Find the quote in the rule book that backs this up and I’ll believe you. But as quoted above I don’t think that’s true.
Happened again last night - MLB.com | The Official Site of Major League Baseball
If you watch that video, it has multiple calls of the play, one is obviously from a Jays broadcast, but the last one I suspect of being from a Royals radio broadcast. The play by play guy says “Welcome to the world of artificial turf. That play would never have happened on real grass.” I completely disagree. I think real turf would have given the fielder a slightly slower bounce to field, but I still think they would have had him at first.
This really isn’t a super rare play. I’ve seen it a few times at the MLB level, and was on the receiving end of this as a college player. I was a good hit, good field, but slow player, so first base was my natural position. The rightfielder took a one hop line drive much like in the above video, and threw out the opposing teams catcher. Combination of catcher speed, sharp liner, and a strong arm in right field.
Hell, it happened yesterday. Jose Bautista threw out Billy Butler at first. EDIT: and I see I’m late to the party on pointing that out 
Wall != roof. How many players have been afraid of being beaned by a ball that fell out of the ivy?
Great post/username combo.
I thought the rule was if it bounces off fielder over fence in fair territory=home run. If it bounces off fielder over railing in foul territory =double. So if a line drive gets the pitcher on the (exceptionally hard) head and bounces back over the screen behind the catcher, that’s a double.
I remember seeing a ball get caught behind a sign Velcro’ed onto the outfield wall in Montreal. The umps had the sense to apply the Wrigley Rule and call it a double.
Those aren’t really plays though…unless…the opposing team had something to do with it!! :eek:
Whoops, you are right. This posting has jogged my memory a bit and I just realized that I was remembering that backwards. A double it was 
More or less, yes; the various possibilities are covered under Rule 6.09. The rule, specifically, is that a ball that strikes a fielder and then goes over the fence is a home run if the place at which the ball leaves the field of play is
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In fair territory AND
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Is more than 250 feet from home plate. There being no outfield fences that close to home anymore, the distance isn’t an issue in MLB, anyway. Dunno what weird minor league parks are out there.
In reading the baseball rules, there is a fair amount of gray area in the HR/GRD debate, so I posted a question on an umpiring forum. The discussion has been interesting. These are not MLB umps responding, I don’t believe, but it’s an interesting discussion nonetheless.
True, and so, withdrawn.
What about Eddie Gaedel? Only time a dwarf appeared in a major league ball game. Draw a walk on four pitches, and was replaced with a pinch-runner.
It happened at least one other time:
“In April (1974) he (Willie Horton) was involved in a bizarre incident at Fenway Park when he lofted a high foul fly directly over home plate that struck a pigeon. The bird landed at the feet of Red Sox catcher Bob Montgomery.”
On May 23, 1999, Brady Anderson of the Orioles was Hit By Pitch twice in the same inning.
He’s the only person ever to have this happen in the American League, but it’s happened five times in the National League.
Unbelievably ( considering the timing), there was a walk-off triple in last night’s Red Sox game. However they’re apparently not quite as rare as I said:
While batted balls striking a pebble and taking a bad hop are pretty common, the old Comiskey Park had been built over a dump and sometimes debris such as a copper kettle would work itself to the top.
Happened only one other time, as far as I can tell (at least since 1889 ;)).
Also probably the only time a pitcher (Bob Cain) laughed throughout an at-bat.
Cain was later the only person from baseball to attend Gaedel’s funeral.