August 2, 2010
The baseline rule is poorly written
by Rich Marazzi/
You're not necessarily out if you run on the infield grass.
From this corner, the most poorly written rule in the game of baseball is the baseline rule. A well-coached runner can be taught how to take advantage of a rule that has more holes than Swiss cheese and is inconsistently applied.
There is no section of the Official Baseball Rules titled, “The Baseline.” One has to break down Rule 7.08 (a) (1) and speculate as to its meaning and intent. It reads, “Any runner is out when he runs more than three feet away from his baseline to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner’s baseline is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely.” The rule is virtually the same whether playing under high school, college or pro rules. In essence, a runner can go just about anywhere unless he is avoiding a tag in which case he has three feet in either direction.
Notice that the rule states “when the tag attempt occurs” but it doesn’t define at which point a tag attempt starts. Does it begin when the defensive player with ball in hand or glove begins to make progress toward the runner, or does it begin when the fielder extends his hand or glove with ball toward the oncoming runner? It is the latter interpretation that major-league umpires go with. Therefore, prior to the tag attempt the runner by rule is virtually free to go wherever he wants. He can run under or around the fielder and disappear from a fielder’s sight in his attempt to escape a tag.
The Yankees hosted the Red Sox on Aug. 30, 2007. In the top of the seventh inning, the Sox had Kevin Youkilis on second and Mike Lowell on first when J.D. Drew tapped a ground ball to Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Just prior to A-Rod fielding the ball, Youkilis altered his base path toward the infield grass, probably to avoid a possible tag. A-Rod moved in the direction of Youkilis, who was a few feet in front of the Yankees’ third baseman. A-Rod made a futile attempt to reach Youkilis, who arrived at third safely. He then threw to first base and retired Drew.
Yankees manager Joe Torre argued that Youkilis ran out of the baseline after Rodriguez made a significant attempt to tag him. The umpires met and reversed the call, deciding that Youkilis did violate the above rule.
Derryl Cousins, the second base umpire, did not rule Youkilis out when the play occurred. Cousins said that third-base umpire Mark Carlson had called Youkilis out as soon as he ran onto the infield grass, but nobody seemed to see or hear the call. If he did make the call, why did the umpires have to go into crew consultation? Red Sox manager Terry Francona thought that Cousins had a better view of the play. In subsequent similar plays involving A-Rod, Dustin Pedroia and Ken Griffey Jr. were called safe advancing from second to third and escaping A-Rod’s tag attempt. If you’re keeping score, it’s 2-1 in favor of the runners.
Broadcasters like to say that the runner should be called out because he ran onto the infield grass. This is not true. Since a runner creates his own baseline before the tag attempt begins, it is legal to run on the infield grass or the outfield grass for that matter unless the runner is avoiding a tag.
The rule is confusing and inconsistently applied. During the 2008 season, I happened to be in the umpire’s room at Yankee Stadium when Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi paid a visit with his laptop to review the aforementioned A-Rod-Griffey play. After we discussed various aspects of the rule with the umpires, Girardi, who played in 1,277 major-league games over 15 seasons and has a degree in industrial engineering from Northwestern University, said in frustration, “I don’t know the rule.” Don’t feel bad Joe. I’m not sure anybody does.
On Oct. 1, 2005, the Yankees and Red Sox played at Fenway Park. The Yankees had the bases loaded when Robinson Cano hit a grounder to the right side of second base that was fielded by shortstop Edgar Renteria. Hideki Matsui, the runner on first, anticipating a 4-4-3 tag-’em out, throw-’em out double play, altered his running path 7-to-10 feet (or more) from Renteria, running onto the infield grass. Renteria was frozen for a split second since there was no runner in his vicinity to tag. Matsui had disappeared. Renteria threw to first too late to get Cano while Matsui advanced to second.
Second-base umpire Paul Nauert said that since Renteria made no attempt to tag Matsui, he was within his rights to deviate his baseline like he did. Francona argued the call. He said, “I can’t expect my fielder to chase the runner into the dugout.” Francona was right.
In my opinion, Matsui should have been called out for the sake of fairness, but technically he did not violate the baseline rule. In retrospect, Nauert made the proper call.
But let’s place the blame where it belongs – the Playing Rules Committee and the Official Baseball Rules. Stronger language is needed in the rule to clarify at which point the tag attempt begins. In my opinion, the runner needs to be confined to a more restrictive lane to allow the fielder time to initiate his tag attempt. Under the current rule, the runner has little restriction until he is actually avoiding a tag. I would restrict the runner to three feet in either direction at the point of his location when the fielder is about to field the ball. That would put an end to runners taking a circuitous route around infielders to avoid tags and establish a landscape that is fair to both the runner and the fielder. Is anybody out there listening?
When asked about his play with A-Rod, Youkilis commented, “That’s one of those things in baseball that never gets identified as what is the exact rule …” He’s right.
A wise team will take advantage of what the rule allows. A clever runner who anticipates an imminent tag attempt will disappear and escape and hope the umpire follows the rule as written. Remember, a runner makes his own baseline. How often do we see a runner take a wide turn around first or third base when the ball is in the outfield?
From a defensive standpoint, the player should initiate the tag by showing interest as soon as possible. He should extend his arm with ball in hand or glove toward the runner to give the umpire a chance to invoke the three-foot rule.
Rich Marazzi is the rules consultant for the Red Sox, Yankees, Indians and Astros. If you have a rules question, e-mail him at Rtmarazzi@aol.com.
