The Official Rules of Baseball Illustrated

by David Nemec

  Tommy Henrich, the perpetrator of a dubious sacrifice hit that assured Yankees teammate Joe DiMaggio of a final opportunity in Game 38 to extend what eventually became his record 56-game hitting streak in 1941.

  9.08 (d)

  Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair or foul territory that

  (1) is caught, and a runner scores after the catch, or

  (2) is dropped, and a runner scores, if in the scorer’s judgment the runner could have scored after the catch had the fly been caught.

  Rule 9.08 (d) has a mercurial history. The 1908 season was the first in which a player was not assessed with a time at bat if he advanced a teammate at least one base with a fly ball. No distinction was made, however, between sacrifice flies and sacrifice bunts until 1920, when the RBI was made an official statistic and it became important to determine how many RBIs were the result of fly ball outs. In 1931, a decision was made to eliminate the sacrifice fly rule and charge a player with a time at bat. Batting averages dropped accordingly, but stayed so high during the 1930s that the rule change was little noticed.

  The sacrifice fly was revived on an experimental basis in 1939, but only in cases where a fly out scored a runner. For reasons that are impossible to fathom now, the experiment lasted only one season. In 1940, the sacrifice fly was again abolished and the rule remained dormant until 1954, when it was once more hauled out of mothballs and given another trial. Since then, the rule has endured with only one significant change. In 1974, an addendum made it clear that a sacrifice fly should be credited if a batter hit a fly ball that brought home a run after it was caught by an infielder running into the outfield to chase a pop fly. Many official scorers had already been giving sacrifice flies in such cases, as well as on foul flies caught by infielders that enabled a runner to score. Among the leading victims while sacrifice flies were nonexistent between 1931 and 1953 were Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, Luke Appling, and especially Ted Williams. All lost points off their batting averages during many of their prime years, and in Williams’s case even a two-point increase in his career batting average would advance him from a tie for seventh to fourth place on the all-time list. But perhaps the greatest casualties were Johnny Mize and Hank Greenberg, two legendary sluggers who were qualifiers in only one season that included sacrifice flies (1939).

  9.09 Putouts and 9.10 Assists

  For the most part, the rules for crediting fielders with putouts and assists have always been very similar to what they are now, but there have been some notable differences. The 1878 season was the first in which an official scorer was authorized to credit an assist to a fielder if a batted or thrown ball bounced off him to another fielder, who then made an assist or a putout. Until the late 1880s, pitchers were often erroneously given an assist every time they struck out a batter. Before 1931, a pitcher was also given an assist if a catcher snared a pitched ball in time to nail a runner trying to steal home. That same year the rule was first drafted to credit a putout to the fielder closest to the play when a runner is hit by a batted ball.

  The first year the sacrifice fly was permanently resurrected as a stat, the Dodgers’ Gil Hodges set a record that still stands for the most in a season, with 19 in 1954. Largely owing to the sac fly rebirth, Hodges batted .304 that year, a career high. Had the sac fly been recognized as a stat 13 years earlier, Ted Williams would have hit .413 in 1941 rather than a mere .406.

  One of the new scoring rules for 1977 mandated giving an assist to any fielder who made a play in time to retire a batter, even if a subsequent error by another fielder prevented the out from being recorded. This rule was an ancestor of the current rule to the same purpose and allowed official scorers in the nineteenth century to credit assists to pitchers even on strikeouts that went awry. Interestingly, however, while the pitcher might get an assist on such a play, he would not always receive credit for a strikeout. The most remarkable example of this quixotic rule in action occurred on July 7, 1884, in a Union Association fray between Boston and Chicago. In the box for Chicago that day, with everything working for him, was Hugh “One Arm” Daily. Daily not only shut down the Boston Unions, 5–0, on just one hit, a three-bagger by Beantown catcher Ed Crane, but he fanned 19 batters to tie Charlie Sweeney’s then-existing major-league record, set only a month to the day earlier. In actuality, Daily should have had 20 strikeouts. One was lost to a third-strike passed ball by Chicago receiver Bill Krieg. The Union Association, in its lone year as a major league, refused to credit a pitcher with a whiff unless the batter was retired. On another missed third strike in Daily’s dream game, Krieg managed to toss out the batter at first in the nick of time. Krieg thus had 18 putouts on the day and one assist. Meanwhile, Daily notched 22 assists—all but two of them on strikeouts or, in one instance, a miscarried strikeout.

  Since 1889, a third strike has been scored as a strikeout but not an assist in every league even if it results in a wild pitch or a passed ball that permits a batter to get to first base.

  9.09 (2)

  When a runner is called out for being touched by a fair ball (including an Infield Fly), the official scorer shall credit the putout to the fielder nearest the ball

  Even though it has never happened in a major-league game, the reader can infer from this rule that it is possible for a fielder, particularly a middle infielder, to be credited with all three of his team’s putouts in an inning without ever touching the ball. Here is but one way that can occur and hold a team scoreless despite it getting five hits in the inning: Batter A singles; Batter B singles Batter A to second; Batter C grounds a ball that hits Batter A, with the shortstop getting the putout, and Batter B moves to second while Batter C is credited with a single; Batters D and E follow with almost identical ground balls toward short that each hit the lead baserunner. The shortstop thereby notches three putouts while his pitcher logs a 5.00 WHIP for his work in the scoreless inning. By the way, the maximum number of hits a team can collect in an inning without scoring is six.

  9.12 Errors

  (a) The official scorer shall charge an error against any fielder:

  (2) when such fielder muffs a foul fly to prolong the time at bat of a batter, whether the batter subsequently reaches first base or is put out;

  Although it has yet to occur on the major-league level, a pitcher could conceivably toss a perfect game in which his team made an infinite number of errors. Rule 9.12 (a) (2) explains how it can be done; every muffed foul fly that extends a batter’s turn at bat is an error regardless of whether or not the batter subsequently reaches base. Meanwhile, a number of major-league perfectos have been destroyed solely by errors. The ultimate in absurdity occurred to Jim Galvin, ironically the author of the first documented professional perfecto in history in an August 17, 1876, contest between his St. Louis Reds and the independent Cass club of Detroit at a tournament between pro and semipro teams in Ionia, Michigan.

  In a National League game at Buffalo on August 20, 1880, Galvin topped Worcester’s Fred Corey, 1–0, on a muddy field despite having six errors made behind him—the most ever by a team behind a pitcher who was otherwise perfect. Galvin had to overcome two boots each by second baseman Davy Force and third baseman Dan Stearns, plus a dropped throw by first baseman Dude Esterbrook and a fumbled grounder by shortstop Mike Moynahan. Esterbrook atoned for his miscue by tripling home outfielder Joe Hornung for the game’s lone run. Because of the swarm of enemy baserunners, few at the game even noted that Galvin had hurled a no-hitter, the first ever by a pitcher on a visiting team.

  9.12 (a) (8)

  [An error shall be charged to any fielder] whose failure to stop, or try to stop, an accurately thrown ball permits a runner to advance, so long as there was occasion for the throw. If such throw was made to second base, the official scorer shall determine whether it was the duty of the second baseman or the shortstop to stop the ball and shall charge an error to the negligent fielder.r />
  The 1904 season was the first in which an official scorer was licensed to charge a fielder with an error for failing to cover a base. Previously, the error had always been given to the fielder who threw the ball—i.e., the catcher on a steal attempt—even when the throw would have been on target if a teammate had been where he was supposed to be.

  Many followers of the game believe there should also be a rule that charges a team with an error rather than an individual player—or in some cases no one at all—in situations where an error of omission or an error in judgment occurs, such as when two or more fielders allow a pop fly to drop untouched between them. For one year—and one year only—there was such a rule, instigated by representatives of the AA’s St. Louis Browns. In 1888, all batted balls that allowed a player to reach base safely but were neither hits nor errors that could be justifiably assigned to a fielder, were deemed “unaccepted chances.” In part because the new category could not be conveniently fit into box scores, it was dropped after the 1888 season at the same winter meeting where four balls and three strikes were permanently set (but there is no reason it could not be resuscitated). Every pitcher who has been charged with an earned run owing to a play that should have been made but could not be labeled an error will agree that the notion of an unaccepted chance is perfectly logical.

  As for assists, Rule 9.10 (b) says:

  The official scorer shall not credit an assist to

  (1) the pitcher on a strikeout, unless the pitcher fields an uncaught third strike and makes a throw that results in a putout;

  Early on, box scores often showed pitchers with an inordinate amount of assists. The natural assumption was that opposing hitters were bunting on them a lot, typically because they were poor fielders (a la Tom Ramsey, who posted a glamorous .761 fielding average in his six-year pitching career). But, as previously has been discussed, the high assist totals generally came from official scorers who improperly awarded pitchers with an assist any time they recorded a strikeout and some who only credited an assist if the batter who fanned had to be thrown out at first by the catcher. Contingency (1) under Rule 9.10 (b) has never been witnessed by this author except in a Little League game.

  9.12 Errors

  (a) The official scorer shall charge an error against any fielder:

  (1) whose misplay (fumble, muff or wild throw) prolongs the time at bat of a batter, prolongs the presence on the bases of a runner or permits a runner to advance one or more bases, unless, in the judgment of the official scorer, such fielder deliberately permits a foul fly to fall safe with a runner on third base before two are out in order that the runner on third shall not score after the catch;

  Just twice has this author witnessed a fielder deliberately let a foul fly fall uncaught to prevent a runner on third with less than two out from tagging up and scoring; one occasion was in a high school game and the other in a men’s senior league game. But it does happen now and again in major-league games, and then often because an alert teammate has shouted to the fielder within range of the ball, “Let it drop!” or something to that effect. One outfielder who had the presence on his own to let a foul fly drop was Cards left fielder Matt Holliday in the top of the 12th inning of a game against the Brewers on April 28, 2014, at Busch Stadium III. With the score tied, 3–3, and Milwaukee’s Jonathan Lucroy on third base with one out, Holliday purposely let Greg Davis’s deep fly to left drop untouched in foul territory. His heads-up play went for naught when Davis then tripled to right to score Lucroy and Milwaukee ultimately won, 5–3.

  Under Rule 9.12 (a) (1) Comment there is this paragraph:

  “The official scorer shall not score mental mistakes or misjudgments as errors unless a specific rule prescribes otherwise. A fielder’s mental mistake that leads to a physical misplay—such as throwing the ball into the stands or rolling the ball to the pitcher’s mound, mistakenly believing there to be three outs, and thereby allowing a runner or runners to advance—shall not be considered a mental mistake for purposes of this rule and the official scorer shall charge a fielder committing such a mistake with an error. The official scorer shall not charge an error if the pitcher fails to cover first base on a play, thereby allowing a batter-runner to reach first base safely. The official scorer shall not charge an error to a fielder who incorrectly throws to the wrong base on a play.”

  Yes, players—even big leaguers—lose track of outs and throw balls into the stands, intending to give a lucky fan a souvenir. If the bases are empty when it happens, there is no problem. With runners on, however, the ball is immediately dead and they each advance two bases. On June 16, 2016, in a night game at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park between Toronto and the Phillies, Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera, mistakenly thinking there were three outs after catching a fly ball off the bat of the Blue Jays’ Michael Saunders, trotted out to the stands and threw the ball into them, helping to turn a one-run inning into a four-run inning. It mattered little since the Jays won, 13–2, but a similar humiliating gaffe by Montreal’s Larry Walker on April 24, 1994, was instrumental in an Expos loss to the Dodgers in a Sunday night game at LA.

  In the second inning with one out and Jose Offerman on first, Walker caught Mike Piazza’s fly ball to deep right and casually flipped it into the stands. Offerman ended up on third base and the Dodgers posted two runs in the frame when Tim Wallach, the next batter, homered off rattled Expos pitcher Pedro Martinez. The Dodgers went on to win the game, 7–1. There are numerous other examples of this type of brain lock that we could offer, but practically all of them, curiously (or perhaps not), are from seasons since the 1994 strike. We all would give plenty to know the first time such a howler occurred in a major-league game, but there is no doubt it rarely, if ever, happened in the days when fans were all but arrested if they did not return balls hit into the stands to the playing field. Today’s players are actually encouraged to provide spectators with souvenir balls at every opportunity. Their efforts, in particular those by first and third basemen recording an inning-ending out, have been thwarted by the new major-league park rules requiring a solid stretch of netting to protect spectators along the first- and third-base lines from foul shots into the stands. Instead of simply tossing a ball to someone who catches their fancy, they now have to lob it over the netting and put it up for grabs.

  9.12 (f)

  The official scorer shall not charge an error when a runner or runners advance as the result of a passed ball, a wild pitch or a balk.

  (1) When the fourth called ball is a wild pitch or a passed ball and as a result

  (A) the batter-runner advances to a base beyond first base;

  (B) any runner forced to advance by the base on balls advances more than one base; or

  (C) any runner, not forced to advance, advances one or more bases, the official scorer shall score the base on balls and also the wild pitch or passed ball, as the case may be.

  In the game’s early years, scorers would often charge pitchers and catchers with errors in addition to wild pitches and passed balls, respectively. Now, the official scorer needs only to account for each extra base a runner takes. A passed ball or a wild pitch is explanation enough.

  9.16 Earned Runs and Runs Allowed

  An earned run is a run for which a pitcher is held accountable. In determining earned runs, the official scorer shall reconstruct the inning without the errors (which exclude catcher’s interference) and passed balls, giving the benefit of the doubt always to the pitcher in determining which bases would have been reached by runners had there been errorless play. For the purpose of determining earned runs, an intentional base on balls, regardless of the circumstances, shall be construed in exactly the same manner as any other base on balls.

  (a) The official scorer shall charge an earned run against a pitcher every time a runner reaches home base by the aid of safe hits, sacrifice bunts, a sacrifice fly, stolen bases, putouts, fielder’s choices, bases on balls, hit batters, balks or wild pitches (including a wild pitch on third str
ike that permits a batter to reach first base) before fielding chances have been offered to put out the offensive team. For the purpose of this rule, a defensive interference penalty shall be construed as a fielding chance. A wild pitch is solely the pitcher’s fault and shall contribute to an earned run just as a base on balls or a balk.

  Earned run averages for National League pitchers were calculated as early as 1876; that season, Louisville’s Jim Devlin—yes, the same Jim Devlin who was banned after the 1877 season for taking bribes to throw games—allowed 309 runs but scarcely a third of them (109) were earned. After that season, there was a lapse of six years before the National League began calculating them again in 1883. Meanwhile, the upstart American Association kept track of pitcher ERAs for its entire 10-span as a major league (1882–91). But it was not until 1912 that the National League made calculating pitchers’ ERAs a permanent fixture. The following season the American League began doing likewise annually. At that time, an earned run was assessed to a pitcher every time a player scored by the aid of base hits, sacrifice hits, walks, hit batters, wild pitches, and balks before enough fielding chances had been offered a defensive team to record three outs. In 1917, stolen bases were added to the list of permissible aids to the scoring of an earned run.

  Before the 1931 season, runners who reached base on catcher’s interference were added to passed balls and the other types of miscues that exempted a pitcher from being charged with an earned run. The 1931 rule reemphasized, however, that a run emanating from a batter who reached first on a wild pitch third strike was earned—even though the pitcher was charged with an error on the play—as the wild pitch was solely the pitcher’s fault. All other errors that allowed a batter to reach base or prolonged his turn at bat excused the pitcher from being saddled with an earned run, including errors committed by him.