Rule 5.04

Rule 5.04

The offensive team’s objective is to have its batter become a runner, and its runners advance.

DISCUSSION:

Rarely an offensive team will try to employ tactics other than getting on base or moving runners in order to win a baseball game.

Late during the 1939 season, the New York Yankees played a Sunday doubleheader against the Red Sox at Boston's Fenway Park. During the second game the Yankees took a 7-5 lead in the top of the eighth. With George Selkirk on third and Joe Gordon at second with one out, the Yankees realized that time was running out. At that time Boston had a 6:30 pm curfew on Sunday baseball and the game only had 10 minutes left before curfew. They needed to quickly end their half of the inning, then retire the Red Sox in the bottom of the eighth. If the inning was not finished before curfew, the score would revert to the score at the end of the seventh inning, 5-5, and the game would need to be replayed at a later date (under the rules existing at that time).

The Red Sox also realized the time implications. Red Sox manager Joe Cronin ordered an intentional walk to Babe Dahlgren to delay the game. Dahlgren, however, swung anyway-strike one-and Selkirk trotted home to be tagged out at the plate. Umpire Cal Hubbard warned Dahlgren not to swing at the second intentional ball, and Dahlgren complied. Gordon then ran in from third base and was tagged for the third out. Cronin ran out to protest the making of intentional outs, and the Boston fans erupted in anger, hurling bottles and other debris onto the field, making it impossible to clear the field and resume play before the expiration of time. Hubbard ruled that Cronin and the Red Sox were held responsible for the delay and the Yankees were awarded a forfeit.

Cronin filed a protest to the league office "on the ground that it was the Yankees who had played unfairly by deliberately running into put-outs at the plate and also trying to interfere with a perfectly legal intentional pass by having the batter swing at wild pitches." Five days later, AL President Will Harridge upheld the protest and ordered the game to be replayed. He also fined Dahlgren, Selkirk, and Gordon each $100. The game was rescheduled but never played because of rain. The Yankees won the pennant by 17 games over second-place Boston.

Enjoy this beautiful video taken at the 1939 World Series. The pitcher goofing off before the game is Al Schacht, the original Clown Prince of Baseball.

Rule 5.03

Rule 5.03
The pitcher shall deliver the pitch to the batter who may elect to strike the ball, or who may not offer at it, as he chooses.

DISCUSSION:
In order for the umpire to rule a strike, the batter must attempt to "strike" at the ball. A batter that merely holds his bat over the plate and makes no attempt to make contact with the baseball has not attempted to strike at the ball. There is no penalty for leaving the bat over the plate and not withdrawing it. The pitch is called either a ball or a strike based upon its proximity to the strike zone.

Batter holds bat in the strike zone, but does not attempt to strike at the ball

Rule 5.02

Rule 5.02 
After the umpire calls “Play” the ball is alive and in play and remains alive and in play until for legal cause, or at the umpire’s call of “Time” suspending play, the ball becomes dead. While the ball is dead no player may be put out, no bases may be run and no runs may be scored, except that runners may advance one or more bases as the result of acts which occurred while the ball was alive (such as, but not limited to a balk, an overthrow, interference, or a home run or other fair ball hit out of the playing field).

Rule 5.02 Comment: Should a ball come partially apart in a game, it is in play until the play is completed.

DISCUSSION:

Do not pitch signal or “stop sign” (arm extended palm towards pitcher) creates dead ball.  [BRD 161]

In this video the catcher appears to ask for time, the umpire appears to raise a hand in a stop sign signal, but play does not stop.


Raising two or one hands above head indicates time out and the ball is dead. [J/R]

Batter asks for time out, and is granted. Next pitch hits a home run.


Ball is not put back into play, so time is out. Any play during a time out is void.

Rule 5.02 CMT: Roy Hobbes knocks the cover off the ball. Play continues.

Rule 5.01

5.00—Putting the Ball in Play. Live Ball. 

Rule 5.01 
At the time set for beginning the game the umpire-in-chief shall call “Play.” 

DISCUSSION:
The umpire--in-chief stands behind the catcher. He is the "plate umpire." The base umpire does not put the ball into play.

CROSS-REFERENCE:
9.04 - umpire-in-chief

Rule 4.19

Rule 4.19 
PROTESTING GAMES. Each league shall adopt rules governing procedure for protesting a game, when a manager claims that an umpire’s decision is in violation of these rules. No protest shall ever be permitted on judgment decisions by the umpire. In all protested games, the decision of the League President shall be final.

Even if it is held that the protested decision violated the rules, no replay of the game will be ordered unless in the opinion of the League President the violation adversely affected the protesting team’s chances of winning the game.

Rule 4.19 Comment: Whenever a manager protests a game because of alleged misapplication of the rules the protest will not be recognized unless the umpires are notified at the time the play under protest occurs and before the next pitch, play or attempted play. A protest arising on a game-ending play may be filed until 12 noon the following day with the league office.

DISCUSSION:
Protests are only available for a violation or misapplication of rules, not for disagreement with an umpire's decision.

Winning the game moots the protest.

After a protest is made, umpires are to confer to ensure the ruling is correct. [PBUCUM]

The protest must be lodged before the next pitch or attempted play. A protest on a game-ending play must be made within 12 hours after the end of the game. [BRD]

The umpire will inform the public address announcer the reason for the protest, so it may be announced. [MLBUM]


In the following video the Dodgers send Sweeney to hit for Ozuna in the 8^th, and then decide to use Kent when the Cardinals change pitchers.  Home plate umpire Chris Guccione informs Dodger manager Joe Torre that Sweeney is not yet in the game, meanwhile Sweeney takes his position in the batter’s box.  Consequently crew chief Tim Welke correctly rules that Sweeney is the batter.  The Dodgers protest the game.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=3267480

Box score: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/y2009/index.jsp?gid=2008_08_06_lanmlb_slnmlb_1#boxscore

Article: http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080807&content_id=3267564&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

Rule 4.18

Rule 4.18
If the umpire declares a game forfeited he shall transmit a written report to the league president within 24-hours thereafter, but failure of such transmittal shall not effect the forfeiture.
  

DISCUSSION:


AMBIGUITIES:
The office of "league president" no longer exists.

Rule 4.17

Rule 4.17
A game shall be forfeited to the opposing team when a team is unable or refuses to place nine players on the field.

DISCUSSION:
A game is forfeited when the short-handed team:
(1) cannot start the game with 9 players;
(2) on defense, cannot (or will not) place 9 players on the field; or
(3) on offense, reaches a vacant spot in the batting order. [BRD]

The language in this rule is mandatory, not discretionary: "the game shall be forfeited." Unlike amateur codes, there is no option in the OBR to play with eight players.

There has never been a MLB game forfeited because the team was unable to field nine players, but there have been games forfeited when the team refused to field nine players.  See http://www.retrosheet.org/forfeits.htm