Posting this in multiple locations that likely have no relevance to the particular thread I'm posting it in, but that's because I have a baseball rules question that piqued my interest during the Mets - Nationals game tonight and I want as many knowledgeable baseball fans to weigh in as possible.
I have always believed that if a runner is hit by a batted ball in fair territory he is out and the ball is dead. However, during the Mets - Nationals game tonight, there was a ball hit just past the first baseman Alonso that hit the runner on first in the back as he tried to get down to the ground to avoid the ball. The ball caromed into foul territory on the 1B side and the umpires called the runner out and a dead ball.
However, the Mets announcers claimed that the ball should not have been called a dead ball because the ball was past the first defender, i.e. 1B Alonso, and the next closest defender, the second baseman, did not have a play on the ball. Therefore, it should have been a live ball, with the base runners free to advance, including the runner that was hit by the ball.
Most of the time when we see this is when a ball hits a runner in the hole between first and second, or second and third. In that case, the "first" defender that usually has a chance to field the ball is typically behind the runner. Therefore, a dead ball and the baserunner is out. In this case, the fielder was in front of the runner that was hit and the ball was past him.
Just wondering if anyone else has heard of this or if I am making s*** up.
