[greymule]

I remember an example (from the J/R? from a rules quiz?) very similar to this case but not identical in process.

In the play, in the third inning, the run scores from 3B before the third out is registered on appeal of a runner who left 1B too soon on a caught fly ball. (Same as in the Cleveland-Baltimore game). But in this play, the umpires don't make a call either way on the run, and the game proceeds as if the run did not score. The rest goes something like this: the game goes to extra innings, and the team that got the "break" on the run eventually wins. After the game, the umpires realize that the third-inning run should have counted. Supposedly, the run is then counted and the outcome of the game is reversed.

From reading the newspaper yesterday, I got the impression that the umpire initially claimed that the out at 1B had occurred before the runner from 3B crossed the plate. I was umpiring down in Delaware/Maryland yesterday, and the fans were talking about the play. Everyone seemed to be saying that over the next couple of innings, somebody must have showed the umps a replay showing that the run had scored, but since they're not supposed to rely on replays, they looked for excuse to reverse themselves. It's inconceivable to me that four MLB umpires could blow that call on a rule misinterpretation.