[greymule]

mach3: Right.

Actually, BOTH sentences were INCORRECT. Any batter CAN lead off the next inning. "Can" means ability. "MAY" means permission.

I guess we've all been through the "teacher, can I get a drink?" lesson, where the teacher says yes and the kid gets up to leave for the drinking fountain and is then chastised for not obtaining permission. As for batters, though, what's at issue is not permission but ability to bat under the rules.

Can does often denote absolute ability (he can juggle four balls at once), but it also applies with understood conditions: "You can't put pennies in that parking meter" doesn't mean it is impossible to insert pennies; the condition "and get time on the meter" is understood. "You can't put gasoline in a diesel engine" is clearly false in absolute terms (I know: my brother did it years ago when he was working in a filling station), but permission is not the issue. Understood is "and then have the engine operate properly."

Anyone who makes an out can't lead off the next inning legally.

As for whether that sentence is technically grammatically correct, believe it or not, at least two local university professors are consulting their reference books. The question is, While anyone alone clearly cannot be used in a negative construction (anyone cannot join the club), does the rule apply to a "qualified" anyone (anyone from out of state cannot join the club)?

My position is that the sentence is in fact technically incorrect, but acceptable in everyday use. Like "Jim's mother gave him a kiss" and "the runner's mistake caused her to be called out" (which are both grammatically incorrect), it does violate a rule, but harmlessly.