Baseball Rules Corner.(Brief Article)

Disappearing baseballs can cause some confusion during a game

FROM THIS CORNER, THE STRANGEST play of the 2000 season occurred in St. Louis on July 1 when the Card-inals hosted the Astros. Here is what happened.

The Cardinals had a runner on first when Edgar Renteria hit a sharp grounder to Astros' third baseman Chris Truby. Suddenly the ball disappeared from sight as it found its way into Truby's unbuttoned shirt. Truby kept his cool, reached in and removed the ball that had traveled to his waist.

No call was made on the play by the umpires and Renteria was credited with a base hit. The rulebook addresses baseballs that lodge in the umpire's mask or paraphernalia (5.09-g) but not a player's uniform. A baseball that lodges in an umpire's mask or paraphernalia should be ruled a dead ball and runners are allowed to advance one base. The rule also reads, "A ball lodging in the catcher's protector or uniform is a live ball and in play." And keep in mind that although the rules do not cover all situations where a ball might vanish from sight, umpires can always refer to 9.01-c and rule on any point not specifically covered in the rulebook.

With the above in mind, let's take a journey into the intriguing chapter of disappearing baseballs.

To begin with, Truby is not the only player to ever lose a ball in his jersey. Fans at an Athletics-Red Sox game in 1948 had a titillating experience. Boston second baseman Billy Goodman hit a ground ball to A's shortstop Eddie Joost. While all eyes in the park were focused on the play, the baseball suddenly disappeared into the sleeve of Joost. From that point the sphere made its way to the waist of his shirt. Ted Williams, who was on third, was so startled by the play he didn't even attempt to score.

Absurd you say? There have been other instances where baseballs have flitted into areas where "the sun don't shine". One time former Washington Senator pitcher Dutch Leonard threw one of his famed knucklers to an A's batter who lined a shot that found its way into Leonard's loosely zippered pants. While Leonard frantically tried to free the entangled white sphere from his knickers, the batter-runner reached first.