Baseball dropped foul ball scoring question

If you have sufficient time to position yourself, then you should be able to get a glove on it. If you're in the wrong place, that's your own damn fault.

 

Two-part answer:

Error: Treat the play like any other. If it is a play you, as the official scorer, feel he should have made, then it's an error.

Earned/Unearned: If that batter reaches base, then the error factors into the number of "outs" that should have been recorded. However, if that batter is eventually put out without reaching base or advancing any runners, the error has no effect on the earned/unearned runs for that inning.

 

I should know this but ...

So it's possible to have a perfect game with no hits, nho runs and one error, if the batter whose foul popper was dropped is subsequently retired on the same at-bat? It's still 27 up, 27 down, and no one reachig base safely.

 

Yes, micro. But it has not happened yet.

 

I love these threads.

I just wanted to say that, and let the members who really know this stuff carry on.

 

Here's another. I don't need to know, but I want to.

Batter A singles to right, advances to third on an error by the right fielder.

Batter B walks.

During Batter C's at-bat, Batter B advances to second on a wild pitch. BUT, if runners had been on first and second, I do not believe either would have advanced. It was a ball in the dirt that kicked in front of the catcher, who held the ball rather than throw to second.

Batter C hits a sac fly to left, with Batter A scoring and Batter B taking third.

Batter D fouls out to short left, no advance.

Batter E singles to right, scoring Batter B.

Batter F grounds out. (Not what actually happened, but easier serves my purposes.)

Are the runs earned, unearned or one of each? And is the scorer allowed any discretion in how that wild pitch affects things? Or must the scorer assume that both runners would have advanced, even though they probably wouldn't have?

If one must assume the runners advance, then both runs are earned. Runners would have been at second and third regardless of the error. If one assumes neither runner advances, then the runs are unearned. Fly ball to left with runners at first and second isn't a sac fly, and we can't assume they advance. Second fly ball is the same, and the single can only be assumed to load the bases. With the groundout, no runs score.

Similar question with a stolen base: If Batter B steals second, must we assume that Batter A would have stolen third? And if we don't assume that Batter A would have stolen third, must we then account for the fact that Batter B wouldn't have been able to steal second?

(In the event, Batter F reached on an E5, Batter G walked and Batter H hit a three-run triple, but those details are irrelevant as pertains to the first two runs. And I've seen the box score and have an answer, but (a) I want to see what you all think and (b) it's Division II baseball. I don't trust the scorer anyway.)

 

A wild pitch (or balk) has no impact on whether runs are earned or not, since it's a mistake by the pitcher (as opposed to a fielding error). A passed ball is different.

 

Re: the thread title, can you drop a foul ball in any other sport? Sorry, Bubs, it's late and I have nowhere else to post.

 

I know. But in this case, it's most likely that there wouldn't have been a wild pitch were it not for the error, and it's even more unlikely that the runner on second would have advanced to third.

 

When I was an official scorer and ran into any questions, I would call the officials at Howe Sports Bureau. They always told me to err on the side of the pitcher (runs must be clearly earned). In your reconstruction, I would say the run for Batter A is earned, he would have scored on the single. The run for Batter B is not earned.

 

Why would Batter A have scored on the single?

 

How can it be termed perfect if the team's fielding percentage is less than 1.000?