This feat isn’t actually all that rare, but it is interesting: Baker strikes out four in an inning.
I always like it better when it’s four up, four down than when there are hits and walks sprinkled in.
Moved from MPSIMS to The Game Room.
Not sure if you realize this is what happened.
Has anyone done 5 strikeouts or more in an inning?
Not in major league baseball. 4 is the record.
I’m having trouble understanding how someone can strike out, but because the catcher didn’t catch the ball, the already-out-for-god’s-sake batter gets to run to first? That’s idiotic. Really, baseball, that’s just fucking goddamn stupid! Why don’t they just say nobody’s out until the ump says “Simon says you’re out”? Not enough :rolleyes: for that.
Not that it’s much of a defense, but in cricket, it’s even stupider: the defense needs to specifically request each individual out before the umpire is allowed to call it.
The ball has to be caught for an out to be made. Did you ever notice that the putout on a strikeout goes to the catcher?
Yeah, I do know that, but getting struck out not being an out is like that Holy Grail dude going “It’s just a flesh wound!”
It’s some arcane rule that some Barnum & Bailey wannabe made up in the 1800s so he could sell more phosphos or something. I know that OCD fanboys of baseball think that’s quaint and wonderful, but please!
Huh? Not sure what you mean by this. My scorecard says “K” not “1-2.” In what manner is the out given to the catcher?
10.09
(b) The official scorer shall credit an automatic putout to the catcher when a:
(1) batter is called out on strikes;
from the (smallish) pdf here
Wow. We now know that YOU don’t like the rule. Personally I think it’s a good rule. As an NCAA umpire / high school / youth umpire I think it makes sense. As a side note, people often call it the Dropped 3rd strike rule. It’s more accurately called the 3rd strike rule. It applies, [in most cases, as I am not up to speed on every flavor of rule book out there] not only when the ball is dropped, but anytime it’s not called directly from pitcher to catcher (i.e. ball hits ground on the way to the catcher).
Just like in other instances of baseball, I think the offense should have the opportunity to take advantage of a defensive mistake. What I find so interesting is you seem to dislike it so much, when the reality is it rarely changes the game at all. I’d be surprised if even 1/2 of 1% of the batters in that situation ever make it to first base safely.
How do you feel about the infield fly rule or the DH?
Sorry, I was just being cranky…all in all, it doesn’t really matter that much. I wouldn’t have any problem with the offense taking advantage of a defensive mistake if it wasn’t the dude who already struck out doing it.
So, it’s one…two…three strikes, you’re out unless the catcher drops the ball at the old ball game…
The Infield Fly rule is unpalatable, but a necessity to prevent shenanigans. I am neutral on the DH, believe it or not.
How is dropping a third strike any different from a first baseman dropping the ball on a grounder? In both cases, the fielder needs to catch the ball for the out to count. That’s consistent with any other out in the game (other than rare cases like running out of the basepaths, batting out of order, or a runner being hit by a ball in play)?
I don’t know…it just seems like “Simon Says” to me…I think that the millisecond the third strike is called, it should be an out.
I think of this particular baseball rule as tantamount to negating a TD because a RB fumbled after crossing the plane of the goal line.
I do see the point that the play isn’t complete until the catcher catches it, though.
Who am I to want to reverse over a century of tradition? 
You can say that about any rule in any sport. What logic is there behind stopping the action in a football game and having a specialist run onto the field to execute a soccer kick and score three points instead of six or seven? It’s just the way the game is played.
Baseball wasn’t designed to be a confrontation between pitcher and batter; it was designed to be a game in which the entire defense is involved. The caught third strike preserves a small part of that heritage–except in very limited circumstances, even the best pitcher can’t retire a batter by himself.
Besides, the dropped third strike is responsible for the greatest play in White Sox history–A.J. Pierzynski running to first base while the catcher rolled the ball back to the mound in the 2005 ALCS.
Which World Series was lost because of the dropped third strike?
I wonder if this would nullify a perfect game for a pitcher.
In 1941, the Dodgers lost a game when catcher Mickey Owen was unable to catch the third strike for what would have been the last out of the game. They went on to lose the Series four games to one.
Absolutely.