Quote:
Originally posted by DDonnelly19
I doubt JEA or other sources will come into play, but only what appears in OBR. To put it another way, how would a "competent" protest committee rule on such a situation?
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The trainer has "A" (batter awarded 1B) as the answer to the test question, where I feel it's "B" (pitch ruled a ball). Who's right?
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Dennis,
There is plenty of precedent in the rules for where the
exact rule wording is diametrically opposed to what is actually done by History and Tradition; infielders who don't have to be inside the 90-foot square on an Infield Fly, bases that can be "missed" even though the next base hasn't been touched in the incorrect order, runners ruled "Safe" at first when they haven't touched the base before the fielder tags it with the ball, etc. The whole argument of your trainer is predicated in his narrow understanding of one word - "shall" - in OBR 2.00 Definition of A BALL. Is he now also going to insist that ONLY fielders who station themselves inside the 90-foot square on any play are eligible infielders for the purpose of the Infield Fly Rule?
The rules, however they are formally worded, MUST be read in the light of the Spirit and Intent in which and with which they were created. To do otherwise would be chaotic. I don't believe that the rule makers intended for any batter
always to be awarded 1st base, even if he DELIBERATELY allows himself to be hit with a pitched ball, simply because the pitch ball bounced first. Even common sense and fair play would tell us otherwise. It was always an exercise in judgement of intent, right from the quoted 1887 origin of the rule. What's more, the whole tenor of the rules of baseball is to support common sense, fair play and good sportsmanship. I would counsel any Protest Committee against destroying that underpinning concept for the sake of their contemporary understanding of ONE WORD in the Definition of A Ball!
It is NOT a question of "
Who's right" but rather "
What's right"! If a Protest Committee is unable to grasp that, and the concept of Spirit and Intent, then they aren't really administering BASEBALL! If your "competent" Protest Committee is NOT using PBUC and JEA Professional Interpretations
at least, then they aren't administering OBR baseball either.
Bottom line? In your most recent example, answer (b) should be preferred, since the batter's intent to allow himself to be hit seems clearly established. In your original example, even absent the "
as it enters the strike zone" phrase, answer (a) should be preferred, since the batter's intent to allow himself to be hit was not clearly established.
Cheers,