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Another MacCarver is an idiot story.
I refer to a book authored by the late MLB umpire Eric Gregg, Behind the Plate. I read it about ten years ago. Gregg spends an entire chapter on how MacCarver has screwed up issues where he did not understand the rules or in one case, the ground rules, and made Gregg look bad.
Gregg wrote about a play-off game, broadcast nationally, in a NL stadium where the bullpen is on live ball ground. Gregg wrote that as long as he had work in this park, if the ball went underneathe the bench in the bullpen, by the ground rules, the ball was out of play, and dead. However, that day at the plate meeting, the home team manager stated that if the ball went underneathe the bench in the bullpen, by the ground rules, the ball would remain alive and in play. The fielder had to go get it.
Gregg questioned the manager at the HP meeting to be sure it wasn't a mistake. He was assured they wanted to change it. During the game Gregg was on 1B for the game and, of course, a fair ball ball went under the bench in the bullpen, and Gregg did not kill the play. The BR got a triple.
MacCarver when on for several minutes ripping Gregg for not calling the ball dead. There was no argument on the field about the play. MacCarver kept saying how that any ball he has ever seen go under a bence has always been a dead ball. MacCarver had no idea what the ground rules for the field were changed that day.
The story goes on. Aparrently the home team did not benefit from that "under the bench" triple. So the next day they came out and annouced that today they were going back to the old ground rule and the ball would be out of play if it goes under the bench. As you would expect, during that game too a fair ball went under the bench and the 1B umpire that day killed the ball. Once agian MacCarver went on for several minutes ripping Gregg once again for not calling the ball dead on the previous day.
Unforntuately, Gregg did know anything about this until after the play-off series was over when he got the chance to watch the video tapes of the games. Otherwise, he said he would have gone up to the booth and spoken to MacCarver about those call.
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