[Fan10]

Saw something happen today in an MLB game that raised a question in my mind:

Braves/Phillies: With a runner at first base, a Phillies batter may or may not have gotten grazed by a pitch. The ball got away to the screen, and the runner at 1st went to 2nd while the home plate ump told the batter to go to first on the hit by pitch. After Bobby Cox questioned the call, all four umpires gathered, and it was determined that it did not hit him. The batter was brought back to home plate to continue the at bat.

Meanwhile, the runner stayed at 2B. Now, ultimately, he deserved 2B because the ball got by the catcher to the screen, and the Braves had no play on him. But, I got to thinking about something: When the umpire called the hit by pitch, did he not create a dead ball? In other words, would this not be similar to the old inadvertent whistle in football where he killed the ball by calling the hit by pitch?