Baseball scoring question

[Versatile]

Situation: Player A attempts sacrifice bunt to bring home Player B. Player B scores, but Player A reaches first safely on an errand throw.

Question: Being that Player A's sacrifice was successful but there was an error, should he go down as 0-for-0 or 0-for-1? After the game, I conferred with both coaches. One coach said 0-for-0, the other said 0-for-1. The surprise was that Player A's coach was actually the one who said that if a player reaches on an error, sacrifice or not, it should be 0-for-1.

 

[LongTimeListener]

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/rule10.shtml

10.09 (a) Score a sacrifice bunt when, before two are out, the batter advances one or more runners with a bunt and is put out at first base, or would have been put out except for a fielding error.

 

[Versatile]

Greatly appreciated. I should have known to trust Player A's coach, who has about 30 years in baseball.

 

[LongTimeListener]

???

It sounds like Player A's coach was wrong. The way I'm reading that, the player would be 0 for 0.

 

[blank8ball]

I'm with longtimelistener. I read it as an 0 for 0. You score a sacrifice under two occasions. 1) The batter is out at first or 2) the batter would've been out if it hadn't been for an error.

 

[HanSenSE]

It's a sacrifice and and error, no at-bat.

 

[Versatile]

???

It sounds like Player A's coach was wrong. The way I'm reading that, the player would be 0 for 0.

I'm sorry, I meant the coach who said 0-for-0. I mixed myself up with the fill-in names.

 

[the_lorax]

Player should also get an RBI on the play if the runner scored on a squeeze. No RBI if scored only because of the error.

 

[Shaggy]

I have another scoring question, inspired by Coco Crisp.

Coco steals second base, reaches safely but slides past the bag and gets tagged out. Does he get credit for a stolen base?

 

[albert77]

I have another scoring question, inspired by Coco Crisp.

Coco steals second base, reaches safely but slides past the bag and gets tagged out. Does he get credit for a stolen base?

I'm not a rules geek, but I don't think he does. The slide past the bag is a continuation of the play, so if he's not safe at second at the end of the play, then it's not a successful steal. But someone who knows the rule book better than me can find out for sure.

 

[deskslave]

I think I saw that game, and I think the call was no steal.

I think, though I have no real justification for this, that you'd have to evaluate it based on whether the stolen base was completed. If he swipes second, the throw bounces away, he goes halfway to third and then gets thrown out, it's a stolen base. But if he overslides the bag, he never successfully steals the base. He hasn't been in possession of second base, to steal a term from football, long enough to have stolen it.

Or something like that.

 

[dkphxf]

Rule 10.07 (e): When a runner is tagged out after oversliding a base, while attempting either to
return to that base or to advance to the next base, the official scorer shall not credit
such runner with a stolen base.

What about someone who goes to first on a hit and then gets tagged out? Does he get a single? Caught stealing?

 

[albert77]

Rule 10.07 (e): When a runner is tagged out after oversliding a base, while attempting either to
return to that base or to advance to the next base, the official scorer shall not credit
such runner with a stolen base.

What about someone who goes to first on a hit and then gets tagged out? Does he get a single? Caught stealing?

If you mean he's tagged out at second trying to stretch a single into a double, it's just a single and a simple putout at second. If you mean where he hits a single, overruns the base and gets tagged out trying to get back to first, I believe that's a single and a pickoff.

 

[dkphxf]

So the second baseman (or whoever) would get credit for the pickoff?

 

[Bristol Whipped]

I wouldn't treat it as a pickoff, but as a putout, just the same as if the player got thrown out attempting to stretch a single into a double.

And the best way to remember how to treat the sacrifice bunt play is whether the batter should be punished for the defense's error. If he successfully laid down the sac bunt, he shouldn't be punished with an extra AB that hurts his batting average just because of an error.

 

[Tucsondriver]

Player should also get an RBI on the play if the runner scored on a squeeze. No RBI if scored only because of the error.

I'm pretty sure that as long as the batter puts the ball in play, he gets credit for the sacrifice and RBI regardless. Even if it's a routine play the fielder botched, scorer can't assume a play would be made at home. The only possible exception I can think of is if the bases are loaded and there's a force at home, in which case it could go as a fielder's choice and an error. I think....

 

[Tracy Ringolsby]

If the ruling is a sacrifice and error then it is an RBI. If the ruling is the error was in a throw to the plate, it would be a fielder choice, error, no RBI, no sacrifice. If the play is made to the plate you can assume an out could have been made. Now if the play is made to the plate and you assume the runner would have scored it is a fielder's choice or base hit, depending on whether the scorer felt the fielder could have thrown the runner out at first. In that situation the way there would be an error is only if the batter advanced to second base because of an errant throw.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

If the ruling is a sacrifice and error then it is an RBI. If the ruling is the error was in a throw to the plate, it would be a fielder choice, error, no RBI, no sacrifice. If the play is made to the plate you can assume an out could have been made. Now if the play is made to the plate and you assume the runner would have scored it is a fielder's choice or base hit, depending on whether the scorer felt the fielder could have thrown the runner out at first. In that situation the way there would be an error is only if the batter advanced to second base because of an errant throw.

Oh what would you know? God damn, you'd think you're in the Hall of Fame or something...

 

[smith_kb]

I have an interesting question from a HS game this weekend. Batter hits a long fly ball down the left field line. As the left fielder is moving over to make the catch a large piece banner blow out from the stands and distracts him. He doesn't make the catch and the runner advances to 2nd while he chases down the ball.

Is this a fielding error? Single? Double?

 

[BB Bobcat]

For me it would depend if it merely "distracted" him or physically interfered with his vision of the ball. In the latter case, I'd say it would akin to losing a ball in the sun and be a hit (although I don't think that should always be the case, that's the practice). If it was just a matter of him not being able to keep his attention where it should have been, I'd call it an error.