The Red Sox lost 7-0 to the Rangers on Friday night, but the game changed dramatically on one pitch in the fourth inning. The score was only 1-0 and even though Felix Doubront was putting runners on every inning, he was only one pitch away from finishing the frame.
The pitch that changed the game was an 0-2 pitch to Ian Kinsler. Ian tried to check his swing and home plate umpire Mark Carlson asked first base umpire Jerry Davis for the call. Davis gave the safe call, meaning no swing. NESN broadcasters Jerry Remy and Don Orsillio watched the replay, and Remy said sometimes you can’t tell, but this time is pretty clear, Kinsler did swing at this pitch.
If that one pitch was called a strike, the score would have stayed 1-0 after four innings, instead of 6-0 like it ended up.
You can’t really say that either umpire made a bad call on this pitch, because MLB still refuses to recognize what a checked swing really is.
How could you argue a call if there is no definition to argue?
Maybe the next time the baseball rules committee meets they could have a discussion on putting a rule in the book. In 2009, I met MLB executive Joe Garagiola Junior, and asked him why baseball does not have a rule for a checked swing. Four years later, there is still no rule, and they still have not discussed it.
College baseball has changed their own rule since that time.
Section 2.0 of the 2009 NCAA Official Baseball rule book states: A checked swing shall be called a strike if the barrel head of the bat crosses the front edge of home plate, or the batter’s front hip.
In September of 2010, the NCAA changed the rule as it is written in their rule book to the following:
Rule 2-18, Checked Swing (Change to Half Swing): At the beginning of the definition, add: An attempt by the batter to stop his forward motion of the bat on the swing and putting himself in jeopardy of a strike being called. The half swing shall be called a strike if the barrel head of the bat crosses [delete--the front edge of home plate or]the batter’s front hip.
Why would it be so difficult for MLB to put a rule in the book exactly like this one used in the NCAA?
Changing the rule is simple, get rid of the phrase “checked swing” and call it what it really is, a “half swing”.
No need to worry about broken wrists, or the bat crossing the front edge of home plate.
All the umpires need to look for is to see is if the bat crosses the batter’s front hip.
How can you get the call right if you don’t have any definition of what you are calling?