spark2212

The hand (or glove) that has the ball is the ONLY thing that can tag people out.

Safe. Similarly, if you have the ball in your glove and you swat a passing runner with your free hand, he’s safe (and probably annoyed).

I think you mean “doesn’t.”

I’m all for making sure the rules are enforced; since this comes up so rarely I doubt it would have any impact on pace-of-play.

Almost never, but I’ve seen it go uncalled, and it is not a reviewable play.

Makes sense, I guess.

And there’s nothing any opposing manager can do? It makes me wonder why things like this aren’t reviewable. I know they don’t come up often, but when it does, it seems to be nearly impossible to enforce.

MLB?

However, batters will sometimes hit the ball while standing outside of the batter’s box, and according to OBR 6.03 (a), the batter would be ruled out as penalty. My question is, whose job is it to notice, and who is allowed to point out such a play?

Whose job is it to ensure that the batter stays in the batter’s box, and who can call him out if he bats from outside the lines? Also, is there any way for an opposing manager to call attention to such a rule violation and get the out?

It’s a free out. If you wait they might fix the problem.

Yes. According to OBR 5.05 (a)(2)(Comment), the runner shall be called out on a dropped third strike if he exits the dirt circle surrounding home plate (except in an attempt to reach first base).

You point at the location of the play and call “obstruction!”

No. The third out was a force out, hence no runs can score on the play under any circumstances.

The umpire will realize his mistake and re-perform the intended call correctly (preferably with some extra emphasis).

Assuming there’s no reason to charge the batter with interference, the ball is live and whatever happens, happens. A good example of this occurred in the top of the seventh inning in game 5 of the 2015 ALDS between the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays. While the initial call was “dead ball,” the umpires were able to confer and eventually came to the correct conclusion.

If a player bats out of order, does anything stop the opposing manager from intentionally walking him and then immediately appealing? Assuming this is allowed, can the appeal be made as soon as the umpire grants the batter first base, or must they wait until the batter actually touches first?

I went into this assuming the penalty could not be declined.

On June 14th, 2019 with a runner on second base and two outs in the top of the ninth inning, with the home team (LAD) holding a 2-0 lead, Kenley Jansen committed the so-called “intentional balk”—purportedly to prevent sign-stealing. After the game, the opposing manager suggested that in the future, he might decline the extra base granted by the balk. Can a team refuse to take one or more bases granted by the opposing team’s actions—such as a balk—without penalty (such as being declared out)? Are there specific plays where such refusal is allowed but others (such as a base on balls) where the entitled runner(s) must advance?

I’m just basing that assertion off of this shot.

So, theoretically, with two outs and two strikes, one thing the pitcher could do on an attempted steal of home is just deliver his best pitch down the middle for strike 3. Does that sound right?

The play occurred on a 1-2 pitch. According to mlb.com, it was called ball 2. The catcher caught the ball in front of the plate, but I have the pitch on the outside corner and above the belt. Just based on the Fox Sports K-zone. I honestly think the umpire forgot to make a call one way or another and so mlb.com decided it had to have been a ball.

Where do you see that?

This was meant to be theoretical, but I was mostly thinking about the major leagues.

Rich Ives thank you (by the way I’m guest sparky). I’ve never been an umpire at any level (except from in front of my TV); I’m just a huge baseball nerd who got curious. Since this type of situation wasn’t covered in any of the rulebook’s comments, I figured I’d look for an expert opinion. I came up with this because of Bryce Harper’s steal attempt yesterday. I have think it should have been a legal pitch, but since the catcher caught it in front of home plate (and in front of the strike zone) to apply the tag, would that be considered a strike or no pitch? Also, if it is strike three, shouldn’t that mean the at bat is over? With a caught stealing, the next inning began with Rhys Hoskins still at the plate.