Did it or didn't it?
Gotta go with your partner's judgement . . . however faulty it may be. I had a Stan Musial game this past weekend. Low fences in the outfield. Ball apparently hit as a home run in straight away center. I'm PU; partner is BU. I'm watching R2 touch 3rd and BR touching all the bases. He calls it a bounce over; ground rule double. Half the crowd goes crazy! He calls me over . . . I ask him, "Are you absolutely positive it bounced over? It looked like it flew over to me." He say, "Nope. I saw it bounce." Okay. So I call BR back to 2nd base, explain to the irate coaches and teammates that it's a ground rule double. Let's play. I get back into position behind the catcher almost ready to yell "Play", my partner comes running in from Position C . . . . "Wait, wait, wait. I've got a home run. I just asked the Centerfielder if it went over and he said it did." Oh my! (What's the odds of finding an honest defensive player in this case?)
To add to the anecdote, another homer (obvious one) was made by the opponents a couple innings later. Jokingly, we all told the BU, "Hey Mike . . . the Right Fielder said it bounced over." Everyone chuckled . . . and everyone was "gratefully" kind-hearted through the whole ordeal.
Jerry
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