There was a very similar play in the Cubs vs. Padres game yesterday, although it wasn’t in the bottom of the 9th. Bases loaded, one out, Cubs batting. The Cubs batter hits a pop fly that the Padres’ shortstop and leftfielder both try to catch. They collide and drop the ball. The runner on third crosses the plate after the apparent error, but the runners on first and second think that the ball was caught and stay put. The Padres then executed a double play, tagging third base and then second base to force out two Cubs. No run scores. I was listening on the radio, and even Cubs broadcaster Pat Hughes had no idea what had happened.
Follow up on the OP. I was zooming with my kids last night and my daughter found an extended box score. It showed the batter being credited with a sac-fly and an RBI, the fielder charged with an error, and that on that error, the batter reached first and the other two runners reached second and third, respectively. So the universe is unfolding as it should.
Jasmine, Chingon was literally replying to you saying the run would score even if the double play occurred. You’re the one who created this hypothetical.
A run cannot score if the third out is a force play.
This is also wrong. The batter is still awarded a sacrifice fly and an RBI if, in the estimation of the scorer, that is what would have happened had the outfielder made the catch. This is, in fact, exactly how the play was scored at the conclusion of the Blue Jays-Marlins game. This scenario is specifically explained in Rule 9.08(d)(2).
Yes. From the official rules of MLB:
Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a
ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in
the outfield in fair or foul territory that
(1) is caught, and a runner scores after the catch, or
(2) is dropped, and a runner scores, if in the scorer’s judgment
the runner could have scored after the catch had the fly
been caught.
And also:
A run batted in is a statistic credited to a batter whose action at bat
causes one or more runs to score, as set forth in this Rule 9.04.
(a) The Official Scorer shall credit the batter with a run batted in for
every run that scores
(1) unaided by an error and as part of a play begun by the
batter’s safe hit (including the batter’s home run),
sacrifice bunt, sacrifice fly, infield out or fielder’s choice,
unless Rule 9.04(b) applies;
I would say in this case that the run scored unaided by an error, because it would have scored if the fly ball had been caught.
Yes. This situation is similar to Merkle’s Boner:
I don’t know if Bill James came up with this because it’s been a known thing in the rules.
The typical situation is this: suppose there are runners at second and third, one out. The batter hits a very long fly ball. The center fielder makes the catch on the run, two out. The runner from third, tagging up, scores; the runner on second tags, round third and heads for home because the ball was caught so deep, but the fielding team makes a great relay and tags him out at home. That’s three out, but the run scores because the third out was a tag play… but then the defense realizes the run that scored actually left third early. They appeal to third. The “Fourth out” is called, so the run doesn’t score.
(Actually, what happens in the scorebook is THAT third out replaces what we thought the third out was.)
This has never happened in an MLB game although there have been a couple of times it COULD have.