|
I think the pine tar incident is a special case; the Royals may have protested because they believed the penalty did not coincide with the intent of the rule, and the AL president agreed.
I suppose an analogous situation (strictly off the top of my head) would be such -- 11-12YO kids playing on a large field (300' down the line). Outfield almost playing on the edge of the infield dirt. Batter hits a fair ball down the line, rolls down the warning track and under a gate down in the corner. BR would have easily had an inside-the-park HR had the ball stayed in play. Umpire correctly ruled ground-rule double, and manager protests, claiming that the award (2 bases) does not coincide with the level of ball. Of course, the protest committe agrees with the manager and upholds the protest.
The umpires got the call right, but the protest committee felt the rule should be changed. Although I agree with the Pine Tar ruling (since I am a Royals fan), that's a bad precedent to set, especially at the amateur level.
Dennis
|