Anyone but me...

[Sonny]

Good. Thought it might have been fixed but thought I would mention it because there were a few dissiliar things about it.

Hurry up with the game I only got 14 plays left on the trial version!


EDIT: P.S. - that runner who remained on third scored on the next play and ruined my pitcher's shutout.[:@][:D]

[Sonny]

OK, you can forget about the advancement on a foul out - it just happened in my game. So that answers that question.

[Amaroq]

The question on foul outs is, 'would a veteran outfielder ever opt NOT to make the catch, to prevent the sacrifice?'

For example, I have seen the following in real life:
Ninth inning. One-run game. One out. Runner on third.
Deep fly ball down the right field line but curling foul.
Right fielder jogs over, settles under it, but then lets it drop foul.

Logic was, he figured it was better not to make the catch than to let the runner from third score on a sacrifice fly.

[Frozen Stiffer]

Well, the INFIELD FLY rule was developed to stop just that, but I would safely assume (from the name alone) that it doesn't apply to the outfield. Personally, I've never seen that happen, but I likewise wouldn't dismiss that it ever has.

I've seen too many hidden ball tricks and a myriad of other little loopholes and witty calls, it seems that baseball is just full of this stuff! Don't you just love it?

[Amaroq]

Yes, I do love it - that's why I'd love to see a really detailed 'baseball simulation' which offered vanishingly-small chances of those extremely unlikely plays!

To your first point, the infield fly rule was developed for a different reason: to stop double plays generated as follows. With zero or one outs, there is a runner on first and a runner on second, there is a towering pop fly in the infield.

If the runners wait on their repsective bags, the infielder lets the ball drop, then starts a third-base to second-base double play, as the batter reaching first forces the runners to advance.

If the runners advance halfway, to reasonably prevent that, the infielder catches the ball, and throws to the closest bag to retire the runner before he can get back safely.

This is why the 'infield fly' rule is not invoked if either first or second base is open, or if there are two outs.

...

The 'don't catch the fly ball' trick is purely about realizing that the defense's goal at the moment is preventing the run from third, NOT retiring the batter - very similar to the 'don't throw to second' to prevent the first-third double-steal situation.

[roo23]

How about a Manny Ramirez situation where the LF catches the ball in foul territory with less than 2 outs and flips it to a fan in the first row?

Ok I know other guys have done this, it's just too easy to pick on Manny...

- Chris