August 18, 2017

Skunk In The Outfield : How A Trick Play Almost Broke Baseball:
That's how it came to be that a Portsmouth sophomore named Johnny Pedrotty stood in right field in Game 2 of the Rhode Island state championship series, that a crowd of a thousand fans erupted into profane chaos, that a star infielder almost blacked out from the stress, and that Ulmschneider found himself unsure of how to stop what he'd unleashed. It's how, for two minutes and 32 seconds, baseball broke.

posted by grum@work to baseball at 09:28 AM - 3 comments

Thanks for this, Grum. I am really glad that I have never been on the field when something this bizarre happened. At least once per season, sometimes more, I have to explain the baseline rule to a coach or player; more often to a fan. I can understand a fan or young player not knowing the rule, but a coach, even at the middle school level, ought to spend a few hours reading the rule book and the case book. So many things can happen on every pitch or play that it is hard for the casual fan to follow. But the uncertainty and the possibilities are what make baseball as much fun as it is.

posted by Howard_T at 12:42 PM on August 18, 2017

Hey, that's my hometown!

posted by yerfatma at 12:09 PM on August 19, 2017

I mean, it's cool and all but I'm disappointed it didn't involve an actual skunk in the outfield.

posted by tron7 at 12:34 PM on August 21, 2017

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