Abandonment 7.08(a)

[Larry1953]

OK, this situation may seem ridiculous, but it really happened in Harvey Haddix gem. R1 and R2 with one out. Adcock hits HR but R1 Hank Aaron thinks it was a GRD hopping over the fence. Aaron touched second but peeled off to go to the dugout. Adcock was ultimately called out for passing Aaron and only got credit for a double with the game ending 1-0 instead of 3-0.

I quoted 7.08 directly from the rulebook. It would seem very strange for an R1 (only) to think he didn't have to touch the plate to have his run count. It is reasonable to see why Aaron did what he did. I don't know when this wording came about. But say it was there for the Haddix game. If it was, then the score could have been 2-0. Moreover, if there were 2 outs and Aaron abandoned the based before R2 Mantilla scored, it is conceivable that ALL the runs could have been negated according to what is specifically mention about a "ridiculous" situation - they even said "similar" situations - goodness only knows what they meant by that.