Rules and quirks

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 Rules and quirks  Links7
John dives into the rule book to find 10 rules of baseball that if you do know you probably shouldn’t, and if you don’t know you probably wouldn’t want to. [link]

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Comments (6)

  • juanipadin juanipadin
    +1

    EXELENT ARTICLE!!!

    Posted 1/14/2008 [reply] [flag]
  • neoforce neoforce
    +1

    Great article, but #10 has two errors.  First the game was July 24, 1983, not July 23.  More importantly, the article says:

    After the game the Royals protested and it was eventually overturned by Major League Baseball. However, it was too late to help the Royals.

    That isn't what happened.  Since Brett's out was the final out of the game, this was one case where MLB was able to correct the problem.

    Brett's homerun counted and on August 18th game resumed at that point and Kansas City won.

    Here is a reference:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Tar_Incident

     

    Posted 1/14/2008 [reply] [flag]
  • perry perry
    +1
    Fun article, thanks for writing it. Two errors, though.  You say in #3: “You may recall the Red Sox Blue Jays game on September 14, 2005 where, with Gabe Kapler on first, Tony Graffanino homered. While rounding second base Kapler ruptured his achillies tendon. Although he tried to get up he couldn’t continue. Graffanino correctly remained 10 feet or so behind Kapler knowing that if he passed him the home run would be struck from the record, Kapler would be out and Graffanino would have to stay on second.” Actually it’s the passing runner who would be out, in this case Graffanino.  And it’s not a dead ball, so Kapler could still score after being passed by Graffanino, as long as it wasn’t the third out. Next, #10 – the Pine Tar game.  You say: “After the game the Royals protested and it was eventually overturned by Major League Baseball. However, it was too late to help the Royals.” Not so.  After the Royals’ protest was upheld, the game was resumed at the point of the protest, with Brett’s homer restored and the Royals leading 5-4.  The first thing that happened was, the Yankees appealed that Brett had missed first base.  The umps (a different crew than the original game) had anticipated that Billy Martin would try something like this, and quickly whipped out signed affidavits from the original crew stating that all runners had touched all bases.  The game was then completed without incident, the Royals winning 5-4.
    Posted 1/14/2008 [reply] [flag]
  • agrajag agrajag
    +1

    There can be more than 6 consecutive strikeouts in an inning.

    There can be an infinite number, as long as the catcher keeps missing strike three.

     

    Posted 1/14/2008 [reply] [flag]
  • John Beamer John Beamer
    +1

    Thanks for the feedback and comments.

    I don't think I've ever received so may personal emails on a single article. At the last count I had close to 50 and while I normally reply to everyone I am currently vacationing and my wife would kill me if I spent the 2 or so hours replying to all of you.

    On my return I will be sure to read every email and respond. Thank you.

    Saying that most of you wrote to let me know about various factual mistakes, mostly concerning the pine tar incident. I stand corrected against the tidal wave of email.

    Also a lot of you wrote in with your odd rules of your own. Enough in fact to do a follow up column in a couple of weeks. If you have come across and obscurities please do continue to send them my way.

    Thanks

    John 

    Posted 1/15/2008 [reply] [flag]
  • Skydo Skydo
    +1

    What is the difference between

    8. spectator interference, &
    9. fan obstruction ?

     Also, why does the base-stealing have to occur on a strike? Couldn't it happen on a ball?

    Posted 1/16/2008 [reply] [flag]

Links (7)

Monday Morning Mets Newsstand
Published 1/14/2008 by Eric Simon <amazinavenue@gmail.com> at Amazin' Avenue: Front Page Posts
Bullet the blue sky. At The Hardball Times, Chris Jaffe interviews Pete Palmer, co-author of the seminal The Hidden Game of Baseball and one of the forefathers of the modern sabermetric movement, as it were. Also at THT, John Beamer looks at eleven somewhat esoteric items from the MLB rule book. Good stuff. Got T.O.? Don't matter; the Giants are going on to the NFC Championship game next weekend in Green Bay. Head over to Big Blue View for more G-Men commentary than you can shake a stick at. So get your shakin' stick ...

Bizarre Out Triangle
Published 1/14/2008 by Geoff Young at Knuckle Curve - Baseball News
... John Beamer at Hardball Times (full disclosure: I contribute to THT) describes 11 unusual baseball rules. There’s all kinds of good stuff in here, but my favorite is this: ...

Balks, Batting Out of Turn, and Ground Rule Triples
Published 1/14/2008 by Shinsano at East Windup Chronicle
... Always enjoy this kind of story. Here’s your guide to 11 of baseball’s more obscure rules. I think my favorite is the Ground Rule Triple, which in actuality is really a three-base award, but is still fun to imagine as a triple. The ground rule triple is awarded if: ...

Baseball Rules You Probably Don't Know
Published 1/14/2008 by Matt Watson at FanHouse
... The Hardball Times has a great article today with 11 quirky baseball rules and scenarios you almost certainly didn't know could happen. My favorite? How a team can pull of a triple-play without a fielder even touching the ball: ...

Roundup - Take Two
Published 1/14/2008 by Dave Rouleau at Baseball Digest Daily
... in a civil service in San Francisco, CA. - The Hardball Times has published an article by John Beamer about 10 strange rule quirks that make for an interesting read. Can you name the 23 ways to get a man on base? Me neither. Also: "We all know the foul ball rule. If the ball is first hit fair and then touches foul territory before it crosses either first or third base then it is called foul. However, if a fielder interferes with a fair ball so that it goes foul it is ruled fair. Check out what happened when Kansas City played the Seattle Mariners on May 27 1981. The ...

No, You’re Out of Order
Published 1/15/2008 by Transmission at The Cub Reporter (TCR) | A Chicago Cubs Blog -
No, You’re Out of Order Slow news day. I was reading The Hardball Times today, which eventually led me to this Retrosheet page of all known instances of a major league player batting out of order. Care to take one guess at the former Cubs jersey-wearer who has been involved in not one, not two, but three instances of batting out of order in his career? (Yes, I’m being a bit legalistic in how I’ve phrased this…) May 4, 1980 , Dusty Baker hit in Ron Cey’s place in the order for the Dodgers, hitting into a force out that also left runners on the corner and ...

Thursday randomness
Published 1/18/2008 by Jim McLennan <info@azsnakepit.com> at AZ Snakepit: Front Page Posts
... ; no real surprises there, and Gilbert is currently off at the D-backs fantasy camp in Tucson, which may explain why that piece feels a bit phoned in. Finally, I enjoyed this Hardball Times piece on Quirky Baseball Rules, such as the mythical Fenway ground-rule triple, and how to hit into a triple-play without the ball being touched by a fielder.

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