Baseball rules corner: rule in calling "time" can cause batters to be deprived of a hit.(Brief Article)

IN THE APRIL 14TH YANKEES-RED SOX game at Fenway Park, third baseman Robin Ventura led off the eighth inning. With a 3-2 count, Sox pitcher Sunny Kim fired a pitch right down Broadway. But just before the pitch, first base ump Larry Young called "time" because a beach ball had rolled onto the field near the backstop behind the catcher.

Given new life, Ventura turned an apparent strikeout into a run when he hit a shot into the center field bleachers, giving the Yankees a 6-2 lead.

Under rule 9.04(b-2), field umpires, as well as the plate umpire, have the authority to call "time" when they deem it necessary. This has led to one of the most colorful and controversial chapters in baseball history.

The Mariners and Padres met on July 14, 2000, in an interleague battle in San Diego when the M's John Olerud was victimized by 9.04(b) moments before becoming the beneficiary of the rule.

Seattle had runners on first and second with one out in the sixth, trailing 2-1 when Olerud doubled to left. But it turned out that first base umpire Jim Wolf had called "time" because a baseball had come out into fair territory in right field near the Mariners' bullpen even though no relievers were warming up at the time.

Seattle skipper Lou Piniella stormed out of the dugout and raised a fuss but got nowhere as he stalked from ump to ump, his cap in hand. The run was erased and the runners returned to first and second. Olerud strolled back to the batter's box and drove a 1-0 Brian Meadows' pitch into the right field seats giving the M's a 4-2 lead. When John Olerud retires, he can thank Wolf for the extra RBIs in his career log.

They say what goes around comes around. Seven years earlier (August 22, 1993) Piniella was not so lucky when his Mariners provided the opposition for the Blue Jays at the Sky-Dome. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Roberto Alomar flied out to right. But just before Seattle pitcher Chris Bosio delivered the pitch, a fan ran onto the field which prompted first base umpire Vic Voltaggio to halt play before the pitch. Given another life, Alomar singled to center which led to a four-run rally and a 12-7 Toronto win.