A Baseball Rules Thread (For The Dummies)

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9390184/doug-glanville-baseball-rules-quiz-results

Salute to Brad Ziegler. Wow.

Never heard of this play before. Similar situation to the one Tracer Hand posted about above where a force is no longer in place after a putout at first. Interesting that Mantle knew he could go back to first base:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/sports/baseball/01mantle.html?_r=0

Yeah, if the Yankees had won that series then it would have been one of the more talked about plays ever. Johnny Damon had that crazy baserunning play that helped them to win Game 4 in '09 and turn the Series around (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2009/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=4615712) , but a) it wasn't Game 7, b) Damon isn't Mickey Mantle.

What is the dumbest rule?

http://www.baseballnation.com/2013/8/2/4583006/baseball-dumbest-rule-robby-thompson-mariners

alter the rulebook strike zone? a bridge too far

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--mlb-could-alter-strike-zone-as-response-to-declining-offense-232940947.html

i'm fine with changing it back to the top of the knee. the bottom of the knee standard was the result of a recent rule change too, and god knows offense has to be increased somehow. either this or aluminum bats i guess

Inspired by Craig Counsell looking and dressing like a thirty year old college dropout during this year's playoffs: when did this trend of managers wearing playoff-themed team sweatshirts start? I have strong memories of it in the 2015 playoffs, but I think it started a few years earlier than that?

A quick search reveals nothing in the rulebook specifically mandating that a manager must be in full uniform -- coaches, yes, because they stand on the field of play during games.

I'm interested in who picks the dumbass two-word hoodie/sweatshirt slogans. Is there a team vote?

last weekend manny machado made this crazy juggling catch in foul territory against colorado

all the replays i can find now feature the padres broadcast, but at the time i swear i saw a different broadcast clip (presumably that of the rockies) in which the color guy says that the man on third could have tagged up and scored the instant machado first touched the ball -- as opposed to when he finally caught it

this is correct and i had no idea, so good on whoever the rockies color guy is

bases loaded, batter weakly pops it in front of the first baseman, ball lands fair, bounces foul.
infield fly is called, batter out.

is that the correct call?

Without checking, I think so. The infield fly is in effect with fewer than two outs; once that's called, I think it's a dead ball.

You didn't say how many were out.

https://www.littleleague.org/university/articles/explanation-infield-fly-rule/#:~:text=Rule%202.00,occupied%20before%20two%20are%20out.

I'm wrong about it being a dead ball.

Sounds correct to me. The batter is out because of the infield fly rule, and the runners can advance at their own risk.

ok here’s the key sentence for me in that link:

“If the hit becomes a foul ball, it is treated the same as any foul ball.”

Less than 2 outs is all i remember (it was from my softball game last night btw). that’s just a foul ball then, yeah?

that’s the crux of it for me, i could’ve made it simpler.

infield fly was called, and i after, i go “what a second, it went foul!”. guy on the other team said definitely in support of the call, “yeah but it landed fair.” the ump had already blown an egregious call (on another rule) and i was much too incensed at that point than anyone should be playing in a fun co-ed league, so i just kept my mouth shut. But I still want to be vindicated, lol

I get your confusion now-- that it shouldn't have been ruled an infield fly until its fair/foul status is determined.

I don't know the right answer.

Yes, because I hear a lot of umps say “infield fly! batter is out of fair!”

*if fair (i shouldn’t post from my phone)

Fun co-ed leagues need more Earl Weavers, spewing four-letter invective and kicking dirt on the umpire.

The infield fly rule only applies to fair balls (the ump is supposed to call "infield fly, batter out if fair" or something like that). So if the ball landed fair then the batter is automatically out and it doesn't matter where the ball rolls if it's not caught.

I wasn’t clear that it bounced foul in front of the bag (ie foul in any circumstance). Does that change it for you NoTime, or is it still called strictly as it lands?

I'm fairly sure it doesn't matter as long as it's a fair ball. The ball needs to be fair and to be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, which could be in the infield in front of the bag, behind the bag on the infield dirt, or even in the shallow outfield.

i never knew the origin of the dropped third strike rule. i found this fascinating. i also had no idea that a form of baseball went back to the 1700s!

https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-dropped-third-strike-the-life-and-times-of-a-rule/

I saw this happen quite recently and I was shocked and delighted. Regular season game. Mayyyyybe Bobby Witt Jr?

It happens several times a game!

Sorry I meant I saw someone successfully outrun and reach.

it’s a silly rule but i guess i don’t mind it

probably because i was never a catcher