Baseball rules corner: in certain cases, base runners can receive "assistance".

THE WORD ASSISTANCE IS defined as "the act of assisting" or "the help given." As for players and umpires, it is important to know when a player is allowed to receive assistance and when he cannot.

Take what happened at the Rogers Centre in Toronto where the Blue Jays hosted the A's on July 5. Toronto second baseman Orlando Hudson hit a home run and while rounding the bases he pulled a hamstring. But he foolishly continued his home run trot despite severely limping his way to home plate which took almost 30 seconds, about the time it takes to get a hot dog and a beer on a slow night.

Umpire Eric Cooper seeing Hudson clutching the back of his leg, offered help but Hudson refused. That might sound heroic on Hudson's part but it really wasn't very wise since he could have received a little baseball welfare as he was eligible for assistance in that situation. By running he risked further injury.

Rule 5.10 (c) (1) reads, If an accident to a runner is such as to prevent him from proceeding to a base to which he is entitled, as on a home run hit out of the playing field, or an award of one or more bases, a substitute runner shall be permitted to complete the play.

With that kind of protection, it probably would have been in the best interests of the Blue Jays for someone to call "time" and intercept the ailing Hudson, replacing him with a substitute runner. That's exactly what the Red Sox did when playing Toronto on the same field on September 14.

In the top of the fifth inning, the Red Sox had Gabe Kapler on first when Tony Graffanino followed with a homer to left that gave the Sox a 3-2 lead. While rounding second base, Kapler ruptured his Achilles tendon. He fell to the ground, got up on one knee but couldn't continue.

Graffanino properly remained about 10-feet away from his fallen teammate. He knew that if he passed him, he would have been called out and credited only with a double.