# Has this scenario ever actually happened in a sporting event? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 31, 2012, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370 "2012-03-31T11:10:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/21 "2012-04-02T15:46:14Z")
I’m not entirely sure the Sales and Mantle situations are directly comparable. If McLain grooved a pitch in for him, that’s certainly questionable, but at least Mantle still had to swing and hit the ball over the fence. Imagine if Mantle had broken his leg, McLain softly tossed the ball underhand allowing Mantle to bunt it into fair territory, then the entire team stood there without picking it up while Mantle hobbled around the bases on crutches. That’s closer to what happened for Sales. I think anybody would agree that – even if it had no effect on the outcome of the game or the standings – such an act would be a mockery of the sport. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/22 "2012-04-02T16:02:12Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > I agree for Strahan and Mantle, but I think there’s a substantial difference between a team record (UConn’s scoring record) and a league record in this respect. From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nykesha_Sales): > I don’t think this one is really comparable to Mantle or Strahan getting a free one. It’s the very definition of “free”. I understand that she might have scored more points if UConn’s coach had let her play more, but the fact was that she didn’t. Just like all the other women who had played, scored, sat out, or got injured before and after her. They gave her two free points, two points she never would have earned if it were straight up competition. Sure the record was a lesser one in the grand scheme of things (being only the school’s record and not the leagues or all time women’s basketball), but I don’t think that makes a lick of difference. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/23 "2012-04-02T16:19:53Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > So, if say, Lance Armstrong and Claude Schmuck (who has no hope of winning the overall yellow jersey) mount a successful breakaway (with Claude doing his share of the work), Lance will usually wave Claude ahead over the finish line, rather than sprinting competitively for it? [Does this change if Claude is part of Lance’s team?] If he is from the same team it is almost a given, but the way you descibe it is in essence correct. Mostly because a stage victory isn’t that important to Armstrong, but very(!) important to Clause Schmuck. Sometimes it isn’t even that direct. It is said that when Michael Boogerd won in La Plagne (tour 2002), Armstrong didn’t go all out to catch him and in return Rabobank (Boogerd’s team) helped out controlling the race in the next stage(s). It is not admitted openly that this was true, but we did see Armstrong coming back quickly…only to ease off a bit at the end; and we did see Rabobank helping out in later stages. Many of these kind of things in cycling (also offering money for a stage win, when a twosome is on its way to the finish) and I only remember this specific one because I’m Dutch:p. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/24 "2012-04-02T16:23:06Z")
The scenario in general sort of reminds me of the [1910 batting championship race](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1910_Chalmers_Award). The circumstances are a little different, as the St. Louis Browns weren’t really being gentlemanly in allowing Nap Lajoie to hit safe at every at bat; they were just sticking it to a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/25 "2012-04-02T17:28:45Z")
Bicycling events when a rider dies is the one I wanted to post but I was beaten by post #4. > [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The first London Marathon was in the same sort of area you are talking about. The two frontrunners in the men’s race had been battling for miles, but decided to hold each others hands and cross the finishing line together. This reoccurred when Rene Fromage and Kit Mambo did the same thing in the 1980 Animalympics. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/26 "2012-04-02T18:05:22Z")
> [@Dublin11](#): > > Ferrari were fined a few years ago for allegedely telling one of their drivers - Felipe Massa - to let another of their drivers - Ferdinand Alonso - pass him in the German Grand Prix. Alonso won the race. > > Accusations of letting your team mate pass you seem to be a part of Formula 1. Either as an agreement between drivers or orders from on high, it seems to be well known that it goes on. > It is against the rules, of course. There was something similar at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. Ford had three GT40s leading the race, two on the same lap, and another 12 laps behind (yes, third place was 12 laps back). With the race wrapped up, they staged the finish so that all three cars would be photographed together crossing the line. It didn’t work out quite as they planned, though. The second place car stayed back a bit, but they were awarded the victory. That car had started several places behind the other, and the race stewards decided that they had traveled the farthest in 24 hours, making them the winners. The margin was estimated to be 8 meters, still the closest finish in Le Mans history. So, the leader did give away the victory to a teammate, but by accident. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/27 "2012-04-02T20:49:26Z")
I was at the Villanova-UConn game that **Hamlet** mentioned. It’s worth noting that, first, the “giveaway” didn’t affect the outcome of the game, since each team gave the other 2 points. And second, even aside from the stunt at the beginning, it was the best damn game of basketball I’ve ever seen (including four years of Villanova men’s home and tournament games): Lots of high-action plays, lots of three-pointers, very few fouls, a close score, even a dramatic half-court buzzer shot for the win. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/28 "2012-04-02T21:45:32Z")
> [@MHaye](#): > > It would be more accurate to say that team orders _were_ illegal when that happened, but that the rule has been changed so it would be allowed now. > > The rule was imposed after a particularly blatant manipulation, again involving Ferrari, back in 2002. At the time, the Ferrari drivers were Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher. At the 2002 Austrian GP, a weekend in which Barrichello basically outshone his team no. 1 driver, Ferrari ordered Barrichello to let Schumacher past near the end of the race. Barrichello did so only in the finish straight, making it clear what had happened.The public, seeing Barrichello deprived of what they (and everybody else) thought was a thoroughly deserved win, made their displeasure known. “Coincidentally,” with a sizable lead going into the last lap of that year’s U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis, Schumacher started slowing down going around the final turn (the one that caused all of the problems a few years later involving Michelin tires, but that’s another story), and Barrichello passed him right at the finish line to win. (Schumacher said he did it because he wanted to try to have himself and Barrichello tie; I think it’s still the closest F1 finish ever.) Here’s one from [one of Rick Reilly’s columns in ESPN’s magazine](http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=5218228); a high school was fielding a softball team for the first time and a number of players were so unfamiliar with the sport that they didn’t even know which end of the bat to hold, so when it came time for its first game against one of the better teams in that state, the good team decided it would forfeit the game and spend the time instead helping the other team learn the fundamentals of the sport. ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/29 "2012-04-03T19:49:10Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Thanks for posting this, I was trying to remember this story. It’s one of my all-time favorites. > > For those who don’t follow the link, it was a college softball game between Washing Oregon University (WOU) and Central Washington (CWU). CWU needed the win to have a chance at the playoffs. > > With two runners on base, the WOU senior right fielder came up to bat and hit the ball over the fence - her first home run ever, in college or high school. But as she rounded first, she missed the base. She turned around to touch the bag… and severely injured her knee, barely able to crawl back to first. > > There was no way she could round the bases, so the umpire ruled that the team could call in a pinch-runner, which would turn the home run into a single. Her team were not allowed to help her run, or she would be called out. > > So players from the other team picked her up and carried her around the basepaths, setting her down to touch each base, scoring the three runs and knocking themselves out of playoff contention. > > Makes me all teary reading the article again. 😃 Certainly a great story, but the umpire blew it. If a batter is injured while trying to proceed to the base to which they are entitled, a pinch runner can be used to complete the play. However, since the umpire blew that call it was damn sporting of the other team to carry her around. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/30 "2012-04-03T21:46:56Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > Certainly a great story, but the umpire blew it. If a batter is injured while trying to proceed to the base to which they are entitled, a pinch runner can be used to complete the play. However, since the umpire blew that call it was damn sporting of the other team to carry her around. To be pedantic, Rule 8.5.3.2 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/31 "2012-04-03T22:05:04Z")
In the Australian Open final in 1975 at a critical stage of the third set Jimmy Connors deliberately double faulted after opponent John Newcombe had suffered two questionable calls. He was leading 40-15 at the time but dropped serve and ultimately the set and match. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/32 "2012-04-04T00:48:46Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > To be pedantic, Rule 8.5.3.2 Can you provide a link or quote the rule please? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/33 "2012-04-04T02:15:11Z")
In the 2006 Winter Olympics, [Sara Renner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Renner#2006_Winter_Olympics), a Canadian cross-country skier in the team pursuit, had her pole broken when another contestant stepped on it by accident. The Norwegian cross-country head coach, [Bjørnar Håkensmoen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B8rnar_H%C3%A5kensmoen), was on the sidelines and immediately handed a ski pole to Renner. The Canadians went on to win the silver medal, and the Norwegian team came in fourth. There’s a good chance that Håkensmoen’s good sportsmanship cost Norway a medal. Canadians responded with an outpouring of e-mails, cards and telephone calls to the Norwegian Embassy in Canada, thanking Norway for their good sportsmanship. Project Maple Syrup donated 8,800 bottles of maple syrup to the Norwegian Olympic Committee and the Norwegian cross-country team, prompting a “thank-you” post from the Norwegian embassy: [Olympic Spirit Creates Goodwill](http://www.emb-norway.ca/Embassy-and-Consulates/norwaycanada/Bilateral-visits/skistavsaken/). ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/34 "2012-04-04T03:31:48Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Can you provide a link or quote the rule please? NCAA Softball Rules > [@](#): > > 8.5.3.2 If an injury to a batter-runner or runner prevents her from proceeding to an awarded base, the ball is dead and substitution may be made. The substitute must legally touch all awarded or missed bases not previously touched. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370/35 "2012-04-04T22:21:28Z")
Besides the sheningans that Schumacher and Barrichello played in F1 a decade ago, there was the 1956 F1 championship where Peter Collins got out of his cars at the Italian Grand Prix to let teammate Juan Manuel Fangio drive it to victory. The wiki article makes it sound like an act of great sportsmanship but I have always heard it was written into Fangio’s contract-he was the big star in 1950s F1 racinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956\_Formula\_One\_season Mantle was a better hitter in 1968 than he was given credit for at the time. People were obsessed with batting averages and his was only .237 But it was The Year of the Pitcher, Yankee Stadium was a pitcher’s park Mantle still got over 100 walks and had an OPS+ of 142. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-scenario-ever-actually-happened-in-a-sporting-event/617370.md?page=1)