Lindsay

OBR Rule 7.09(e): "Any batter or runner who has just been put out, or any runner who has just scored, hinders or impedes any following play made on a runner. Such runner shall be declared out for the interference of his teammate." Keywords: Hinders, Impedes NCAA Rule 7-11-f: "[batter is out when] the batter intentionally or unintentionally interferes with the catcher's fielding or throwing by stepping out of the batter's box or making any other movement that hinders a defensive player's action at home plate; PENALTY for f.—The runner(s) return to bases occupied at TOP. Exceptions—(3) If the batter also should strike out on the play, it is a double play." Keywords: Interferes, Hinders FED Rule 7-3-5: "[batter shall not] interfere with the catcher's fielding or throwing by ... © making any other movement which hinders actions at home plate or the catcher's attempt to play on a runner ... PENALTY: When there are two outs, the batter is out ... When an attempt to put out a runner at any base [except home plate] is unsuccessful, the batter is out and all runners must return to bases occupied at TOP. If the pitch is a third strike and in the umpire's judgment interference prevents a possible double play (additional outs), two may be ruled out (8-4-2g)." Keywords: Interfere, Hinders

The Rightsholders have a financial incentive to support expanded instant replay what with extended game times and ratings and a showcase of their camerawork.

He was slightly out. Very, very, very, very tough to tell

Some things to think about: Which comes first, 7.08(a)(2) [abandonment], 7.08(i) [reverse order travesty], or 7.08(h) [passing a preceding runner before such runner is out]? Which of the following is true in this situation, wherein ">" signifies "is in front of/has passed" and "<" signifies "is behind": R2<R3, R2=R3 or R2>R3? Hint: Two of the three occur, but not all three. I won't comment further at this time, as we've posted a Case Play regarding this precise video.

Well, the Naked Gun baseball scene was filmed at Dodger Stadium, after all...

And they are: HP: Gerry Davis (4th / 2nd as -cc) 1B: Jim Joyce (3rd) 2B: Brian Runge (1st) 3B: Tony Randazzo (2nd) LF: Lance Barksdale (1st) RF: Brian Knight (1st) This is also Joyce's first time back to a "special baseball event" since his imperfect game.

The last time we had a "high profile" strike-to-ball changed call, Bobby Cox was ejected by Eric Cooper (2009), that time negating a double play. The call was evidentally poor enough for the generally mild-mannered Vin Scully to inject emotion into his call. By words alone during that play, you wouldn't know he wasn't a Braves broadcaster.

If you're so inclined to try and decipher crowd noise (and are where PG-13 audio is okay to hear), Guillen's Big League Tirade Over Bellino's Ball Calls

R2 was sent back to third. Why? Someone must have called "time" when F3 gave up on the play—it certainly wasn't U1 though.

Hey guys, here's the image I put on UEFL to explain the Guillen/Davidson/Matheny mess.

I've worn a helmet for several years now. I'm a hockey fan, too, so I suppose that made it a little easier for me to swallow, having that framework of "Oh, it's similar to Brodeur's headgear." At first, yes, the helmet is bulky, cumbersome, uncomfortable to carry, etc. But let me tell you what, taking a thrown bat to the side of my head with the helmet on, in my opinion, justified and paid for the switch, and then some. I couldn't even begin to consider going back to the mask now—it would feel like wearing a ballcap vs. a batting helmet and stepping in for a Randy Johnson fastball up & in.

I've always enjoyed the "squats leader" category since MLBUMG added it in 2003 (winner Jeff Nelson with 10,471 that year). The way they write that up looks to be by pitches seen per game, but as we all know, you can have a squat without seeing a pitch (pickoff, balk, time called, etc.). I wonder how they reconcile that. It always seems like the MG is one of the last considerations MLB puts out there and rarely do I hear of any broadcasters/reporters/columnists using data from the Guide in their work. Notable exception, of course, is Vin Scully, who basically read Dale Scott's biography on the air during last night's LAD-LAA game.

I hope the clubby is getting a nice tip from Gooch for that constant uniform washing.

I rather take an ejection for a correct call than one on the other end for an incorrect one. I believe Yost actually stepped up after the game and said that he looked at the replay and saw that the umpire was right and he was wrong. Good call by Iassogna.

With Matt Cain's perfect game in San Francisco Wednesday night, umpiring history has been made. Due to Barrett's crew (or at least Barrett/Runge, due to fill-ins and switches) working three no-hitters thus far in 2012, the following milestones have been achieved: Ted Barrett becomes the first umpire in MLB history to work the plate for two perfect games in a career Brian Runge recently became the 10th umpire to have worked the plate for two no-hitters during the same season Barrett & Runge's three career no-hitters worked apiece (PU) are tied for the lead amongst all active umpires (Eric Cooper)

Rules 6.05(g) and 6.05(h) were clarified prior to the 2010 season, specifically addressing balls that deflect to hit a batter or bat while the batter is in a legal position in the batter's box and has not intended to interfere with the course of the ball. MLB went from pages to the PDF download in 2010. Charlie Reliford was the umpire representative on the Playing Rules Committee at the time; that job has since fallen to Brian Gorman.

QOC for the Reyburn ejections (Mattingly/Hillman) was incorrect—strike three to Hairston, Jr. was inside with a px of -1.073. QOC for Papelbon's entire inning was correct—there was one borderline ball call (No. 4), though the plot is misleading. Px was 0.809—cannot be conclusively confirmed as a ball or a strike. I wrote about it here, but it appears Papelbon had much more to be upset about in regards to his own performance (14-of-17 thrown pitches swung at by the opposition) than about Reyburn's alleged "terrible" plate job.

The media brings up the umpiring "problem" every year and each time, it is allegedly worse than ever before. They cite extremely faulty statistics and use poor premises to support a flawed concept of change. If any serious journalist is looking for actual research into sports discipline and the umpire-player dynamic, I would refer them to actual comparative analysis. It's akin to the characterization of epidemic violent crime, even though such crime has been significantly down compared to the late 20th century. Similarly, ejections have been significantly down since the early 2000s. The player/coach-umpire dynamic defines my website—when MLB adopted HR-related instant replay, for instance, ejections for HR/No HR calls did experience seasonal decreases from six to two—yet the reason for ejection shifted from arguing with an umpire's live judgment call to arguing with a computer/replay-confirmed play.

Strike zone is from the tops of the shoes to the shoulders, actually.

The philosophical question (and this really extends to many parts of OBR & pro, not just the balk) is whether the tradition of lax enforcement should trump a—without confirming or denying the balk violation since the UEFL Appeals Board is still discussing the play—potential violation of the rules.

Ok, let's walk down memory lane courtesy of messieurs Kay, Posada and of course, West. Right in the padded Vest. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBU-SKpyA-Y

Correct, just another IFF play, Mike's hand is up while the ball is airborne, Tim's hand goes up after his fair ball mechanic. As simple as the idea might be, it's establishing that the pitcher & catcher are infielders for the purposes of this rule (explicitly written into Rule 2.00 [infield Fly]).

If we're discussing the Everitt clip, it appears R1 was incorrectly ruled out.

Great minds think alike I suppose. I've just put up a Rule 2.00 Infield Fly/Rule 6.05(e) feature on UEFL (link to post). I included nine different IFF vs no IFF plays and sure enough, this one heads up the list.

Here is a short snippet of this play, not exactly a banger: Video: SF-LAD Run Does Not Score