Mac the Knife Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Tonight something happened at one of my team's softball games that made me glad I studied the rules of baseball/softball back when I was a kid.With a runner on third and one out, our hitter skied (or is it skyed? ) a ball to the shortstop, just beyond the infield grassline. The shortstop, in attempting to make the catch, somehow batted the ball skyward with his glove. Our runner at third took off for home when the shortstop batted the ball in the air. The shortstop caught the ball on his second try, then proceeded to throw to third, thinking he'd completed a double play to end the inning.Uh... not so fast there, Sparky.Under the rules of both baseball and softball, a runner can legally tag upon first touch of the ball by a fielder, whether or not the ball is actually caught. Though I'd never actually seen it happen before in a situation that resulted in the ball ultimately being caught, knowing that little nugget - and then forcing the umpires to stop action for about 10 minutes until they found the rule in the book - resulted in an 11-run inning rather than a 6-run one, and ultimately the game.I guess a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HedleyLamarr Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Never mind the rule....why the hell was the runner attempting to score on a popfly to the shortstop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapshot Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Correct. One a fly ball/pop up first contacts the fielder's glove, any runners may begin to advance to the next base. The runners don't have to re-tag if the ball is secured after the first touch.It rarely happens that anyone notices if that there's enough time to see the runner tag on the first touch and not the complete catch, but I saw a situation this season in a Red Sox game just like this, except it was a fly ball to left-center field. Back-to-Back Fatal Forty Champion 2015 & 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac the Knife Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 Never mind the rule....why the hell was the runner attempting to score on a popfly to the shortstop?Because he's an idiot. An idiot who'll be looking for a new team next spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcgd Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 See this is why I love baseball.I never knew this rule. I always assumed you had to wait until the catch was completed. You learn something new about this game every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sec19Row53 Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 See this is why I love baseball.I never knew this rule. I always assumed you had to wait until the catch was completed. You learn something new about this game every day.The rule makes sense. It prevents an outfielder from intentionally juggling the ball all the way into the infield to prevent a runner from tagging on a sac fly.I knew about the rule, but had never seen it come into play. It's where I sit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winghaz Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Great catch on the rule, Mad Mac.But I'm trying to figure out how the shortstop batted the ball skyward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac the Knife Posted October 6, 2007 Author Share Posted October 6, 2007 Great catch on the rule, Mad Mac.But I'm trying to figure out how the shortstop batted the ball skyward.You'd have had to see it. The guy kinda lost it in the lights at the last second, and rather than keep his glove up to catch the ball he started waving his arms to try and deflect it in case it hit him. One swing of the glove arm caught the ball just right, hitting it straight up in the air about 3 feet. The thing was weird all around.The head of umpires for the City of Raleigh called me today to 'congratulate' me for knowing the rule - and to see if I'd be interested in joining their umpiring ranks in 2008. Having done it for years long ago I politely turned him down, but I really appreciated the sentiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSky Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Never mind the rule....why the hell was the runner attempting to score on a popfly to the shortstop?Never mind the rule or why the runner was trying to score...why the hell is your Falcons sig stuck in week 2? (Actually the rule is fascinating, I just needed to bust Hedley's chops.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HedleyLamarr Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Never mind the rule or why the runner was trying to score...why the hell is your Falcons sig stuck in week 2? Jacksonville is my Week 5 opponent in Fantasy Football. Hence the "Fantasy Football" line above it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSky Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Oh...my bad then. My FF league is obviously different from yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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