Bats, too. One of the oddest baseball plays Ive seen happened about 3 years ago in Philadelphia. The Phillies had a runner on first, and a left-handed batter at the plate. Two things happened simultaneously:
- The catcher saw that the runner had gotten much too far off base, and threw a strong, accurate pickoff throw to first, and
- The batter swung and missed - losing his grip on his bat, which flew into the stands.
Only two people in the stadium - the catcher and the baserunner who was being picked off - did not see that dangerous missile flying into the crowded stands. Like everyone else, the first baseman was transfixed by the sight, and he never moved to catch the ball. It rolled down the first base line all the way to the wall. By the time the right fielder was able to return the ball to home plate, the runner had scored.
Youre the official scorer. How do you score that? Justifiable 4-base error?
Id say E-3 if the throw was catchable. Otherwise E-2
Youre the official scorer. How do you score that? Justifiable 4-base error?