Broadcasters don’t know scoring rules either

(Scott Cunningham, Getty Images)

My friend, fellow Canadian baseball blogger and umpire, Reg, has previously lamented that broadcasters don’t know the rules and would be well advised to keep their mouths shut at times.  Well, I guess the same applies to scoring rules.  In today’s NLCS wildcard game there was a squeeze bunt that was nullified when the throw from the pitcher Kyle Lohse to 1st base glanced off of  Andrelton Simmons’ helmet.  The umpires called him out for offensive interference, called it a dead ball and sent the runners back.  I was driving home and listening to the Cardinals radio broadcast on KMOX when I heard their broadcasters completely botch the scoring of the play.  (The Rulebook Guru would be happy to know that they explained the ruling perfectly).  They said it was scored a 2-3 putout, and that couldn’t be right because it was the pitcher who threw the ball, not the catcher.  Well, the other partner (I don’ know which was which) speculated that maybe since it was an automatic out the catcher gets credit for that.

No, he doesn’t.  It was properly scored a 1-3.  You give the assist to the guy who would have had the assist, and the putout to the guy who would have had it.  Here’s the excerpt from the scoring rule 10.09

(c) The official scorer shall credit automatic putouts as follows:

(6)When a runner is called out for having interfered with a fielder… the official scorer shall credit the putout to the fielder for whom the throw was intended and shall credit an assist to the fielder whose throw was interfered with;

It’s almost intuitive.

NL Batting Title update

So… Melky Cabrera must have read the article I posted about the batting title rule.  When he realized he was still eligible for the title and would likely win it, he contacted MLB and asked them to change the rule as he had “no wish to win an award that would widely be seen as tainted…”  Ok, maybe he’s not reading  this blog, but for whatever reasons MLB has changed the rule, supposedly on his request, for this season only.

Cabrera, through his agent, sent a letter to the head of the MLBPA saying  “I personally have no wish to win an award that would widely be seen as tainted, and I believe that it would be far better for the remaining contenders to compete for that distinction”

MLB then drafted a change to the rule.

Why hits and batting average are misleading

(Photo: Neil Leifer/SI)

In my last article I mentioned that despite the fact that pitcher wins are an awful stat, hits (and the closely related batting average stat) are even worse.  Here are a few reasons why.

• The scoring rules for what is a hit and what isn’t are at best arbitrary. Consider just a few cases:
  • The official scorer needs to make a judgement as to whether a fielder reached on an error or not – this is sometimes more based on whether the fielder has a reputation of being good and/or whether the hitter has a batting streak going and/or whether the pitcher has a no-hitter going, rather than what actually happened on the field.  Exact same plays are scored differently.
  • A clean hit can be taken away if a runner on base ahead of him, misses the first base he is forced to advance to.  With the bases loaded, the batter can hit a triple, but if the runner on 2nd missed 3rd as he is rounding it and is called out on appeal, the batter gets credited with nothing more than a fielders’ choice.
  • Clean hits can also be taken away if any runners are forced out. I have seen batters hit line drives to left field, and the runner on 2nd get forced out at 3rd.  I once saw a bases loaded hit taken away when inexplicably the runner from third base was thrown out at the plate. (Ok, it was Miguel Olivo “running”, and JD Drew short hopped a line drive right to him. Still, Ryan Freel who hit the ball,  deserved a better fate than that).
  • If a batter is awarded first base due to a runner being called out for interfering with a fielder making a play, it’s not a hit.  If a batter is awarded first base due to a runner being hit with a batted ball, he does get credit for a hit.  Why are these situations different????

Why pitcher wins are NOT the worst stat ever

It’s Cy Young time, and this year it looks like we’ll have a good battle on our hands in both leagues.  Luckily members of the BBWAA are much better educated than in previous generations, and they no longer automatically grant the award to the pitcher with the most wins.

I don’t think I need to rehash why it’s an awful stat.  Very briefly, pitching 5 innings and leaving with a 10-9 lead, may give you the W, but pitching 9 and leaving in a scoreless tie won’t get you anything.  And then there’s the reliance on your bullpen to hold your lead and/or your team to score runs, giving up unearned runs that aren’t your fault, relief pitchers getting wins without having to throw a pitch… I could go on, but I think most knowledgeable baseball fans know you don’t measure a pitcher’s value on wins.