock called a balk, which sent the runner to 2nd. Why did the umpire call a balk?

Reference: Peter E. Meltzer, So You Think You Know Baseball? A Fan's Guide to the Official Rules (2013)

June 18, 2022: Braves at Cubs

Situation: Top of the second

Adam Duvall is at bat with one out and William Contreras on first. Duvall hits a flare into short right field that falls for an apparent hit. But not sure if the ball would be caught, Contreras holds up between first and second. Cubs 1B Alfonso Rivas picks up the ball and throws to SS Nico Hoerner to force Contreras at second for the out.
Duvall, thinking there are three outs, leaves the first-base bag. Seeing this, Hoerner throws to first with C Willson Contreras covering. Braves 1B coach Eric Young pushes Duvall back to the base to keep him from being called out.

Reference: "So You Think You Know Baseball?," Rich Marazzi
Baseball Digest (September/October 2022)