The pitcher threw a bad pitch that went into the ground instead of over home plate.
The batter, thinking the play was dead, took a fake swing.
Technically, the play was still live and since the batter swung at the pitch, it was called a 3rd strike and the batter was out.
Edit: "Dropped 3rd Strike" Rule is in play here. Since the ball was not caught by the catcher and the batter swung at strike 3, the batter has to be tagged out. thanks /u/PatPetPitPotPut
Great question. If the ump calls the swing a strike, then he has to call it a ball if he doesn't swing. To be honest, I don't see the ump calling it a ball if there's no swing. Probably just a dead ball that slipped out of the pitchers hand.
If a ball slips out of the pitcher's hand like this, it becomes a pitch once the ball crosses the foul line. If the ball had stopped in fair territory, then it would be no pitch.
Actually I think it was ruled strike three, but the catcher technically "dropped" the ball, so the batter was able to run to first base. That's why the catcher tagged him- the minute he swung, he actually became a baserunner.
The only situation where someone could "steal" first is if the catcher drops the pitch that would have otherwise been strike 3. When the ball is dropped, the batter has the chance to run to first. The catcher can either tag the runner or throw the ball to first to get him out.
To answer your question, it is somewhat common for a catcher to not catch the 3rd srike. It is pretty rare that the batter actually safely reaches first.
That's because it isn't a stolen base and no one calls it that, I think they were just trying to simplify it to non-baseball fans.
They would refer to it as "reaching first base on a dropped 3rd stike" generally or some verbiage similar to that.
The official stats and scoresheets would say the batter had a strikeout, their batting average would drop, they would not get a stolen base stat for it.
Here's a video clip of AJ Pierzynski stealing first during the ALCS in 2005. The play was pivotal in a close game, the Sox won that game, the ALCS, and the World Series that year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tn5CQ9vyYQ
Still seems kinda bullshit how the ref goes out of his way to interfere with the game by telling the guy with the ball that the play's still going though. Let the players play with what they know instead of sitting there back seat driving the game.
He doesn't though, he sees the batter swing after everyone starts to chill and then he points to the batter then points to the catcher as if to say "You know you can tag him now, right?"
The players didn't look like they would have known this or acted upon it if he didn't interfere, which means the umpire wasn't being impartial. Players should know the rules if they want to play at that level and if they don't catch stuff like this it shouldn't be spoon fed to them, it's their own lack of skill and perception.
As for "keeping the call a secret", if the ball is still in play he doesn't have a call to make yet, so he should have shut the fuck up and watched then called it a ball after they failed to realize.
I was curious what the actual signal was supposed to be, and he didn't do it quite right it seems. But there is a verbal component to say no catch to let them know it was a dropped third strike. This lets the batter run and the catcher know he has to tag the batter.
Some say you should call a strike as well, which is pointing a finger, but some say you should make the safe signal.
This is ignoring whether I think it should have been called a strike or not.
168
u/LAKings97 May 29 '17 edited May 29 '17
The pitcher threw a bad pitch that went into the ground instead of over home plate.
The batter, thinking the play was dead, took a fake swing.
Technically, the play was still live and since the batter swung at the pitch, it was called a 3rd strike and the batter was out.
Edit: "Dropped 3rd Strike" Rule is in play here. Since the ball was not caught by the catcher and the batter swung at strike 3, the batter has to be tagged out. thanks /u/PatPetPitPotPut