Playing a game under protest

Factual Questions
1

So it’s looking bad (again) for Atlanta, but they just announced that they were playing game two under protest because Houston said their bullpen phone was not working when the umps seem to recognize that it is.

What can come out of playing under protest?

2

If the protest is upheld I think the game is replayed from the point of protest. That is, if something is protested in the last half of the third inning with Smith and Jones on 1st and 3rd bases, White at bat, Brown pitching, one out and the count 1 ball and two strikes etc., etc., that situation is recreated and the game goes on from there. It might be that the pitcher can be replaced.

3

Here’s the account of the famous ‘Pine Tar’ game, which was protested, and the innings affected were played over.

http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/history/2003/030624.htm

4

That was the rule. They changed it some time ago. Now teh protest has to be upheld, and the league president (or commisioner in teh case of a World Series game) has to also agree the incorrect ruling had a material impact on the game.

5

Now that the game is over and Atlanta won, what will happen, especially if the protest is upheld?

6

Because the Braves won, the protest will not be reviewed by the NL officials.

7

[QUOTE=Julius Henry]

Yep. Since the team that made the protest won, the protest becomes moot, i.e. stripped of significance.

8

In this situation the protest never would have been upheld. At least, not in the sense that the rules describe. At most MLB may have fined Houston. MLB is not about to issue a forfeit or replay a game for something like this.

9

Is there some sort of filing fee that goes along with lodging a protest? If there is, and the Braves withdrew their protest (which almost surely would have happened), do they still have to pay that fee?

10

I don’t believe there is a fee in MLB. Many youth leagues have protest fees to discourage over-protesting by coaches who have never actually read the rules. MLB managers (hopefully) know the rules well enough that that’s not a problem. Even if there were a fee the protest goes poof when Atlanta wins the game, so no, they wouldn’t have to pay it.