The Cleveland Indians' protest of their loss 7-4 loss to Baltimore last Saturday, aka the Night of the Mysteriously Added Run, was denied by the Commissioner's Office today.
Cleveland GM Mark Shaprio thought he had a good case but ...
In a memo from the league office explaining [MLB president and chief operating officer Bob] DuPuy's decision, Rule 9.01(c) is cited.
"The Official Baseball Rules do not address when the umpires can make such a correction in those circumstances," the memo read. "When the rules do not address a situation, Official Baseball Rule 9.01(c) gives them the discretion to rule on any point not otherwise covered by the Rules."
Shapiro jokingly referred to the rule as an "escape hatch."
You can get a rehash of the events in question by reading the linked article.
Copout! If the umpires' decision was obviously wrong, MLB would have corrected it. So they're letting it stand not JUST because of 9.01(c), but because they don't think it's worth it.
Suppose the umpires used their 9.01(c) discretion to do something stupid, like end the game and award the victory to the team leading when the mistake was made. MLB would have overturned that.
So what MLB is saying is that they don't disagree enough with the decision to overturn it. Which is fine, but they should say so.
Suppose the umpires used their 9.01(c) discretion to do something stupid, like end the game and award the victory to the team leading when the mistake was made. MLB would have overturned that.
So what MLB is saying is that they don't disagree enough with the decision to overturn it. Which is fine, but they should say so.
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