July 2, 2010
When to catch it - and drop it
by Rich Marazzi/
Lance Berkman knows what he's doing when it comes to rule 6.05 (l).
A rules-savvy infielder or pitcher can help his team in tight spots by understanding when he can allow a batted or bunted fly ball to fall to the ground untouched without penalty and perhaps pick up a double or triple play. He can even drop a line drive and hope the umpires keep the play alive. Conversely, such tactics can backfire if a ball takes a bad hop or a line drive caroms off the glove of an inexperienced infielder. Instead of getting a sure out, the team is in further trouble. Also, coaching players to purposely drop line drives is viewed as unsportsmanlike by certain coaches, who refuse to teach this kind of baseball. But generally speaking, the positives probably outweigh the negatives and it’s part of the game.
The Astros and Braves met at Turner Field on May 2. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Braves had Melky Cabrera on second and Omar Infante on first and no outs when Derek Lowe popped a bunt near the mound. The umpires, by rule, could not call the Infield Fly Rule because bunts and line drives are not included in the rule. The runners were frozen, anticipating that the ball would be caught.
But Astros first baseman Lance Berkman wisely allowed the ball to fall to the ground untouched for the purpose of turning a double play or maybe a triple play. Berkman picked up the ball and fired to shortstop Jeff Keppinger, who touched second forcing out Infante. Cabrera took off to third and was thrown out by Keppinger. Astros’ third baseman Pedro Feliz properly tagged Cabrera because the force was removed once Keppinger touched second base for the first out on the play.
If Berkman purposely dropped the ball, the umpires most likely would have called for time and ruled Lowe out, but the runners would remain on first and second per Rule 6.05 (l), which protects runners in such situations with less than two outs. The rule, which is a close cousin to the Infield Fly rule, reads, “A batter is out when an infielder intentionally drops a fair fly ball or line drive, with first, first and second, first and third, or first, second and third base occupied with less than two outs.”
The key words in the rule are “intentionally drops a fair fly ball or line drive.” By allowing the ball to fall to the ground untouched, Berkman was not violating rule 6.05 (l) and put his team in a position to collect two or three outs on the same play. Why did Berkman throw to second? He could have thrown to third initially to start a double or triple play and the force would have been kept intact. That perhaps should have been his first option.
Phillies’ shortstop Jimmy Rollins had rule 6.05 (l) in mind in the bottom of the fifth inning in Game 1 of the 2009 World Series at Yankee Stadium.
With Hideki Matsui on first base and no outs, Robinson Cano hit a flare in the direction of Rollins, who attempted to trap the ball and pick-up a 6-6-3 double play. But instead, he unintentionally caught the ball and the umps ruled Cano out. Rollins, unaware that the umpires had ruled that he made a catch, stepped on second and fired to Ryan Howard at first base for what he thought was a twin-killing. Rollins got his double play anyway when Howard tagged Matsui, who apparently was confused standing several feet off first base. Rollins’ mission was accomplished in an unorthodox way.
Allowing a fly ball or fly bunt to fall to the ground untouched is often done to replace a faster runner with a slower runner. Take what happened in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 3 of the 1999 World Series played between the Yankees and Braves.
The Yanks had Derek Jeter on first base and no outs with the scored tied, 5-5. Paul O’Neill bunted a fly ball in the direction of Braves first baseman Brian Hunter, who allowed the ball to fall to the ground untouched. The idea was to force Jeter at second and replace him at first with O’Neill, a slower runner. But the Braves got double their money when O’Neill, upset that he bunted in the air, came out of the box late and was doubled-up at first on the 3-6-3 twin-killing.
Umpires must be ready to protect the runner/runners on line drives or fly balls that are intentionally dropped in the infield since fielders will often do this intentionally to freeze the runners and pick up the double or triple play. That’s what happened in the Angels-Red Sox game at Fenway Park on May 6.
The Red Sox were batting in the bottom of the fifth inning with Victor Martinez on second and Kevin Youkilis on first. Mike Lowell hit a line drive to shortstop Erick Aybar, who purposely dropped the ball. The umpires killed the play by calling Lowell out and kept the runners on their bases.
Plate umpire Bruce Dreckman utilized Rule 6.05 (l) in Game 2 of the 2009 NLCS played between the Dodgers and Phillies in Los Angeles.
In the top of the third inning, the Phils had Carlos Ruiz on first and no outs when Pedro Martinez bunted the ball in the air in the direction of Dodgers first baseman James Loney, who dropped the ball. Loney’s plan was to pick up a double play. But Dreckman spoiled his party when he called time and ruled Martinez out. Ruiz was kept at first. If Loney had allowed the ball to fall to the ground untouched, he might have picked up a double play or at least replaced Ruiz at first base with Martinez.
In summary, a fielder who allows a fly ball to fall to the ground untouched or drops a line drive intentionally always takes the risk that the ball will take a bad bounce and make matters worse. On the other hand, it can create many excellent opportunities for the defensive team and help pitchers escape some difficult jams. Rule 6.05 (l) could be the pitcher’s best friend.
