Twins/Royals last night

[johnnyg08]

I heard Steve Polarmo (sp?) at the game last night up in the booth with the Twins announcers discussing a call that I think got Buddy Bell tossed...did anybody see this? If so what was the sitch? I was busy doing something outside, and by the time I came inside, Bell was tossed and Polarmo was wrapping up his discussion...Thanks guys.

[BigUmp56]

From the Royals web-site.

Here's what happened:

With none out in the top of the seventh and Minnesota's Luis Castillo on first, Nick Punto appeared to foul a pitch back at Royals catcher John Buck.

Castillo was running on the play and remained on second when Bell came out of the dugout to argue. He pleaded his case that Castillo should return to first base with increasing vehemence but could convince neither the home plate nor first base umpire.

"I think we were arguing about three totally different things," Bell said. "I'm not sure. I thought it was a foul tip."

Buck said that there was no question of that. It was a matter of whether the ball struck any part of his body before it hit his glove.

The conflicting testimonies only spawned more confusion. Bell just happened to let his escalate more than anyone else on the diamond.

His tirade in reaction to the ruling that allowed Castillo to remain at second -- he was the potential go-ahead run -- earned Bell his first early shower since May 7 at Chicago.

Bell's spirit also endeared him to many in the crowd of 12,085, who gave him a standing ovation as he approached the dugout, descended its steps and walked toward the tunnel to the clubhouse.


Tim.

[jwwashburn]

I was kind of groggy when I saw Baseball Tonight. I think it was a two strike pitch that hit off the bat then the catcher, then he caught it.

The OBR definition is: A FOUL TIP is a batted ball that goes sharp and direct from the bat to the catcher’s hands and is legally caught. It is not a foul tip unless caught and any foul tip that is caught is a strike, and the ball is in play. It is not a catch if it is a rebound, unless the ball has first touched the catcher’s glove or hand.

I can't remember whether it was the Royals catcher or not and whether it was ruled an out or not.

Maybe this jogs someone's memory that knows the whole story.

Joe

[LMan]

As I recall from S-Center the tipped ball hit F2's mitt, then rebounded off his CP (and possibly something else) before he bare-handed it for the catch. I'm sure Bell wanted a foul-ball call to send the runner back to 1B.

EDIT: I did not see where he dropped the ball, sorry.

[TriggerMN]

I watched the game last night, and the Twins TV broadcast brought Steve Palermo into the booth to clarify the ruling on the play.

Luis Castillo was on first and running on the 2-1 pitch to Nick Punto. Punto foul tipped the ball, which altered the path of the ball slightly. The ball, before hitting the ground, then took the following route: it either did or did not hit catcher John Buck's glove (the reasoning for the argument), then hit his shoulder, bounced back down and hit his glove, bounced up again and was caught by Buck's bare hand. The ball never hit the ground. At this point, Buck purposely dropped the ball on the ground. Home plate umpire Larry Young never killed the play, nor gave a signal. After Castillo reached 2nd base, Young called time and asked his 1B and 3B umps for help.

The ruling on the field was that the fouled ball first hit Buck's glove, meaning that even though it rattled around Buck's equipment, when he caught it, it was a "foul tip" and a live ball.

Buddy Bell argued that the ball had not hit Buck's glove first, but Buck's equipment, which would have made it a foul ball, sending Castillo back to 1st base. He got tossed for throwing his hat.

[chicago11]

I also believe the argument was whether or not the catcher actually caught the ball.....it ended up on the ground.

[mbyron]

It sounds as if Buck caught the ball, realized that the runner would stay at 2B if he did, so he dropped it. Too late! That's a catch and release, not a foul ball.

[johnnyg08]

Sounds like they nailed the call. I've read a few threads on this type of sitch before. Interesting situation. Thanks fellas!

[mrm21711]

Go to royals.mlb.com

Under "More Sights and Sounds" click on one of the 350k lines. Then, click on other Royals games and find the July 5th game and click on the clip Bell ejected. The replay shows the crew nailed the call correctly, as the ball went straight to the catcher's mitt and he eventually caught it. He then dropped it after a long period of time, and the runner's advance was allowed.