Picture this: the ball is hit down the line but it goes foul, just barely, despite the first basemans heroic lunge. Isn’t the signal for foul the same as the out one? Anyways, at that point the rain storm pelting the open topped stadium gets too bad fore play to continue, and since enough of the game has been played for it to count, the umps call the game, retreating to drier land?
Could be?
Nope. The signal for a foul ball is to wave your arms over your head, and gesture into foul territory.
The “three team mates” could refer to the batter: himself, first base coach, third base coach, and maybe the batter on the on deck circle?
According to http://www.baseball-excellence.com/sbaseballforums/printthread.cfm?Forum=2&Topic=1532 (sorry if that doesn’t parse right)
“…However, there is an official MLB ruling that appears in the UDP (Umpire Development Program) manual that says that if a batter-runner runs backwards and actually reaches home plate … he’s automatically out, without having to be tagged.__
There’s no penalty for running backwards to avoid a tag, but once the batter-runner reaches home … he’s OUT with or without a tag.”
The Laughing Pirate - The third-base ump wouldn’t be making a foul ball call on a grounder down the first-base line.
The first baseman firing to third on that play is extremely unusual as well. As the announcers say, “always take the sure out”, which usually means going to first base to get the batter/runner. If the first baseman fields a grounder like this, the pitcher will usuall run to first base, and the first baseman will throw the bass to him.
So the solution to this particular puzzle…
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The pitcher failed to cover first base like he was supposed to (or the batter/runner was simply too fast) and the first baseman himself could not get to the base in time after fielding the ball.
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Before the play started, there must have been a runner on second base. I know it says “Since there was no one on base, the first baseman was playing off the bag.” I’m probably stretching here. The guy in the bar has only been looking at the TV for a few seconds, so it’s highly possible that up to this point he had only seen the camera shot of the batter and pitcher (from the camera behind the backstop). Often, a runner leading off second base can’t be seen from this angle. Since the camera always follows the ball, the camera angle would have switched to the first baseman making the play on the ball. This is all the guy had seen so far, until the first baseman threw to third. So, seeing that there was no runner on first at the time, it would be easy for him to assume that there were no men on base - at least first base. Remember, the guy doesn’t really follow baseball. So I think there was an unseen runner on second at the beginning of the play.
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Generally when there are two outs, and runners on the bases, the runners will “run on anything”. After all, if an out is made, the inning is over anyway, and if the out is not made, then a runner on second or third will probably score on the hit. So when the batter hit the ball, the runner on second took off.
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This is all happening fast enough that by the time the first baseman has fielded the ball, the runner has already left second base and passed third base. The camera hasn’t picked this up.
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The third baseman and the third base umpire noticed that the runner failed to step on third base as he went past. When the first baseman was unable to put out the batter/runner, the third baseman signaled to him to throw the ball to him. The third baseman stepped on the bag, and the umpire called the runner out. The runner had probably already crossed home plate.
This solution depends, of course, on there being a runner on second base. The statement “no one on base” actually meaning “no one on first base”, since the guy is only explaining why the first baseman was playing “off the bag”. As it was the bottom of the inning, the batter and runner were with the home team, and the home team’s dugout was probably on the third base side of the field. The manager and other players in the dugout probably also saw that their teammate missed third base, and when the out was called the manager chose not to protest because it was obvious. Or perhaps the reason the umpires ran off the field was to avoid having to argue with the manager 
Phase42 “and the first baseman will throw the bass to him”
Erm… throw the ball to him…
There may have been a runner on 3rd base and he didn’t tag-up between pitches. This would produce a force-out at third if the ball gets to the third basemen and he touches the base before the runner returns. Now the “he and his three team mates” I would have to agree is the runner coming from third and the two base coaches. Maybe?
Is it possible that it wasn’t really a baseball game? I believe that, in rounders, the bases are run clockwise.
Huh? What planet do you play baseball on?
1.) There is NO rule that a baserunner has to tag-up between pitches.
2.) There could be no force out at third unless there were runners on first and second when the ball is hit. Because the puzzle states that “there was no one on base,” this rules out a force play at third.
Now, the puzzle states that “there was no one on base,” which every sportscaster, manager, player, fan, and my aunt Ginny take to mean that there is nobody on first, second, or third base.
So if the answer to the puzzle hinges on an interpretation that “there was no one on base” should mean that there was no one on first base (allowing for runners on second and/or third base), then that’s pretty lame.
Also, if by “there was no one on base” the puzzle means that there was a runner at first base, but he was taking a lead and therefore he was technically not ON the base (just next to it), then that is even lamer.
BTW, according to this Web site on Rounders, players do indeed run clockwise. But the field in no way resembles a baseball field (it’s asymetrical, for one thing), and the “bases” are called “sanctuaries.”
So, if Jeff Lichtman is correct in his assertion that the answer to the puzzle is that the ball game being played was Rounders, then I think the Car Talk puzzlers were really unfair.
The most likely answer, and the most elegant that I’ve seen here, is the mirror. Although the “three teammates” thing is curious.
Could it be that the “hard grounder” hit by the batter was a bunt attempt made with two strikes on the batter? If the bunt goes foul, then the batter is out. This only happens with two strikes on the batter before he attempts the bunt.
If this is the answer, then as soon as the first baseman grabs the ball (if he grabs the ball while it is on or over foul ground), then the batter runner is out right away and the throw to third base (and the subsequent touching of third base) is a red herring.
This answer hinges on a few things.
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One would not ordinarily consider a bunt to be “a hard grounder,” but in some cases, especially if the batter pushes the bat forward (instead of backwards a bit, to absorb some of the pitched ball’s momentum), then a bunted ball could be fairly sharply hit. And if a first baseman is expecting a bunt, i.e., playing far up the line (closer than normal to home plate), then even a bunt could be sharply hit from his point of view. In other words, a bunt could only be rightly called “sharply” hit from the perspective of a first baseman playing closer to normal to home plate (and it would still have to be a harder than normal bunt).
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The puzzle states that the ball is hit “down the first base line.” Typically, one would interpret this to mean that it was a fair ball, but not necessarily so. If my bunting explanation is the correct one, then one must interpret the phrase “down the first base line” as not making any statement about whether the ball was fair or foul, but only making a statement about which general direction the ball was hit. That’s a little sneaky on the puzzle maker’s part, but not out of bounds (pun intended).
Now, I’m thinking that my “batter was bunting with two strikes” solution is correct, especially because of this phrase in the puzzle: “He lunged and grabbed the ball before it could make it into the outfield.” Why? Because on a batted ball that hits the ground before it crosses either first or third base (i.e., “before it could make it into the outfield”), the fairness or foulness of the ball is determined by the position of the ball when it is first touched by a fielder.
If no fielder touches a ground ball before it enters the outfield, the ball’s fairness or foulness is determined by whether it was over fair or foul ground as it passes over first (or third) base.
I think, therefore, that this is why the puzzle specifically mentions that the ball is fielded before it crosses into the outfield.
Well, I did admit that I was stretching a bit
I agree that the mirror answer is the most elegant.
Still, considering that the narrator is truly “not really that interested in baseball”, couldn’t he have made the honest mistake of thinkng no one was “on base”? Considering that baserunners usually “lead off” the base, even if the guy could see the second base bag, he wouldn’t have seen the runner actually standing on the bag. Depending on the camera angle, he may have even mistaken the runner for the shortstop.
I still think a runner from second base missing the third base bag is the most likely answer, if the “mirror” answer isn’t correct. I can’t think of any other reason for the first baseman to fire the ball to third. In a normal game, if there was no way to make the out at first, the first baseman would normally just “eat” the ball rather than risk making an error by throwing it past the third baseman. Remember, first basemen are not accustomed to throwing across the diamond, and the third baseman does not have the extra-large mitt that the first baseman wears. Even when the infielders throw the ball around to each other after the third out (the little celebration toss ritual) the first baseman is the last player to touch the ball. That’s because traditionally, the first baseman is responsible for bringing a ball out for the before-the-first-pitch throwaround. So he gets the ball last and carries it back to the dugout so that it’s in his glove when he takes the field again in the next inning.
On what planet do you play baseball?
Last I checked the infield still exists past first base. Was Buckner playing the outfield when it went through his legs?
The ball does not have to go into the outfield before it can be called fair or foul. It only needs to be past 1st or 3rd (if not already touched) and can still be in what is considered the infield.
“Before it reaches the outfield” should not be a factor in your senario. If they said before it reaches first base it would be different.
BTW, Phase42, when I used the world “lame” I was referring to the puzzle-maker, not you.
AND the official MLB rules are pretty vague (nay, insanely vague) about infield and outfield definitions:
(from Official Rules: 2.00 Definition of Terms)
I was interpreting “outfield” as used in the OP (original puzzle) as an informal way to signify that the ball was fielded before it passed first base. Was this a correct assumption on my part? I dunno. When Car Talk reveals the answer Monday at 2 pm Eastern time, then we’ll know for sure.
Regardless, I agree with NYR407, and my original statement:
“If no fielder touches a ground ball before it enters the outfield, the ball’s fairness or foulness is determined by whether it was over fair or foul ground as it passes over first (or third) base”
should have read:
“If no fielder touches a ground ball before it crosses first or third base, the ball’s fairness or foulness is determined by whether it was over fair or foul ground as it passes over first (or third) base.”
Emphasis (and any cases of screwed-up coding) are of course, mine.
In any case, suppose the first baseman fielded a bunted ball one foot past (behind) first base. And further assume that said bunted ball was foul because it was above foul territory as it passed first base. It could then be said that the ball was still fielded “before it could make it into the outfield” (a condition of the OP).
My “bunted foul ball” solution still holds, even under the modified conditions I outlined in the preceeding paragraph of this post.
In this case, the phrase “before it could make it into the outfield” in the OP is ALSO a red herring.
… sneaky #%!&^%^&% puzzle-maker …
This may be true if they were playing on the moon.
Like you say, what planet do you play baseball on? 
Not all of us will be able to hear the answer, so please post the answer here.
I detest the mirror answer: doesn’t the guy notice that the batter is running from home to third (and that all the uniform numbers and logos are reversed) ?
OK, assuming no one was on any base, all bases were empty. Could it be the batter stepped out of the batters box to hit the ball? Now, if this isn’t illegal, or this doesn’t automatically cause the batter to be out, then don’t assume I played baseball on Mars OK? 
So then I guess the throw to third was meaningless. The infielders only “go around the horn” after the first or second out, and only if there are no runners on base.
He and his three team mates left the field. The two base coaches and the bat boy … HAHAHA!!!
ccwaterback that answer is so good I wish I had thought of it. Oh wait, i did.
I have a feeling we will either be going :smack: for the simplicity of the answer or arguing the actual answer for days to come after Monday.
I will be among those who will not be hearing the answer when it’s broadcast.
I mentioned the time and date that the Car Talk guys will reveal the answer because that’s what they said on the Car Talk Web site. I don’t know if that’s the broadcast time or the time the answer will be posted on the Web. Perhaps the two will occur simultaneously (or thereabout).