Watch George Carlin describe the difference between baseball and football. That’s why football rules. Just the number that show up for FB games should show why FB is America’s favorite sport. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmXacL0Uny0
It started at least 20 years ago
And it is the shortstop who gets the phantom call. The second baseman can’t physically make the same type play
as long as I can remember and I am bummed to realize that’s quite a long time now :(
They started letting them ghost-touch the bag — so long as they’re way ahead of the runner — to avoid major collisions at second. Unwritten rule.
SnakeDoc
They are scared of risks and injuries, even though that is part of the game. Yet they left in the all common contact at home plate with a catcher and base runner. If ya can knock the ball out your safe mentality. Also, the runner must touch the base. Yet the 2nd baseman has the liberty of missing or simply coming close to the bag.
I am a sports photographer. I usually shoot five or six baseball games a week during the spring collegiate season. The times that a shortstop or second basemen touch the bag on a double are what you should be counting.
The reason?
They would have to wear armor to protect their shins. Everyone agrees that it’s better to let it slide, so to speak.
Without reading the rest of the thread it has been that way since Christ was a corporal (to borrow an Army saying). It is nothing new...has often irritated me too.
I rememer Mike S. of the Angels getting steamed about it in a play-off game I think, but not that it was called wrong, but called correctly for once. I think they have been calling them closer in the play-off games recently. They have a million camera angles on them now, and almost instant slo-mo. I think the umps don’t want to be called on it and it costs a game in a playoff situation, at least less than they used to do. They should also call interference more on that play if they are going to require the defender to hang in there.
I’m more concerned about the lack of the high strike on batters that don’t crouch to swing and lower their ‘zone.
Freegards
About the same time that they allowed a runner to slide 3 feet away from the bag to break up the double play and not call interfence I think.
Been ongoing for decades, the slicker the ss or 2b rep the farther away from the bag he gets to be.
It’s called the “neighborhood play”. It’s not in the official MLB rule book though. There are references to it on the internet. You could look it up.
It has been called the Neighborhood play since I started playing ball in the 50’s.
Shortly after they stopped calling traveling in the NBA...
roughly the same time the NBA let players take 3 steps when they slam dunk.
“Tricks Of The Trade
Loaded bats, phantom DPs and balls doctored with everything from flour to fly-line cleaner may be illegit, but they’re as much a part of the grand old game as, well, the spitter”
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1124378/1/index.htm
A cool article from Sports Illustrated....1981
According to longtime major league shortstop, coach, manager, and analyst Larry Bowa, at least 25 years prior to 1981.
Sometime around 1879 I would guess.
I’ve personally been seeing it since the 1960’s.
The only thing that gets enforced around second base is when the runner tried to take out the fielder and makes no attempt to touch the bag. I know when I played, I liked to submarine my throws to first on double play attempts to force the runner to slide earlier than they wanted.