In the above instance there is nothing in the rules to prevent Graffanino from pushing or lifting Kapler around the bases himself. Incidentally, the rules would have also allowed Graffanino to give Kapler direct assistance. Would Graffanino have been credited with the home run? The rules aren’t clear so answers on a postcard please. The home run was completed and Boston scored two runs.Īn interesting variation would have been if Graffanino had been injured and a pinch runner had scored his run. After a five minute delay Boston Manager, Terry Francona invoked rule 5.10 to put in a substitute runner, Alejandro Machado, for Kapler. 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. Although he tried to get up he couldn’t continue. While rounding second base Kapler ruptured his achillies tendon. You may recall the Red Sox Blue Jays game on Septemwhere, with Gabe Kapler on first, Tony Graffanino homered. This can result in some interesting base running scenarios. Have a read of rule 5.10, which states: If an accident to a runner is such as to prevent him from proceeding to a base to which he is entitled, as on a home run hit out of the playing field, or an award of one or more bases, a substitute runner shall be permitted to complete the play. game suspended with runner on first, that player is traded prior to the makeup preceding runner put-out allows batter to reach firstĢ3. failure to deliver pitch in 20 secondsġ6. Here is the full list of all 23 ways for a man to get on first base (courtesy of ESPN Magazine). If this runner then gets traded prior to the makeup a new player is allowed to take his place without the roster implications of using a pinch runner, thereby reaching base. Perhaps the most bizarre is if there is a runner on first base when the game is suspended. I won’t bore you and list all 23, but they range from the obvious, such as a hit or a force play, to the slightly esoteric, such as deploying a pinch runner for a man already on first, to the downright odd, such as a failure to pitch within 20 seconds or four illegal pitches (eg, catcher out of the box). Twenty-three ways to get a man (any man) on first base On both occasions the batting team score an inside the park home run. In fact the ladder has only been hit twice. Or if it is it certainly doesn’t make it into MLB’s official ground-rule list. Sadly this is a case of where you certainly shouldn’t believe what you read online. Although the netting has gone, the ladder remains and it is this, if hit, that yields the mysterious ground-rule triple. On the Green Monster there is a ladder that groundskeepers used to retrieve home run balls. If you believe what you read on the internet legend has it that a ground-rule triple is possible at only one park: Fenway. Since neither of these corresponds to unique characteristics of the field it isn’t really a ground rule triple but rather a three-base award. One, is if a player deliberately touches the ball with his hat or mask (ie, tries to catch it, for instance), or, two, if a player deliberately throws his glove at, and touches, a fair ball. There are two ways that this can happen and you almost never see either at major league level. However, a ball that bounces before skipping over the fence, while commonly referred to as a ground-rule double, is in fact just a two-base award. For instance, at Wrigley Field a ball that gets lodged in the vines by the fence is an automatic ground-rule double. A ground rule is governed by the unique characteristics of the field. Well, technically that is not quite correct. All I hope is that I at least teach you one thing that you didn’t know about our national pastime.Įnough of the guff, so in no particular order let’s get cracking on that putative top 10. A bit of research will reveal myriad obscure rulings that are all entertaining in their own way. At the risk of the THT reader mailbag bursting to the seams with e-mails saying I’ve missed this or got than wrong one a little caveat is in order: this list isn’t meant to be comprehensive or complete. No, that would be a little to dull some are idiosyncrasies in the game that the rules allow. Not every item in the list is a rule per se. What I want to share with you today is a sort of top 10 of strange rule quirks that I have either seen with my own two eyes, or, thanks to the power of the internet, have read about. You know the type: The play that has you yelling blue murder at the umpires because they don’t know what they are doing. Every so often when watching a game or a highlight reel we see one of those really bizarre rulings that sends our mind into a tailspin. Every sport has its quirks especially when it comes to the rules.
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