Wow, I guess this is why I read the SD. I’m a baseball fan and I have always thought that a “walk-off homerun” was a game-winning homerun by a pinch hitter.
Was anyone else under this impression or have I just been sadly misinformed all of these years?
If the Institution of Baseball had any wisdom, the Designated Hitter experiment would have been called off years ago, and I would be able to be happy for the team in the town where I live.
If the defensive team leaves the field and the batter is discovered to have missed a base, the defensive team loses its right to appeal the play.
If both teams have to leave the field because everyone is coming on to the field, the rules now provide for the home run to be counted even though all the bases are not touched. (a la Chris Chambliss in 1976)
I don’t think so. He’s still at 714.
Meanwhile, Hank Aaron would have 756 homers, except an umpire once called him out when he hit a home run because the ump ruled Hank stepped out of the batter’s box when he swung.
No, Poly, you’re right. And this has the consequence that, if there were two outs and the defensive team tagged first with the new ball, no runs would score and the game would continue.
Note, however, that if the hit is NOT a home run and the winning run scores the hitter will normally only be charged with a hit sufficient to drive home the winning run.
Man on third. Tie game. Batter smacks on down the line that goes to the wall. Runner scores. Even though the hit would normally result in a double the batter is credited with a single.
I don’t like the term walkoff, either, but I see a difference between ‘walkoff’ and ‘game-winning.’ Game-winning does not imply game-ending while walkoff does. I have seen game recaps that refer to a home run in the sixth inning as the game-winner (because no runs were scored in the 7th, 8th, and 9th) but that doesn’t mean the game ended in the sixth! To me, the meaning of walk-off includes ending the game after that play.
To expand on what Jonathan Chance said above, the “hit sufficient to drive home the winning run” is determined by how many bases the runner had to advance in order to reach home. Furthermore, the batter must actually advance to the extra base(s) in order to be credited with the extra-base-hit.
Runner on second. Tie game. Batter smacks one down the line that goes to the wall. Runner scores. Batter is mobbed by teammates after rounding first and never touches second. Batter is credited with a single.
Pash
OK, how about this, then? Bottom of the ninth, tie game. Bob is on third, and Joe is up to bat. Joe slams the ball into the next county. Bob, in a display of confidence, strolls leisurely to home. Meanwhile, Joe was taught by his mother to always give it his all, even if it’s not necessary, and Joe’s got some legs on him, so he races 'round the bases like a madman. Joe passes third just before Bob reaches home.
Now, under the new rules, that would just be a plain home run and it wouldn’t matter, but under the old rules, would that be a single or a triple for Joe?
No.
Chris Chambliss came back onto the field with a police escort and an umpire and tagged the area that used to contain home plate.
Damn good question.
Here’s my take. Any batter-runner (Joe) that passes a runner (bob) is out out out. So the third out is made. If Bob has not yet scored then the inning is dead at that point.
Extra innings and Bob beats Joe to death with his own bat.
Joe passed third, Joe didn’t pass Bob.
I forgot to add that after the Chambliss incident the rules were modified so you wouldn’t have to go back and touch home under police escort.
Yes, Chambliss did touch home.
Thank you Fiddlesticks for being the only person to clairify the confusion: It’s the defensive team that walks off the field! Nobody else in this whole thread said it!
Taking RickJay at his word (which seems the prudent thing to do concerning all matters baseball), Joe would have been credited with a single since the winning run only advanced one base. Joe (and his handle bar mustache) will live to play another day (game).
Pash
The game-winning hit rule (which turned home runs into singles/doubles/triples) was changed in 1920. Certainly not a coincidence that this rule was added at the dawn of the Babe Ruth/Please Forget About the Black Sox era.
Note Rule Change #7 on this page…
http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/schwarz_alan/1503763.html
The situation that Mr. Schwarz uses to explain the rule seems to be incorrect though.
Schwarz says there was a runner on 3rd with 2 outs. It only takes a single to score him.
He says the score is 4 for the visitors, 3 for the home team, man on third base. The situation he describes (ball over fence, batter is credited with a single) only works if the game is tied. In this case, the batter would be scored a homer because he is the winning run (provided no one else is on base).
Oh, you wanted me to read the WHOLE thing.
Yeah, you do have a point there.