Sox/Angels tag at third in 9th

[rulesmaven]

Originally Posted by BretMan

- Varitek lunges and tags the runner- right in the tooshkie- with the ball firmly held in glove, approximately six to eight feet before the bag.

- Umpire pointing to signal the tag and out right at that point.

- Ball still firmly held in the glove as Varitek's momentum carries him forward.

- Varitek's elbow hits the ground about even with the bag and that jars the ball loose. His mitt is actually about two feet past the bag when the ball pops out.

Sounds like a textbook "out" under the Evans interpretation.

That was my thought too -- looked like the ball came loose a good 9 to 11 feet after the tag. Under the Evans interpretation, it's no doubt this was an out, IMO. Under a voluntary release rule, it's much closer.

As for whether or not Varitek was showing the mitt to Welke or not, I stand by my original interpretation -- Varitek was clearly holding the mitt aloft for a moment, until his elbow hit the ground. Not sure that would matter under voluntary release interpretation, though. But if the right question is whether Varitek maintained control throughout the tag, I think they got it right.