Thursday, May 30, 2024

Was Cody Bellinger Out of the Base Path or Did Arenado Obstruct?

When Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray's pickoff throw behind Cubs baserunner Cody Bellinger caught the Chicago runner in a rundown, Bellinger lunged to his right to avoid St Louis 3B Nolan Arenado's tag. 3B Umpire Cory Blaser called Bellinger out for running more than three feet away from his base path to avoid the tag, but was he? Or did Arenado obstruct Belli instead?

Official Baseball Rule 5.09(b)(1) states that a runner is out when "they run more than three feet away from their base path to avoid being tagged unless their action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner’s base path is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base they are attempting to reach safely."

Remember, the base path is established only when the tag attempt begins, meaning that while the ball is still in flight, no such line can be drawn.

Meanwhile, we have the issue of potential obstruction. OBR's Definition of Terms states, "OBSTRUCTION is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner" while OBR 6.01(h)(1) pertaining to Type 1 Obstruction specifies that when obstruction occurs while a play is being made on the obstructed runner, the runner is awarded the next base ("The obstructed runner shall be awarded at least one base beyond the base they had last legally touched before the obstruction").

In a similar token to when to begin a base path, we need to address when to begin considering a fielder to be "in the act of fielding," while noting the pre-season point of emphasis declaring that a fielder who blocks the runner's path should be called for obstruction if they do not legitimately need to occupy that space to field the baseball.

By virtue of fielder Arenado running at Bellinger—and into his path to third base—prior to teammate Masyn Winn even releasing the baseball, we know Arenado cannot be considered in the act of fielding when he initially impedes Bellinger and this play, thus, becomes a candidate for Obstruction Type 1 (Type A), effectively cancelling the later base path issue since play is dead at the moment of Obstruction 1 (had it been OBS 2, then "nullify the act" would get involved after the play's natural conclusion).

Video as follows:

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

MLB Ejection 063 - Vic Carapazza (3; Aaron Boone)

2B Umpire Vic Carapazza ejected Yankees manager Aaron Boone (infield fly interference double play; QOCY) in the top of the 1st inning of the #Yankees-#Angels game. With none out and the bases loaded, Yankees batter Giancarlo Stanton hit a 0-0 changeup from Angels pitcher Tyler Anderson for a fly ball on the infield, ruled an infield fly. As Angels shortstop Zach Neto attempted to catch the fly ball, he and Yankees baserunner R2 Juan Soto made contact behind second base, resulting in an interference call by 2B Umpire Vic Carapazza. Because the interference occurred during an infield fly, both Soto (interference) and batter Stanton (infield fly rule) were called out for a double play. Replays indicate Soto, while not in contact with second base, interfered with Neto's fielding of a batted ball, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 0-0. The Yankees ultimately won the contest, 2-1.

This is Vic Carapazza (19)'s 3rd ejection of 2024.
OBR Definition of Infield Fly: "If interference is called during an Infield Fly, the ball remains alive until it is determined whether the ball is fair or foul. If fair, both the runner who interfered with the fielder and the batter are out."

This is the 63rd ejection of the 2024 MLB regular season.
This is the 27th manager ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 27 Managers, 10 Coaches, 26 Players.
This is New York's 5th ejection of 2024, 1st in the AL East (NYY 5; TOR 4; BAL 2; BOS, TB 1).
This is Aaron Boone's 3rd ejection of 2024, 1st since April 22 (Hunter Wendelstedt; QOC = U [Check Swing]).
This is Vic Carapazza's 3rd ejection of 2024, 1st since May 11 (Alex Cintron; QOC = Y-c [Balls/Strikes]).

MLB Ejection 062 - Ramon De Jesus (1; Jorge López)

3B Umpire Ramon De Jesus ejected Mets pitcher Jorge López (check swing ball three call to Freddie Freeman) in the top of the 8th inning of the #Dodgers-#Mets game. With two out and none on, Dodgers batter Freeman attempted to check his swing on a 2-1 slider from Mets pitcher López, ruled a ball by HP Umpire Adrian Johnson and affirmed as no swing (ball) by 3B Umpire De Jesus. After his ejection, López threw his glove into the stands, went on a postgame rant criticizing New York, and was designated for assignment by the team. At the time of the ejection, the Dodgers were leading, 9-3. The Dodgers ultimately won the contest, 10-3.

This is Ramon De Jesus (18)'s 3rd ejection of 2024.

This is the 62nd ejection of the 2024 MLB regular season.
This is the 26th player ejection of 2024. Prior to ejection, López's line was 0.1 IP, 2 ER, HR.
Ejection Tally: 26 Managers, 10 Coaches, 26 Players.
This is New York's 3rd ejection of 2024, T-1st in the NL East (MIA, NYM 3; WAS 2; PHI 1; ATL 0).
This is Jorge López's first career MLB ejection.
This is Ramon De Jesus' 3rd ejection of 2024, 1st since April 20 (Mike Shildt; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

MLB Ejection 061 - Nick Mahrley (1; Garrett Crochet)

HP Umpire Nick Mahrley ejected White Sox bench player/pitcher Garrett Crochet (rain delay call) in the top of the 9th inning of the #BlueJays-#WhiteSox game. With two out and two on, White Sox pitcher John Brebbia threw a wild pitch before inducing an inning-ending groundout from Vladimir Guerrero. At the conclusion of the top of the 9th, Crew Chief Marvin Hudson elected to stop play temporarily due to inclement weather and heavy rain. Crochet was ejected at the beginning of this rain delay for arguing the umpires' decision and timing on calling the delay. At the time of the ejection, the Blue Jays were leading, 7-2. The Blue Jays ultimately won the contest, 7-2.

This is Nick Mahrley (48)'s 1st ejection of 2024.
Official Baseball Rule 5.12(b)(1): "The [crew chief] shall call time when in their judgment weather, darkness or similar conditions make immediate further play impossible."

This is the 61st ejection of the 2024 MLB regular season.
This is the 25th player ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 26 Managers, 10 Coaches, 25 Players.
This is Chicago's 5th ejection of 2024, 1st in the AL Central (CWS 5; MIN 1; CLE, DET, KC 0).
This is Garrett Crochet's first career MLB ejection.
This is Nick Mahrley's 1st ejection since July 29, 2022 (Tony La Russa; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

MLB Ejection 060 - Tripp Gibson (4; Daniel Moskos)

3B Umpire Tripp Gibson ejected Cubs assistant pitching coach Daniel Moskos (balk call; QOCY) in the bottom of the 9th inning of the #Cubs-#Brewers game. With two outs and one on, during Brewers batter Willy Adames' at-bat, Cubs pitcher Héctor Neris was called for a balk by 3B Umpire Gibson. Replays indicate Neris failed to come to a stop while in Set Position with runner(s), the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 1-1. The Cubs ultimately won the contest, 6-3, in 10 innings.

This is Tripp Gibson (73)'s 1st ejection of 2024.
*OBR 6.02(a)(13): With runner(s) on base, it is a balk when "The pitcher delivers the pitch from Set Position without coming to a stop."

This is the 60th ejection of the 2024 MLB regular season.
This is the 10th coach ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 26 Managers, 10 Coaches, 24 Players.
This is Chicago's 2nd ejection of 2024, 4th in the NL Central (MIL, PIT, STL 4; CHC 2; CIN 1).
This is Daniel Moskos' first career MLB ejection.
This is Tripp Gibson's 1st ejection since August 15, 2023 (David Ross; QOC = Y [Balk]).

Wrap: Chicago Cubs vs Milwaukee Brewers, 5/28/24 | Video as follows:

Umpire Angel Hernandez Retires After 33 Years of MLB

Longtime MLB umpire Angel Hernandez confirmed he is retiring, telling USA Today he wants to spend more time with his family. The 62-year-old umpire who began his big league career in the National League 33 years ago, in May 1991, winds down his eventful major league on-field experience with over 3,800 regular season games worked, 12 Division Series, eight League Championship Series, and two World Series.

Hernandez drew national ire in 2013 when, as acting crew chief, his crew reviewed and ultimately upheld an Oakland Athletics double off the high left field wall in Cleveland. Although replays indicate the batted ball hit a railing beyond the wall and caromed back into the field—MLB stated it should have been a home run—and A's manager Bob Melvin was ejected arguing that point, we would come to find out that the replay angles the crew had access to on the circa-2013 in-stadium "limited replay" monitor, which was a small screen by today's standards were inconclusive, according to MLB's Terence Moore, who wrote, "I agree with the umpires."

Nonetheless, the national spectacle that followed resulted in the modern Replay Operations Center headquarters in New York we see today, a $30 million project that doesn't include the annual $2+ million salaries of the two additional umpire crews that staff it, added to the then-68 full-time MLB umpires for a modern-day roster of 76 (not including the costs of non-umpire Replay HQ staff).

Hernandez changed baseball in a different way in 2017, filing a lawsuit against the league in which he alleged racially-motivated and national origin-motivated discrimination.

Although this opened Hernandez up to further ridicule—such a reporters facetiously adding accents to the letters "á" in his name despite its spelling never containing accents before, a practice that continues to this day (seriously, look at the MLB Umpire Media Guide where umpires who want accents in their names [such as Alfonso Márquez] have them there, Hernandez is unaccented in all legal proceedings, etc.)—his lawsuit opened the door for other umpires who may have avoided baseball due to an undoubtedly discriminatory past. 

And although Hernandez lost his suit and appeal, uncovering potential problems in baseball spurred the sport to change how it conducts business to include more umpires in its community, as well as perhaps inspired other umpires to speak out against discriminatory practices (note: we have yet to discuss a 2024 discrimination suit recently filed by an umpire who worked in the minor leagues).

After an eventful career, Hernandez walks away from baseball having fundamentally made his mark.

Video as follows:

Sunday, May 26, 2024

LSU Catcher's Interference During Steal vs South Carolina

South Carolina scored its 11th run vs LSU on a 10th inning catcher's interference and balk call, umpires ruling that the catcher illegally interfered with the batter by prematurely jumping on home plate prior to a pitch arriving during which a runner attempted to steal home. 

NCAA Rule 8-3-p states, "If, on an attempted squeeze play or steal of home plate, the catcher steps on or in front of home plate without possession of the ball or touches the batter or the bat, the pitcher shall be charged with a balk and the catcher with interference." The equivalent rules throughout the levels are OBR 6.01(g) and NFHS 8-1-1e.1.

Throughout the 15-minute delay as a result of the umpire's call and subsequent LSU protest (yes, college still has protests, no protesting a judgment call still should result in denial), the broadcast focused on the catcher's positioning at home, claiming he was not "on or in front" of home plate.

Rather than engage too much with this argument, we instead turn to a different rule that brings us to the same conclusion. NCAA 8-2-e-2 discusses catcher's interference that occurs when any runner is attempting to steal a base: "[A stealing runner at any base] shall be awarded the base the runner is attempting to reach."

As for the balk component, R3 is awarded home plate either via balk or because of attempting to steal the base when catcher's interference occurs while R1 gets second base because the batter becoming a runner on the catcher's interference award forces R1 to advance.

For reference, defensive interference is defined as "an act by a fielder (usually the catcher) that hinders or prevents a batter from hitting a pitch" and replays indicate this catcher jumped in front of the batter, blocking his access to home plate (and the pitch) prior to the pitch's arrival. The batter had no free choice at this point to swing or not swing (and before arguing the batter must swing, think about it...requiring the batter swing here means catchers will get seriously injured...).

After the play as LSU set up to appeal R3's missed base touch of home plate (ruled "safe"/no miss by the umpire), R2 ran toward third base in an attempt to draw a throw, since all appeals must occur during a live ball (in OBR/NCAA) and be made before any subsequent pitch, play, attempted play.

Drawing a throw to third would thus be a play or attempted play and close the window on the appeal on old R3 at home. Nonetheless, the umpire ruled R3 safe because even though the runner didn't touch home plate during the initial play, the interference and obstruction rules allow umpires to award base touches in order to nullify the act of interference or obstruction.

Video as follows:

Saturday, May 25, 2024

MLB Ejections 058-9 - Laz Diaz & Erich Bacchus (TEX x2)

HP Umpire Laz Diaz ejected Rangers manager Bruce Bochy and 3B Umpire Erich Bacchus ejected Rangers bench player Andrew Heaney (foul ball call by Bacchus; QOCN) in the bottom of the 7th inning of the #Rangers-#Twins game. With one out and two on, Twins batter Edouard Julien attempted to check his swing on a 3-2 knuckle curve from Rangers pitcher David Robertson, ruled a foul tip by HP Umpire Diaz but called a foul ball by 3B Umpire Bacchus (any base umpire may call a foul ball unasked). Replays indicate the pitched ball made contact with the bat and went directly into the catcher's mitt thereafter; this is a foul tip, Bacchus' call was incorrect. At the time of the ejection, the Rangers were leading, 3-1. The Twins ultimately won the contest, 5-3.

This Laz Diaz (63)'s 3rd ejection of 2024.
This is Erich Bacchus (12)'s 1st ejection of 2024.

These are the 58th and 59th ejections of the 2024 MLB regular season.
This is the 24th player ejection of 2024. Prior to ejection, Heaney was a bench player and didn't play.
This is the 26th manager ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 26 Managers, 9 Coaches, 24 Players.
This is Texas' 2/3rd ejection of 2024, T-1st in the AL West (HOU, TEX 3; OAK, SEA 2; LAA 1).
This is Bruce Bochy's 2nd ejection of 2024, 1st since April 18 (Todd Tichenor; QOC = Y [Fair/Foul]).
This is Andrew Heaney's first career MLB ejection.
This is Laz Diaz's 3rd ejection of 2024, 1st since May 14 (Ronel Blanco; QOC = U [Illegal Substance]).
This is Erich Bacchus' 1st ejection since July 4, 2023 (David Ross; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

MLB Ejection 057 - Dan Bellino (1; Scott Servais)

HP Umpire Dan Bellino ejected Mariners manager Scott Servais (strike three call to Cal Raleigh; QOCY) in the top of the 9th inning of the #Mariners-#Nationals game. With none out and none on, Raleigh took a 3-2 fastball from Nationals pitcher Kyle Finnegan for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the inner edge of home plate and thigh-high (px 0.62, pz 2.21), the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Nationals were leading, 3-1. The Nationals ultimately won the contest, 3-1.

This is Dan Bellino (2)'s 1st ejection of 2024.
*This pitch was located 3.53 horizontal inches from being deemed incorrect.

This is the 57th ejection report of the 2024 MLB regular season.
This is the 25th manager ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 24 Managers, 9 Coaches, 23 Players.
This is Seattle's 2nd ejection of 2024, T-2nd in the AL West (HOU 3; OAK, SEA 2; LAA, TEX 1).
This is Scott Servais' 1st ejection since August 13, 2023 (Adam Beck; QOC = Y [Balk]).
This is Dan Bellino's 1st ejection since September 27, 2023 (Brian Snitker; QOC = N-c [Foul Ball]).

MLB Calls Chicago About Infield Fly Interference

Major League Baseball purportedly called Chicago and said umpire Junior Valentine's infield fly interference double play call to end Thursday's Orioles-White Sox game wasn't necessary and shouldn't have happened. The following is a deep dive into the history of this rule and how the league's hasty response to a 2012 play at Dodger Stadium led to a situation that enabled this game-ending call to occur.

As stated in our White Sox Lose After Infield Fly Interference Double Play (5/23/24) article, Valentine's ruling that White Sox baserunner R2 Andrew Vaughn interfered with Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson as he attempted to field a batted ball off the bat of Andrew Benintendi during an infield fly situation was proper pursuant to the Official Baseball Rules.

OBR 6.01(a)(10) ("Any runner is out when—they fail to avoid a fielder who is attempting to field a batted ball, or intentionally interfere with a thrown ball") puts Vaughn out for interference—no matter how slight the interference is—and kills play immediately upon such interference. For Valentine, there was no "wait and see if the ball is caught" moment, as the rulebook requires that play be declared dead immediately upon the interference.

The book's Infield Fly Rule definition then mandated that both the runner who interfered and the batter be declared out for interference and the infield fly rule, respectively, resulting in a double play. With one out in the 9th, this double play resulted in the third out of the inning, which also happened to be the final out of the game.

When MLB's Senior VP of On-Field Operations Michael Hill purportedly contacted Chicago to decry the way this game ended, it was an alleged expression of a widespread opinion: that this double play to end the game interference-and-infield-fly call simply "looked" off-putting and ended the game on a sour note.

Yet according to the rules, this is the correct call. In 2012, 1B Umpire Todd Tichenor called Dodgers batter Andre Ethier out for interfering with Marlins first baseman Derek Lee during Los Angeles batter Luis Cruz's infield fly (runners on first and second, less than two out). The rulebook at the time didn't provide for what to do with interference during an infield fly, and after a very lengthy conference, umpires ruled Ethier out and returned Cruz to bat.

During the subsequent offseason, MLB's Rules Committee decided this was not a fair outcome and crafted a new infield fly rule amendment, writing that interference during a fair infield fly is a dead ball double play (only the runner is out on a foul ball).

Season after season, this rule of response sat dormant at the major league level...until a similar situation occurred in Chicago, this one much higher-profile with much more devastating consequences.

So while MLB might not like the outcome, under the rule change the league itself made in 2013, this is the correct call. The only question is how to fix it for next time, if we don't want this to be the case.

Here are six rule change proposals, ranging from removing the fielder's "right of way" protection on an infield fly since the batter is out anyway, treating interference during an infield fly like obstruction type 2 (effectively, a delayed dead ball), only penalizing intentional interference with a double play, and more. What do you think should happen?

Video as follows: