Situation Critical!!

[JJ]

Um, Steve, when I said the catcher "nailed" R2, I meant he threw him out. NOW where do we go?

JJ

[SanDiegoSteve]

Oh, that's very different....never mind! (ode to Emily)

In that case R2 is out. It was reasonably expected that the ball played was the game ball. There wasn't supposed to be another ball lying there a foot away. The catcher picked up the ball he thought was the game ball, so it becomes the game ball until playing action stops. Anything that happens on the play stands.

[L.A. Umpire Guy]

Pennant race, 1980; Dodgers at San Diego. Some Padre lines a bullet down the line and it goes into the Dodgers bullpen in the corner, takes a hop on the bullpen mound and lands in the bullpen ball bucket. Dusty Baker hesitates, and then grabs a ball and throws it in. Baker's livid that R1 gets to score and that the BR gets to go to third.

I was in the photographer's area at the end of the dugout and Baker came in and went ballistic. He smoked two cigarettes before he went back out on the field. He also went off on Derrell Thomas for pausing while he waited for the umpire to call a dead ball.

And the ball Baker threw in wasn't the gamer. It's the only ball confusion incident i have seen in the big leagues in over 42 years.

[RPatrino]

Damn coach, they all look the same to me....!!!

[tiger49]

What was U1 watching while F2 went to get the ball?? The ball could've been in DBT...touched by F2's detached equipment...F2 interfered with by the on deck batter retreiving the stray ball etc.

If he followed the ball he would have seen the real game and the other ball and would have known which is which.

[waltjp]

Play stands. Toss both balls out and replace with fresh ones.