Well, that makes it not a total loss, But… (besides lol@me making the team) you still had the time sink of attending the events, and I’m guessing you effectively couldn’t ditch that class.
ETA:
I was an incredibly depressed, closeted slacker who daydreamed through class and did zero homework
I’m just making fun, as we all come from different places, etc/etc/etc. Not everyone grew up in coastal SoCal.
I wasn’t depressed or closeted, but I did spend most of my time on grade school campuses daydreaming, and had a hard-n-fast rule to never do homework under any circumstances. But… I pegged the SAT, and went on to get a Math degree from UCSD.
This “happened” in the 1970s, on the ‘Game of the Week’, in the Astrodome, and got written up in the national press. I failed googling a reference (every hit came back about the Astros cheating LMFAO). So I’ll just make up the details…
There was a close tag play earlier in the game that went against the Reds, and their HOF manager Sparky Anderson went out on the field to dispute it… as they did back in those days.
Later, the Astros were batting in the bottom of an inning, runner on first, two out. An Astros hits a single, and gets caught in a rundown trying to stretch it to a double. That tag out was again disputed by Sparky on the field.
Top of the next inning… there’s close “safe” call on a tag, again going against the Reds. Once again, Sparky disputes the call on the field. In the middle of that tongue lashing, the umps order a run put on the board for the Astros… “obviously” penalizing the Reds for Sparky’s repeated on field disputes. The broadcast clearly showed, on that original Astrodome scoreboard, the Astros “scoring” a run while on defense.
What really happened was the aforementioned Astro runner on first had scored before the batter got tagged in the rundown. But… nobody in the world seemed to know this except the home plate umpire… who suddenly realized the scoreboard had it wrong during the middle of the dispute the next half inning.
The actual answer is, of course, “no”.
The remaining unanswered baseball rules trivia: Warning: the dark side of the rule book is in play.
#5. What happens if the batter due up is on base?
#6. What’s the most number of outs that can be made in an inning?
#12. There’s a few… name a football like penalty in baseball.
#14. What happens if both managers refuse to announce their lineup first?
#20B ~NEW~. Outdoor stadium, night game, no overhanging gear… a fly ball is hit over the height of lights… it doesn’t land on the field of play, nobody sees it come down, nobody spots it on the ground afterwards. It just goes up… and never “comes down”. What happens?
#21 ~NEW~. How many SB in an inning without scoring a run?
One of my favorite books is “The Glory of Their Times”. Published in the early 60’s, it’s a compilation of interviews with retired ballplayers who played in the 10s and 20s.
One of the stories told is about a game situation where with runners on 1st and 3rd, the base runner on 1st signaled to the runner on 3rd that they would attempt a double steal. The runner on 3rd missed the signal, so after the runner on 1st stole 2nd, he “stole” his way back to first on the next pitch, so that they could attempt the double steal again.
I feel like this kind of scenario would allow an almost unlimited number of SBs in an inning.
on strikeout. Ball is in the dirt, batter Ks and runs to 1st. It’s not ruled a wild pitch or passed ball, and runner gets a SB (1)
Runner on 1st steals 2nd, then 3rd. (2,3)
Another dropped-pitch SB (4)
Runner on 1st steals 2nd (5)
Another dropped-pitch SB (6)
All three base-runners attempt to steal. The one going home is caught for out #1. (7,8)
With 1st base open, another dropped 3rd strike loads the bases. (9)
Another triple-steal and another out at home plate (10,11) out #2
Another dropped 3rd strike to load the bases again (12)
With two outs, 1st base doesn’t need to be open to steal 1st. Dropped-pitch 3rd strike. The catcher could step on home plate to force the 3rd out, but instead he gets the runner on 3rd in a run-down. The batter and runners on 1st and 2nd steal their bases (13,14,15) before the runner going home is tagged to record the 3rd out.
Ding, ding, ding… we have a winner, Wade Boggs gets a chicken dinner !!!1!
Rule 5.09(b)(10): Any runner is out when, after he has acquired legal possession of a base, he runs the bases in reverse order for the purpose of confusing the defense or making a travesty of the game.
The first thing to know about Herman “Germany” Schaefer is that he was a consummate showman… the type of guy who would call his own game-winning homer, hit it to that exact spot, then slide into every base on his way home.
That’s a story for another time, though. Instead, let’s talk about Schaefer’s Washington Senators taking on the Chicago White Sox back on August 4, 1911. With teammate Clyde Milan on third as the winning run, Schaefer stood on first base with just one out – the perfect opportunity to attempt a steal and draw a throw to second base, allowing Milan to score.
Alas, when Schaefer took off, Chicago’s catcher hung on to the ball, foiling the plan. Now standing on second, there was nothing for Schaefer to do but sit tight and hope that one of his teammates could come through at the plate … or, alternatively, to steal first base and try the whole thing again.
Without any hesitation, Schaefer got up and took his lead on the wrong side of the base. Then, on the very next pitch, he sprinted and slid back into first. Probably more baffled than outraged, the White Sox protested to the umpire without calling time – and in the ensuing commotion, Schaefer got up and started running to second again, this time getting caught in a rundown. Alas, the shenanigans were for nought: Milan attempted to score while the attention was on Schaefer, but the White Sox noticed in time and threw him out at the plate.
Schaefer actually wasn’t the first to pull the stunt – that honor probably belongs to the New York Giants’ Fred Tenney – but he was certainly the last: In 1920, MLB stipulated that any runner who ran the bases in reverse was automatically out.
However, that only outlawed an intentional “steal” of 1st from 2nd. In 2016, the Twins Jean Segura, with shocking ignorance of the rules of the game he’s paid millions to play, combined with a trifecta of umpire fuck-ups… stole 2nd from 1st, then unintentionally “stole” 1st from 2nd, then was caught trying to steal 2nd from 1st again.
The inning began normally, as Segura singled and stole second. After Ryan Braun walked, Cubs pitcher Shawn Camp picked Segura off second. He managed to escape the rundown and return safely to second, where he found Braun already on the bag. Both players were tagged, and Braun was called out.
However, Segura also thought he was out, and started to return back to the dugout. On the way, his first base coach stopped him, keeping him at first base, allowing Segura to essentially steal the bag. Just like with Schaefer’s exploits, this story does not have a happy ending for Segura, as he was thrown out trying to steal second for a second time in the inning.
A quick look-up indicates you’re right. I thought it was recorded as an official SB if it was not a passed ball or wild pitch, but apparently it’s “stealing first” with scare quotes, and not an actual SB.
Agree. At the very least they need to have a disclaimer like the prescription drug commercials. “Joining the military is known to increase the likelihood of suicide, PTSD, and sexual assault.”
If this wasn’t a covid compromised season, and there were fans in the stands, and neutral sites weren’t being utilized… the Dodgers game(s) at Petco would be going off in ways that may not be believable to those not from here.
It’d be 3+ hours of a constant chorus of “LA sucks !!!1!” and “Beat LA !!!1!”. If Sabo the dog’s Padres could ever manage to become consistent contenders (and assuming the Dodgers will always be consistent contenders) this matchup would skyrocket to the top levels of sports rivalries. It’s already “half the way” there, so to speak.
This rivalry goes deeper than the majors, it goes deeper than baseball, it goes deeper than sports altogether, it goes directly to geography, history, and identity of place. Here’s a brief timeline…
1781: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles founded, twelve years after San Diego. San Diegans were known to say: “The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels sucks !!!1! A bat-and-ball game should be invented so we can beat The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels !!!1!”
1892: Professional baseball comes to SoCal with the first version of the LA Angels. San Diegans were known to say: “LA sucks !!!1! We should start a baseball team to beat LA !!!1!”
1903: Organized Baseball comes to SoCal with the founding of the Pacific Coast League. LA is represented by the PCL version of the Angels (1903-1957), Vernon Tigers (1909-1912, 1916-1925), Venice Tigers (1913-1915), Hollywood Stars (1926-1935, 1938-1957). San Diegans were known to say "LA sucks !!!1! We should get a PCL team to beat LA !!!1!".
1936: San Diego’s one and only MiLB team finally arrives: The PCL version of the Padres. San Diegans proclaimed: “LA Sucks !!!1! Go Padres !!!1! Beat LA !!!1!”
1958: The Dodgers move to LA, replacing the the PCL there. Three years later, the MLB expansion version of the LA Angels are created. San Diegans were known to say: “LA sucks !!!1! We should get a major league team to beat LA !!!1!”
1969: The MLB expansion version of the Padres are created, replacing the PCL in San Diego. San Diegans again proclaimed: “LA Sucks !!!1! Go Padres !!!1! Beat LA !!!1!”
2020: The covid compromised season. Us San Diegans are yelling at our tv sets: “LA Sucks !!!1! Go Padres in Arlington TX !!!1! Beat LA !!!1!”
Pedro saying Garcia could turn out to be better than he was is definitely a call the dry cleaner moment to me, but also basically impossible as Pedro is inarguably top 5 goat if not higher.
