1). If a batter pops up the ball, and player #1 goes for the ball but it bounces off the top of his glove to player #2, who catches the ball, is it an out? 2). Can a fielder jump over the fence to catch a home run hit? 3). What's stopping a midget from playing and getting an automatic walk? 4). If an umpire alters the game, like getting hit with the ball, what happens? 5). If a pitcher throws an errant pitch into the stands, do the runners on base get to go home, since the ball is technically in play?
1) Yes 2) If he lands back on the field. 3) Good question, but unless he is one athletic dude, he probably can't play on the field (defense) that well, or be a great baserunner. 4) Umpires are in the field of play, I believe. Kind of like the flag pole at MMP. 5)I think they get one base, but I don't know how that would happen because most/all parks have netting behind home plate.
Actually its not guaranteed he would get a walk. The reason being is because the pitcher,if he is good enough can throw the pitch in the midget's strike zone.
In addition to what the other posters have said, a midget is not likely to be all that great at hitting, so the pitcher can just groove fastballs down the middle and get him out on a weak pop-up/grounder, or a strikeout. If there was an exceptionally gifted player that happened to be very small, the reduced strikezone would be an advantage, but the short arms would definitely reduce their plate coverage.
There once was a midget (Eddie Gaedel) that played in the major leagues for one at bat as a stunt devised by Bill Veeck. While midgets aren't "specifically" forbidden, there is a rule against making a travesty or a mockery of the game and midgets fall under that category (just stating the baseball rules, not trying to start anything).
I imagine most pitchers would love facing a guy 7' 6". Essentially, all contracts have to be approved by the commissioner. Anything that would appear to be a stunt would not be approved.
It should actually be that they get two bases. If any player fields a ball and throws it into the stands, the runners get to advance two bases from where they were. I'm assuming that it would be the same for a pitcher throwing an errant pitch into the stands. However, due to all the netting around the back of the diamond in most stadiums, that would be very hard to do. I remember once Derek Bell caught a ball in the outfield for the 2nd out. He forgot what out it was, flipped the ball into the stands, and started to trot off the field. The player on 2nd was given his two bases and scored on the error. Stupid Derek Bell.
I've got a couple of questions: 1) If there's are two teams tied atop of a division at the end of the season, and there's a playoff game to decide who goes on to the postseason, do the stats from the games count as playoff stats, regular season stats, or something else? If say Roy pitched the tie breaker and went into it with 19 wins on the year and the Astros won, would that game count as his 20th win? 2) Do playoff stats count as career stats? Do Roger's postseason numbers count toward his career numbers? 3) At what exact moment does a balk occur? I know the pitcher cant stop his movement past a certain point and "can't try to trick the runner" (yeah, I know, the rule's a joke). But at what point is it actually a balk?
1) Yes. Any playoff game to determine the wild card or division winner is counted as a regular season game. As a matter of fact had the Astros-Phillies had to have a one game playoff, it would have officially been the Astros 164th game of the year due to the rainout that had to be replayed from the beginning because it was tied. 2) No. Playoff stats are counted as "playoff" stats and are not credited towards your official stats.
What's stopping a fielder from throwing his glove at a home-run baseball and knocking it to the ground?
When is "catcher's indifference" used? I've seen some catchers not throw to second and a stolen base is recorded, but other times it's ruled as catcher's indifference...
It is used when, in the official scorer's mind, the fielding team is making no attempt to prevent the runner from stealing a base. For example, if the Astros are up 8-4 and the opposing team has a runner on first with 2 outs in the 9th, more than likely the Astros don't care if he steals 2nd, so they "ignore" him.
It is also three (I think) additional bases if it happens and the umpires can rule an HR anyway if a fielder happens to do it. Also, you cannot use another piece of equipment (e.g. hat, catcher's mask) to "field" a ball. That, too, is 2-3 additional bases. A while back, a ball was thrown in the dirt that the catcher blocked. His mask came off and he used it to pick up the ball. The umpire did nothing. The opposing manager (Gene Mauch?) came out and argued and the umpire agreed and gave the base runner the 2 or 3 bases.
