# Baseball rules: This video game is wrong, isn't it? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 23, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-this-video-game-is-wrong-isnt-it/504015 "2009-07-23T16:57:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phatlewt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Phatlewt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phatlewt)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-this-video-game-is-wrong-isnt-it/504015/1 "2009-07-23T16:57:35Z")
Playing MLB 08: The Show a few weeks ago, I ended up winning a game that I didn’t deserve to win. Bottom of the 9th, 2 outs with a runner on third. The game is tied. The batter hits a ground ball to first base. The first baseman makes the play, and beats the runner to the bag for the force out. End of Inning, right? Well, the game seemed to think it was the end of the game, since it counted the run from third. [I took a quick video of the play](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9HmH4kU5OQ). This is just a game scoring error, right? Does there exist any circumstances in which the a run would count that’s batted in by a guy forced out at first? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-this-video-game-is-wrong-isnt-it/504015/2 "2009-07-23T17:07:59Z")
I was wrong, apparantly. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-this-video-game-is-wrong-isnt-it/504015/3 "2009-07-23T17:47:57Z")
The game is wrong. From the mlb [Rules](http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/04_starting_ending_game.pdf): > [@](#): > > One run shall be scored each time a runner legally advances to and touches first, second, third and home base before three men are put out to end the inning. EXCEPTION: A run is not scored if the runner advances to home base during a play in which the third out is made (1) by the batter-runner before he touches first base; (2) by any runner being forced out; or (3) by a preceding runner who is declared out because he failed to touch one of the bases. So he should have been out, no run scored. This happens all the time - it’s a pretty huge mistake for the game programmers to make. If the batter tries to stretch it out to a double, and gets tagged out at second base for the third out, the run counts, as long as the runner got to home before the tag out. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-this-video-game-is-wrong-isnt-it/504015/4 "2009-07-23T18:21:32Z")
About the only mitigation I can think of is that sometimes \*MLB 08 The Show \*attributes errors to clean plays and vice versa. So while, yes the inning should have been over, once an error was flagged (in whatever table in the innerworking of the game) then that rule went out the window. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-this-video-game-is-wrong-isnt-it/504015/5 "2009-07-23T18:45:48Z")
Huh. I’m actually quite surprised such a basic scoring error would occur. I’m wondering whether this happens in all such situations in the game, or whether there’s just an odd bug you tripped across that’s hard to reproduce. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-this-video-game-is-wrong-isnt-it/504015/6 "2009-07-23T20:46:56Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m wondering whether this happens in all such situations in the game, or whether there’s just an odd bug you tripped across that’s hard to reproduce. I’m voting weirdness/bug. I’ve logged hundreds of hours with this game (however, I log most of my time in the Road to the Show mode and not the Franchise mode) and I’ve never had this happen. ---
**Author:** ![Phatlewt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Phatlewt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phatlewt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-this-video-game-is-wrong-isnt-it/504015/7 "2009-07-24T16:01:41Z")
Thanks. I was fairly sure that this was a simple rule and that I wasn’t on crack. [QUOTE=Jack Batty] About the only mitigation I can think of is that sometimes MLB 08 The Show attributes errors to clean plays and vice versa. So while, yes the inning should have been over, once an error was flagged (in whatever table in the innerworking of the game) then that rule went out the window. [/quote] What if an error had occurred? Could there be an error if the runner didn’t reach base? Example: the batter hits an easy pop up to first. The first baseman drops the ball, but is able to pick it up and step on the bag before the runner touches first base. Q1. Is that an error? Q2. Does that change the rules for scoring the runner from third? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-this-video-game-is-wrong-isnt-it/504015/8 "2009-07-24T16:15:50Z")
> [@Phatlewt](#): > > Thanks. I was fairly sure that this was a simple rule and that I wasn’t on crack. > What if an error had occurred? Could there be an error if the runner didn’t reach base? > > Example: the batter hits an easy pop up to first. The first baseman drops the ball, but is able to pick it up and step on the bag before the runner touches first base. > > Q1. Is that an error? > Q2. Does that change the rules for scoring the runner from third? Q1 - If he makes the putout at first, I don’t see why it would be counted as an error Q2 - Even if it were, the runner from third would not score. See the rule quoted above. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-this-video-game-is-wrong-isnt-it/504015/9 "2009-07-24T16:17:47Z")
That is not an error, since the out is made anyway. It does not affect the runner from third, since the out at 1B was a forceout. It always is, since the batter can’t retreat back to home. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-this-video-game-is-wrong-isnt-it/504015/10 "2009-07-24T16:55:37Z")
> [@Phatlewt](#): > > Thanks. I was fairly sure that this was a simple rule and that I wasn’t on crack. > What if an error had occurred? Could there be an error if the runner didn’t reach base? > > Example: the batter hits an easy pop up to first. The first baseman drops the ball, but is able to pick it up and step on the bag before the runner touches first base. > > Q1. Is that an error? > Q2. Does that change the rules for scoring the runner from third? Well, I was talking about the video game’s guts and not actual baseball rules. Obviously, I’m just guessing, but in this particular game (_MLB 08 THe Show_) I’ve seen grounders go through players legs ruled as a hit, and I’ve seen cleanly fielded grounders that just get beaten out ruled as errors. I’m just guessing that some error flag or something got set in some goofy programming that caused the bug and allowed the run to count. Your examples, in real baseball, wouldn’t be an error and wouldn’t effect the scoring. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-this-video-game-is-wrong-isnt-it/504015/11 "2009-07-24T17:30:44Z")
I don’t think the scorer calling/not calling an error can ever change the play/ruling on the field. They’re purely a statistics thing. (now waiting patiently for someone to quote MLB rule 23.04(b), 1978 clarification…) Hmm - I just thought of an odd scenario, but I’m going to start a new thread on it.