I’m thinking you’ve got it. Given the noise we’re hearing from other QBs it’s pretty clear it’s a popular rule to at least try to violate, and it could just be the refs are thinking “well we could fine every team 25 large after every game, or we could just let it slide”. Might be that what made this one so different is that somebody told somebody in the press, and the press guy didn’t realize this is a non-issue. And of course given how the league has navigated PR land this year they had to investigate, plus of course it’s SB hype time so everybody NEEDS to talk football.
The umps in MLB will rarely ask for a ball if it didn’t hit the dirt, and then its just to take it out of play if it’s too scuffed. But if a pitched ball stays in the air it could do loop-de-loops and if the batter doesn’t complain they 99% of the time aren’t going to check. If a batter suspects, he usually keeps his mouth shut, because chances are there is a pitcher on his team who loads or scuffs, and then the other team will check him in retaliation.
Freegards