The Official Rules of Baseball Illustrated

by David Nemec

  While Cleveland was rightfully arguing that Stovey should be the one ruled out, Mitchell, to the astonishment of everyone, abruptly forfeited the game to the A’s. Just as astonishingly, AA president Wheeler Wikoff later upheld the forfeit. Because Cleveland was leading when the game was forfeited, no pitching decisions were awarded and Chapman was spared a likely loss. As for Mitchell, the forfeit came in the second of the only three games he umpired in the majors before departing without leaving behind a shred of biographical information.

  6.01 (a) (5)

  Any batter or runner who has just been put out, or any runner who has just scored, hinders or impedes any following play being made on a runner. Such runner shall be declared out for the interference of his teammate (see Rule 6.01 (j));

  Rule 6.01 (a) (5) Comment: If the batter or a runner continues to advance or returns or attempts to return to his last legally touched base after he has been put out, he shall not by that act alone be considered as confusing, hindering or impeding the fielders.

  The vast majority of the time, a player who continues to behave as if he were a base runner after he has been called out will be nailed for interference, but there have been notable instances when an umpire chose to rule otherwise. In the bottom of the sixth inning of Game Four of the 1978 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 14, the Yankees trailed the Dodgers, 3–0, but had Thurman Munson on second base and Reggie Jackson on first with Lou Piniella batting. Piniella hit a line shot to Los Angeles shortstop Bill Russell, who dropped it. There was some question whether Russell dropped the liner on purpose, hoping to set up an easy double play, in which case Piniella would be out according to Rule 5.09 (a) (12) and Munson and Jackson would not be forced to vacate their respective bases. However, second-base umpire Joe Brinkman made no call, so the play continued. Russell retrieved the ball, tagged second to force Jackson, and then fired to first expecting to double up Piniella. But the ball hit Jackson, who was continuing to run, and bounced off down the right-field line into foul territory. Before the errant peg could be chased down, Munson scored and Piniella reached second.

  It then fell on first-base umpire Frank Pulli to judge whether Jackson was guilty of interference. Instant replay angles gave the impression that Jackson not only had continued to run after being forced at second but also may have flicked his hip into the path of the throw. Pulli thought otherwise, contending that Jackson neither had intended to interfere with the play by continuing to run nor with the throw when he saw it coming toward him. The Dodgers vehemently dissented, but Pulli’s call stood and the Yankees eventually scored two runs in the inning and wound up winning the game, 4–3, and eventually the Series.

  6.01 (a) (10)

  He fails to avoid a fielder who is attempting to field a batted ball . . .

  6.01 (a) (10) Comment: When a catcher and batter-runner going to first base have contact when the catcher is fielding the ball, there is generally no violation and nothing should be called. “Obstruction” by a fielder attempting to field a ball should be called only in very flagrant and violent cases because the rules give him the right of way, but of course such “right of way” is not a license to, for example, intentionally trip a runner even though fielding the ball . . .

  This rule allows an umpire considerable latitude, as the Boston Red Sox learned on October 14, 1975, in the bottom of the 10th inning in Game Three of the World Series at Cincinatti. With the score tied, 5–5, Cincinnati center fielder Cesar Geronimo led off with a single. Reds manager Sparky Anderson then sent up Ed Armbrister to pinch-hit for pitcher Rawly Eastwick. While attempting to lay down a sacrifice bunt, Armbrister became entangled with Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk as Fisk sprang out from behind the plate to field the ball. The two seemed to lock together forever before Armbrister finally broke free to run to first, enabling Fisk to seize the ball and throw it to second baseman Denny Doyle, hoping to get Geronimo.

  When Fisk’s throw went into center field, the Reds ended up with runners on second and third, and plate umpire Larry Barnett wound up with Fisk and Red Sox manager Darrell Johnson in his face, howling that Armbrister should be out for interference and Geronimo made to return to first. Barnett insisted the collision did not constitute interference because it had not been intentional, and first-base umpire Dick Stello came to his support even though there was nothing in the rule at the time to stipulate that a batter’s interference must be intentional for it to be deemed an illegal action. A few minutes later the Reds won the game, 6–5, on a single by Joe Morgan.

  6.01 (a) (11)

  A fair ball touches him on fair territory before touching a fielder. If a fair ball goes through, or by, an infielder, and touches a runner immediately back of him, or touches the runner after having been deflected by a fielder, the umpire shall not declare the runner out for being touched by a batted ball. In making such decision the umpire must be convinced that the ball passed through, or by, the fielder, and that no other infielder had the chance to make a play on the ball. If, in the judgment of the umpire, the runner deliberately and intentionally kicks such a batted ball on which the infielder has missed a play, then the runner shall be called out for interference.

  In the early game there was considerable disagreement over whether a runner should be declared out when he was hit by a batted ball, since it so often was an unavoidable accident. The first effort to address this issue was in 1872, when a rule was created that any player who willfully let a batted or thrown ball hit him was automatically out.

  In 1877, the rule was altered so that any baserunner, whether his act was willful or not, was out if he was struck by a batted ball before it had passed a fielder. The revision was necessary when it grew apparent that umpires could not be expected to judge whether a runner had intentionally let a ball hit him. Since an official scorer could not be expected to judge either whether the batted ball would have resulted in a hit or an out if a runner had not interfered with it, the vote was to count any batted ball that struck a runner as a single.

  The lone exception to this rule occurs when a runner occupying his base is called out for being hit by a ball that has already been ruled an infield fly and could not possibly dodge it without stepping off his base and risking being doubled off. No official scorer in major-league history has ever been challenged, however, by the following fictious situation:

  On the closing day of the season, Mike Stroke of the Hawks trails Bill Clout of the Eagles by one percentage point in the race for the league batting title. As luck would have it, the Hawks and the Eagles face each other in the final game. Clout elects to sit out the contest to protect his slim lead. To further aid his teammate’s bid for the batting crown, the Eagles’ pitcher, John Flame, intentionally walks Stroke each time he comes to bat.

  Stroke’s last plate appearance comes with two out in the ninth inning and his team trailing, 6–0. So effective has Flame been to this point against the other eight members of the Hawks’ order that he is working on a no-hitter. The gem in the making of course only provides Flame with all the more incentive to purposely pass the dangerous Stroke for the fourth time in the game.

  On his way to first base, Stroke roundly curses Flame, who merely sneers at him. Stroke seemingly is powerless to do anything to gain revenge against Flame and the Eagles for denying him a fair chance to claim the batting crown. But then, suddenly, an opportunity presents itself. Tim Speed, the Hawks’ next batter, slices a sharp groundball toward the second baseman, and Stroke, running to second, makes what appears to be only a token attempt to avoid being hit by it.

  Must the official scorer give Speed a hit and deprive Flame of a no-hitter? Rule 6.01 (a) (11) says he does, but happily no major-league official scorer to date has been made to face the unpleasant prospect of ending a no-hit bid on such a rude technicality when no one really can be certain of Stroke’s intent.

  However, when a Pacific Coast League game on July 6, 1963, between the Spokane Indians and the Hawaii Islanders (won by Spokane, 18–0) terminated with
Islanders pinch-runner Stan Palys being hit by a batted ball with two out in the ninth inning to seemingly end a no-hit bid by Indians hurler Bob Radovich, PCL president Dewey Soriano happened to be in attendance. Soriano immediately contacted the press box and notified them that no base hit was to be awarded and to credit a putout to the first baseman unassisted because Palys was out for “unsportsmanlike play” rather than runner interference. Palys, in Soriano’s judgment, had “danced up and down” in front of Spokane’s first baseman, obviously staging himself to be hit by a grounder toward first rather than allowing the first baseman to make a play.

  With base hits becoming more precious with each passing year in today’s climate, would a major-league official ever dare do the same if Palys had been less blatant? Especially if, unlike Soriano, he had not witnessed it for himself? In all honesty, would Soriano have made the same decision if he had not seen the play with his own eyes but only received a report of it?

  6.01 (b) Fielder Right of Way

  The players, coaches or any member of a team at bat shall vacate any space (including both dugouts or bullpens) needed by a fielder who is attempting to field a batted or thrown ball. If a member of the team at bat (other than a runner) hinders a fielder’s attempt to catch or field a batted ball, the ball is dead, the batter is declared out and all runners return to the bases occupied at the time of the pitch. If a member of the team at bat (other than a runner) hinders a fielder’s attempt to field a thrown ball, the ball is dead, the runner on whom the play is being made shall be declared out and all runners return to the last legally occupied base at the time of the interference.

  Note that hindering a fielder does not necessarily have to be a physical action or inaction. It can also be verbal and can come from either the dugout or the playing field. Until the early part of the twentieth century, players in all parks sat on benches only some 15 or 20 yards from the playing field and would often holler “Watch out!” to the opposing player chasing down a foul pop near their bench or “I’ve got it!” when two or more opponents were racing for a short fly ball. Generally umpires, most of the time working alone, would ignore complaints of interference or obstruction if a ball fell safely because of verbal chicanery simply by saying they didn’t hear anything.

  But it was a rougher game back then. Today, with every game having at least four umpires, one is almost certain to overhear any effort to convey verbal misinformation (albeit by some accounts Yankees base runner Alex Rodriguez got away with a bit of vocal mischief in a 2007 game against Toronto). Too, players on both teams will anger justifiably at such illegal tactics. What with the salary money at stake, no one wants to instigate an injury on a falsely induced collision involving a fellow player.

  Observe that Rule 6.01, for all the contingencies it covers, has no comment on whether it constitutes interference if a runner deliberately kicks the ball out of the fielder’s hand or glove as he is being tagged out on a slide into a base. The key word here is “deliberately.” In 1871, the rule became that when a fielder holding the ball tagged a runner who was off a base, the runner was out even if he somehow knocked the ball out of the fielder’s hand. This rule was rescinded in 1877, but an umpire could still call a runner out for interference if, in his judgment, an intentional effort was made to dislodge the ball from a fielder’s grasp. Without the interference proviso it was felt, rightly, that some runners would stop at nothing to make a fielder drop the ball when a tag play was imminent.

  Ty Cobb was notorious for kicking balls out of basemen’s gloves without being called on it, but it was easier in Cobb’s day when infielders wore skimpier gloves with only rudimentary webbing. A more recent miscreant was Eddie Stanky. On October 6, 1951, at the Polo Grounds, in Game Three of the World Series, Stanky fired up millions watching on TV—as well as his New York Giants teammates—with a foot maneuver that, momentarily at least, rattled the seemingly invincible New York Yankees to the core.

  In the bottom of the fifth, after Giants pitcher Jim Hearn fanned, Stanky coaxed a walk out of Yankees starter Vic Raschi and then tried to steal second base. Catcher Yogi Berra’s throw beat Stanky to the bag, but Stanky kicked the ball out of shortstop Phil Rizzuto’s glove with a quick flick of his big toe (but again, this was nearly seventy years ago and gloves were still considerably smaller than they are today). When the ball rolled away into the outfield, Stanky took off for third base. Rizzuto was charged with an error on the play rather than registering what should have been the Giants’ second out. Umpire Bill Summers turned a deaf ear to Rizzuto’s shriek that Stanky’s kick constituted interference, nor did he pay any attention to a Yankees protest that Stanky had never touched second base before picking himself up from the ground and darting to third.

  Later in the inning, Berra dropped a throw home on what ought to have been the third out, and the Giants then broke the game open by scoring five runs in the frame—all of them unearned. The following morning, a Sunday headline on the New York Times sports page referred to the episode as Stanky’s “Field Goal Kick.” Much was made of how the play had not only shot the Giants to a 2–1 lead in the Series, but had given them all the momentum and left the heavily favored Yankees in disarray.

  Unhappily for the Giants, the Yankees got lucky. It rained that Sunday, postponing Game Four at the Polo Grounds and allowing Yankees manager Casey Stengel to send Allie Reynolds to the mound the following afternoon with an extra day’s rest. Reynolds hurled a 6–2 win to even the Series and revive the confidence of his teammates. The Yankees went on to win the world championship, four games to two, making Stanky’s field goal kick no more than a footnote in Series lore.

  6.01 (i) Collisions at Home Plate

  (1) A runner attempting to score may not deviate from his direct pathway to the plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher (or other player covering home plate), or otherwise initiate an avoidable collision. If, in the judgment of the umpire, a runner attempting to score initiates contact with the catcher (or other player covering home plate) in such a manner, the umpire shall declare the runner out (regardless of whether the player covering home plate maintains possession of the ball). In such circumstances, the umpire shall call the ball dead, and all other base runners shall return to the last base touched at the time of the collision. If the runner slides into the plate in an appropriate manner, he shall not be adjudged to have violated Rule 6.01 (i).

  Rule 6.01 (i) (1) Comment: The failure by the runner to make an effort to touch the plate, the runner’s lowering of the shoulder, or the runner’s pushing through with his hands, elbows or arms, would support a determination that the runner deviated from the pathway in order to initiate contact with the catcher in violation of Rule 6.01 (i), or otherwise initiated a collision that could have been avoided. A slide shall be deemed appropriate, in the case of a feet first slide, if the runner’s buttocks and legs should hit the ground before contact with the catcher. In the case of a head first slide, a runner shall be deemed to have slid appropriately if his body should hit the ground before contact with the catcher. If a catcher blocks the pathway of the runner, the umpire shall not find that the runner initiated an avoidable collision in violation of this Rule 6.01 (i) (1).

  In a game on May, 25, 2011, at San Francisco’s AT&T Park, Giants catcher Buster Posey sustained a broken left ankle and torn ligaments in a violent home-plate collision when the Florida Marlins’ Scott Cousins crashed into him while trying to score the go-ahead run in the 12th inning on a sacrifice fly. The force of the collision prevented Posey from handling the throw from right fielder Nate Schierholtz, which was on target. The injury truncated Posey’s season to just 45 games. Cousins defended his part in the collision, telling the San Francisco Chronicle it was the only way he could have scored what proved to be the winning run in Florida’s 7–6 triumph. “If I saw a clean lane to slide, that’s the play I’m making,” Cousins added. “I have speed and like to believe I’m going to beat the ball. But there was no chance on that play. It was a game-ch
anging play in extra innings, and I had to play as hard as I could.”

  The play was nonetheless reminiscent of Pete Rose’s horrendous crash into Cleveland catcher Ray Fosse during the 1970 All-Star Game that severely curtailed Fosse’s career. Cousins’s critics claimed that he could have avoided the collision by sliding to the third-base line side of the plate and brushing it with his hand. Posey also had his critics who contended he was blocking Cousins’s path to the plate before having the ball in his possession.

  In the wake of the Posey-Cousins collision and others like it both before and after 2011, MLB, at long last, laggardly adopted new rules regarding plate collisions—but not until nearly three years later, scarcely in time for them to go into effect for the 2014 season. The rules implemented then, under Rule 7.13, are essentially the same as those in Rule 6.01 (i).

  6.01 (i) (2)

  Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score. If, in the judgment of the umpire, the catcher without possession of the ball blocks the pathway of the runner, the umpire shall call or signal the runner safe. Notwithstanding the above, it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule 6.01 (i) (2) if the catcher blocks the pathway of the runner in a legitimate attempt to field the throw (e.g., in reaction to the direction, trajectory or the hop of the incoming throw, or in reaction to a throw that originates from a pitcher or drawn-in infielder). In addition, a catcher without possession of the ball shall not be adjudged to violate this Rule 6.01 (i) (2) if the runner could have avoided the collision with the catcher (or other player covering home plate) by sliding.