When is a Catch not a Legal Catch

Todd Frazier

As I watched the video of the Met’s Todd Frazier catching/dropping the foul

ball against the Dodgers
on Monday night, two things came to mind. 1) How was Frazier so quick to
switch balls and, 2) How did the umpire not realize the ball Frazier showed
himwas fake?
Watch the video here:

https://www.sny.tv/mets/news/icymi-mets-frazier-fooled-umpire-on-diving-
catch-monday-night/293426932

I also thought back on all the amazing catches made where the fielder winds
up in the stands, or the bullpen and the umpire had no way of knowing
whether or not the fielder actually held onto the ball.

The thought of a missed call, that is possibly a rules infraction, led me to
check out the rule.

I read the 2018 MLB Official Rules and this.came to my attention.

Under section 5.09: Making an Out, subparagraph (a) Retiring a Batter,
the rule book states... “A batter is out when:

1. His fair or foul fly ball (other than a foul tip) is legally caught by a fielder.

The rule book adds a comment as follows:

   Rule 5.09(a)(1) Comment: A fielder may reach into, but not step into, a
dugout to make a catch, and if he holds the ball, the catch shall be allowed.
A fielder, in order to make a catch on a foul ball nearing a dugout or other
out-of-play area (such as the stands), must have one or both feet on or over
the playing surface (including the lip of the dugout) and neither foot on the
ground inside the dugout or in any other out-of-play area. Ball is in play,
unless the fielder, after making a legal catch, steps or falls into a dugout or
other out-of-play area, in which case the ball is dead. Status of runners shall be as described in Rule 5.06(b)(3)(C) Comment.

Now, it seems to me that every player who makes one of these exciting,
amazing catches should have caused the ball to be ruled a “dead ball”

I have included a link to the rule book so that you, the reader, can read and
interpret for yourself.

http://mlb.mlb.com/documents/0/8/0/268272080/2018_Official_Baseball_
Rules.pdf

Here are the catches in the past that seem to have been called incorrectly:  

Derek Jeter's catch in 2001:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQGmWv57klQ

Derek Jeter

Austin Jackson's amazing home run robbery in 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQGmWv57klQ

Collection of great catches. Of the 29 on the video, 6 of them seem to have been called incorrectly. If you care to count, #s 2, 6, 10, 11, 26 and 27 should have been called a "dead ball"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qb6TCXOXO8

Do The MLB Playoffs Need To Be Changed?

The talk around major league baseball these days, mostly from Pirate and Cub fans, is the need to revamp the current playoff system to make it more "fair".

As it stands today, the Pirates and Cubs, the two wild card teams in the National League, will face off in a one game play-in to see who gets to continue on in the playoffs. These two teams have the 2nd and 3rd best records in the league, both records better than either the Mets and Dodgers, the Division Champions of the East and West. Alas, the rules were set up this way to give one more team a chance at the World Series.

Some call the current system a watered down version of what a World Series should be about, a wild card team with a low won/loss record can become the World Champs. We need to face reality. The only way to ensure that the best two regular season teams reach the World Series is to go back to, dare I say, the way it was when the winner of the American League faced the winner of the National League in the World Series. That will never happen again. Money, read TV contracts and additional gate receipts, has changed that forever.

My take on the playoff system is this. If the wild card is the best way, let's take the example of the NBA and take the eight teams with the best records and seed them accordingly. The plan I propose would have a best-of-three 1st round with the #1 seed taking on the #8 seed and so forth with all three games played in the ballpark of the team with the better record.

With single travel days between games of a series and playoff rounds, the World Series would still be decided within 31 days from the start of the first round.

To accomplish my idea, three teams would have to be added to the current format.

The National League has the controversy this year so I'll use them for my example. As it stands now the Cardinals, Pirates and Cubs all have better records then the Mets or Dodgers. Add the Giants, Nationals and the Diamondbacks to the playoffs to make an eight team playoff.

The teams would be seeded like this: Cardinals #1, Pirates #2, Cubs #3, Mets #4, Dodgers #5, Giants #6, Nationals #7 and the Diamondbacks #8. Yes, the Diamondbacks are under .500 but this can happen and must be allowed for the format to work.

The 1st round would be a best-of-three, all in the stadium of he team with the better regular season record. One would hope this scenario would keep all eight teams fighting to win the most games possible. This would also give the team with the better record a decided advantage.

One travel day would be allowed between the last game of the season an the start of the playoffs. The games in my fictitious playoff would begin on the 4th of October. The 1st round would be played on consecutive days. All teams, in both leagues would begin and end on the same days.

Television would have 6 regional games and 2 national games to broadcast on each day.

After completion of the 1st round on the 6th of October, or a day earlier if the series is won in 2 games, a travel day is scheduled and the 2nd round of the payoffs would begin on the 8th of October. These best-of-seven series would again give the advantage to the team with the better record. There would be 2 games at home, 2 games away and then 3 games, if necessary, at home. With travel days between the sets of games the series would be over by the 16th of October.

A league championship round would begin on the 18th and, with the same 7 game format, be concluded by the 26th of October.

The World Series would begin, after a travel day, on the 28th and the World Series Champions would be crowned no later than the 6th of November.

So what would this accomplish? First, the "wild card" teams would have a three game series rather than the current one and done concept. Secondly, the teams with 1 or 2 excellent pitchers cold have them pitch the first game of the 1st round and have them available to start the first game of the 2nd round and again in game four of that series. Thirdly, the fans would have playoff baseball almost constantly for a month. Fourth, this would eliminate the stupidity of the All-Star game deciding home field advantage for the World Series. And finally, the team with the better record would have more home games to eliminate the lower seeded teams.

There you have it. I only hope that Commissioner Manfred reads this and gets the team ownership, players association and television to institute my plan for the 2016 World Series. Not to worry Commissioner, just mention my name, and my blog site when you make the announcement.

Tigers Confident Starting Pitching Can Overcome Orioles Bats

The one thing the Detroit Tigers do not lack is confidence. They won the AL Central Division and enter the ALDS against the Eastern Division Champion Baltimore Orioles tonight in Baltimore. The Tiger's starting rotation contains the last two season's Cy Young Award winners and David Price. Price was acquired from the Rays and looks to be an integral part of the Tiger's run to the World Series.

In the Yahoo Sports article, David Price said, ''Pitching. That's what wins ballgames. If we put up zeroes early, that kind of gives our offense a chance to kind of settle into the game. They know they don't have to put up a three- or four-spot because we're down.''

Read the Yahoo Sports story here