# Is Appeal Allowed - Baseball Rules **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932 "2006-07-10T21:38:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stan-Fan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d26b3c/32.png) [@Stan-Fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan-Fan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/1 "2006-07-10T21:38:10Z")
If a batter hits a walk-off winning home run in the bottom of the 9th inning, the umpire signals it a home run, but the batter fails to step on all four bases while rounding them in his home run trot that won the game, is the defensive team allowed an appeal? Can a defensive player, since the umpire signaled home run ending the game, request another ball be put in play, after the game ended, request the umpire call Play Ball as required under baseball rules, even though the game is already over, and upon hearing this - can the defensive player then touch the runner, throw to the base or touch the base on appeal with a new ball, thus putting the home run hitter out on Appeal, and eliminating the home run, thus continuing the game? I have had trouble locating an answer to this one for years…Thanx… ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/2 "2006-07-10T22:12:24Z")
You never heard of [Merkle’s Boner](http://www.washingtontimes.com/sports/20050919-123408-2839r.htm)? (Quit snickering, of course its safe for work.) > [@](#): > > The New York Giants and Chicago Cubs were tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth with runners on first and third and two outs for the Giants. When Al Bridwell lined a pitch by Jack Pfiester into right-center for a single, Harry McCormick trotted home with the apparent winning run as bedlam ensued among the Polo Grounds multitude. > But wait: The runner on first, 19-year-old Fred Merkle, stopped between first and second when he saw McCormick cross the plate and headed for the clubhouse in center field. > From the distance of nearly a century, it seems obvious that any ballplayer should have realized he needed to reach the next base to remove the possibility of a forceout. But Merkle was merely following an accepted practice of the day: When the winning run scored in the bottom of the ninth, the game was instantly over – or so it seemed. > Unfortunately for Merkle and the Giants, Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers – immortalized earlier that season in Franklin P. Adams’ “Tinker to Evers to Chance” poem – was smarter than most ballplayers. Calling for a ball, any ball, he stepped on second base and claimed a forceout that negated the Giants’ run. > Most fans left the old ballpark in Harlem thinking the Giants had won, thereby stretching their league lead over the Cubs to two games. Only when the next day’s papers hit the streets did they learn the umpires and National League president Harry Pulliam had upheld Evers’ claim. The game had ended 1-1 and would have to be replayed if the two teams ended the season tied for first place. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/3 "2006-07-10T22:42:22Z")
> [@](#): > > The game had ended 1-1 and would have to be replayed if the two teams ended the season tied for first place. …and, to finish the story, the teams _did_ end up in a tie for first at the end of the 1908 season. The Cubs won a single-game playoff, and went on to beat the Tigers in the World Series. And they haven’t won since. The Curse of Merkle! Of course, in the Merkle case, the winning run scored on a single; if it was a home run, no force out would have been possible. I Googled a bit but couldn’t find a rule on this home run thing. What if you hit a walkoff solo home run and twisted your ankle rounding second? Would they make you crawl the last 180 feet? An interesting case is Robin Ventura’s “grand slam single”, in which Ventura hit a game-winning grand slam but was only credited with a single and one RBI because he was mobbed by his teammates and only touched first base. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/4 "2006-07-10T22:51:16Z")
History aside – yes, the defending team can call for a baseball and run an appeal play. The game is not over until the runner legally touches home; if he mises a base on the way, the run does not count (assuming it’s a solo home run to win the game; it gets more complicated with men on base\*) if the play is appealed and the defending team gets the ball to the base before the better has touched it. I would assume the team can ask the umpire to throw them a ball instead of having to retrieve the home run ball. That would apply even if the home run is in the first inning: the defending team would call for a ball and touch the base to put the batter out. (\*if the winning run is scored before the batter reaches the base he forgot to touch, the run counts and it’s a moot point.) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/5 "2006-07-11T01:39:04Z")
Just slightly off-topic, in last night’s Cardinals-Astros game, pinch hitter Roy Oswalt (normally a pitcher) hit a double in the 11th inning. The Cardinals appealed, saying Oswalt had missed touching first base, and Oswalt was called out to end the inning. > [@](#): > > What if you hit a walkoff solo home run and twisted your ankle rounding second? Would they make you crawl the last 180 feet? Oddly enough, this was a central plot point in the 1964 novel [_A Pennant for the Kremlin._](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FCSU4Q/qid=1152581569/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/104-7595142-8195124?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) The batter had hit a home run, but tripped over third base and fell, unable even to crawl. His teammates picked him up and carried him to home plate. However, one of the baserunners crossed behind the batter to help carry him, and the batter was called out for passing the runner. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/6 "2006-07-11T01:54:25Z")
> [@Ichbin Dubist](#): > > What if you hit a walkoff solo home run and twisted your ankle rounding second? Would they make you crawl the last 180 feet? No, you can be replaced by a pinch-runner. A similar event happened last September 14 (the home run wasn’t walk-off, but it makes no difference), when Gabe Kapler injured himself while running the bases on Tony Graffanino’s home run. He was replaced by a pinch-runner who completed his circuit of the bases, ahead of Graffanino. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/7 "2006-07-11T06:08:19Z")
The answer is, yes, there can be an appeal after a walk-off home run. When Bobby Thomson hit his famous home run to clinch the pennant for the Giants in 1951, Jackie Robinson watched the runners to see whether they missed any bases. Only when Thomson touched home plate did Robinson turn and walk off the field. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/8 "2006-07-11T09:29:50Z")
What a haven baseball is for pedants and rules-lawyers! Cricketers would find it weird if a batsman, upon hitting a boundary, had to physically walk or run the runs, still more if someone could be run out on a technicality while doing so. We just rack up the runs (four or six) and get on with the game. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/9 "2006-07-11T13:49:50Z")
I think the question has been answered already, but it is possible for home runs to be appealed after weeks have passed. Recall the infamous pine tar incident with George Brett and the Royals vs. the Yankees. Brett was called out after homering for having too much tar on his bat. The Royals appealed this to the league office after the game was over. The league upheld the Royals, awarded the home run, and ordered that the game be replayed from that point on. So on the Royals’ next visit to New York they picked up the game from that point. Before the first pitch following Brett’s homer, Billy Martin comes out of the Yankee dugout and claims that Brett hadn’t touched all the bases and that these umpires couldn’t prove him wrong since they weren’t there for the first part of the game. The umpire calmly pulls out a notarized statement from the umpires that were there that confirmed that Brett did indeed touch all the bases weeks earlier. Yankees lost that appeal and the game. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/10 "2006-07-11T14:26:04Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > What a haven baseball is for pedants and rules-lawyers! Cricketers would find it weird if a batsman, upon hitting a boundary, had to physically walk or run the runs, still more if someone could be run out on a technicality while doing so. We just rack up the runs (four or six) and get on with the game. 🙂 And baseball players would find it weird if a batter hit a ball and then decided he didn’t want to run and instead wanted to take another at-bat. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/11 "2006-07-11T14:30:35Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > What a haven baseball is for pedants and rules-lawyers! Cricketers would find it weird if a batsman, upon hitting a boundary, had to physically walk or run the runs, still more if someone could be run out on a technicality while doing so. We just rack up the runs (four or six) and get on with the game. 🙂 Given that cricket matches often last longer than the lives of some of the participants, I’d say cutting a few minutes here and there is a bit more important in that sport. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/12 "2006-07-11T14:43:50Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > And baseball players would find it weird if a batter hit a ball and then decided he didn’t want to run and instead wanted to take another at-bat. Well quite, but if we wanted to have to run every time we hit the ball we’d play “tip and run” which is considered more suitable for children. 😛 Also, we find it odd that a batter can be out when the pitcher hit nothing but fresh air. > [@RickJay](#): > > Given that cricket matches often last longer than the lives of some of the participants, I’d say cutting a few minutes here and there is a bit more important in that sport. [That](http://www.britain.tv/unbelievable_facts/unbelievable_facts_quick_singles.shtml) hardly ever happens (see Abdul Aziz). 😃 ---
**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:** [July 11, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/13 "2006-07-11T14:44:42Z")
> [@Stan-Fan](#): > > Can a defensive player, since the umpire signaled home run ending the game, request another ball be put in play, after the game ended, request the umpire call Play Ball as required under baseball rules Since we are getting pedantic with the rules, the umpire is only required to call, “Play.” (Rule 4.02 & Rule 5.01) ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/14 "2006-07-11T14:55:15Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Also, we find it odd that a batter can be out when the pitcher hit nothing but fresh air. Why? If a batter was allowed to sit there and take pitches constantly, the leadoff hitter would just sit there and take dozens of pitches to wear the starter out. If it’s a hittable pitch, the batter should at least make an attempt to swing. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/15 "2006-07-11T17:12:20Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Also, we find it odd that a batter can be out when the pitcher hit nothing but fresh air. Technically, he’s got to hit the catcher’s mitt on the third strike. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/16 "2006-07-11T18:29:28Z")
Technically, a catcher’s so-called “mitt” is properly called a _pud_. And the pitch doesn’t have to hit the catcher’s pud on the third strike, but only be caught before the pitched ball hits the ground, and the catcher can catch it with anything he wants to. The pitched ball could become wedged between the bars of his mask, for instance, whereupon he could remove it with his hand to show the umpire that he had control of the pitch, thus getting the required put out. There … out pedant _that_! (I’ll bet 30 Quatloos that someone does!) ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/17 "2006-07-11T18:59:43Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > Technically, a catcher’s so-called “mitt” is properly called a _pud_. > > And the pitch doesn’t have to hit the catcher’s pud on the third strike, but only be caught before the pitched ball hits the ground, and the catcher can catch it with anything he wants to. > > The pitched ball could become wedged between the bars of his mask, for instance, whereupon he could remove it with his hand to show the umpire that he had control of the pitch, thus getting the required put out. > > There … out pedant _that_! > > (I’ll bet 30 Quatloos that someone does!) Actually, according to rule 1.12, it’s a mitt. And if the ball lodges in the catcher’s mask on strike 3 and remains out of play, the batter is entitled to first base. And no, he can’t catch it “with anything he wants to.” Catching the ball with any part of his uniform other than his mitt would be illegal under the definition of a “catch” in rule 2. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/18 "2006-07-11T19:34:25Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > And no, he can’t catch it “with anything he wants to.” Catching the ball with any part of his uniform other than his mitt would be illegal under the definition of a “catch” in rule 2. I guess technically according to the definition of “catch,” the catcher could bare-hand it, so my original statement should be amended. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-appeal-allowed-baseball-rules/363932/19 "2006-07-12T10:23:49Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > Why? If a batter was allowed to sit there and take pitches constantly, the leadoff hitter would just sit there and take dozens of pitches to wear the starter out. If it’s a hittable pitch, the batter should at least make an attempt to swing. This is as good a time as any to use the phrase “a whole 'nother ball game”, I guess. In cricket, nearly all sides will go into the game with at least four bowlers, often five or more, partly so as to rotate the bowling duties (which they _must_ do every six fair balls in any case) and partly to present the batsmen with a variety of challenges. Standing there and taking lots of deliveries to take some of the sting out of the opening bowlers is indeed part of the technique of an opening batsman. There’s a balance, though; it’s also a strategic advantage to score runs when they’re there to be scored - particularly since, at the beginning of an innings, the field placings will be quite aggressive (cricket fielders have considerable liberty as to where they stand) while the bowlers are fresh and the ball is at its bounciest, and a batsman prepared to take risks can advance the score quickly. Since the batsman must, at minimum, defend a physical target that is larger than his bat, he must at least play at the ball if it is bowled straight, but the bowler is not rewarded simply for beating the bat if he doesn’t also hit something.