ogre@mhuxl.UUCP (LO COCO) (05/31/85)
> In the same vein, I've never seen the following play, although > it could happen once or twice in every game as far as I can tell: > A man on first, less than two outs. Batter hits an infield popup. > The man on first must stay on first, the batter must run to first > so that the fielder won't intentionally drop the ball and get a > double play (infield fly rule is only called when there are >1 > men on base). However, why wouldn't the fielder intentionally > drop the ball and make the force at second any time the runner > on first is a faster/better runner than the batter? I've never > seen this done, but it seems perfectly safe and reasonable to me. > The probability of the ball getting away and the play at 2nd > being lost is very remote indeed, while wiping out a speedster > at 1st can be quite important. > > -- Abe Ellenberg > cca!ima!abe It does happen once in a while, but maybe like you say it should be seen more often. The problem is that you don't always get a situation where it is easily done without the possibility of error. Here's hoping we see more headsup manuevering offensively and defensively in 'America's Pastime'. -- John B. Lo Coco (...mhuxl!ogre) (...szuxn!ogre) 1-201-467-7436