A Double Play Double Standard

As I watched last nights Phillies vs. Marlins game, I was hoping for the same thing many in the city of Philadelphia were. A sweep of the Marlins. It wouldn't have meant much. The Marlins have taken a sharp nose dive since they were competing for the division lead. The Phils' whomped them the night before scoring the most runs they have all season. But we haven't been able to close on a sweep for some time since the four game stand against the same team in mid June. I'm not complaining. You have to go a week back before that to find a series they've lost.

The sweep would have been nice but that's not the subject of this post. It's more something that could have caused the sweep. Let me take you through my night of watching the game.




I was situated at one of my favorite restaurants with my family. The Phillies (and I) were enjoying a somewhat comfortable 2 run lead supported by an unlikely home run from fresh-outta-the-minors John Mayberry Jr. I was also enjoying my burger as Dominic Brown came to the plate. I looked up to see his hit sail into center field and right past Florida's Ryan Peterson. I wondered if this was a replay or if it was live and then when I found out, I was pumped. Just a couple more plays like that and we would sweep the fish back into the sea!

And it was all down from there.

I was watching the game without sound and was cheering with my fellow viewers. Then the camera panned to the second base umpire pointing. Then Brown walked off the base. Was he injured? Was he getting a pinch runner? Nope, he was getting the boot. He missed second base and was out. John Mayberry Jr. then proceeded to hit his second unlikely homer, scoring only himself. The Marlin's later tied it up and got a walk off homer in the tenth by Drew Stanton.

I've got a big problem with this and not just because of the loss. I do think he missed the bag. I'm not some die hard fan that will argue for any call that helps the Phils. He missed that bag by only inches but he still missed the bag. My point is this:

Let's say Dominic is a second baseman. The Marlin's hit a ball right to short and Jimmy tosses it to Brown to beat the lead runner. In trying to turn a double play, he quickly tosses it to Howard. Both runners are out. Brown would be much better off in this situation. He wouldn't have to touch the bag.

The "Neighborhood Rule" is an unwritten rule. Some umpires will call a runner out at second even if the infielder doesn't touch second. As long as the intent is there, the runner is considered out. This is in direct opposition to the rules which say the fielder MUST touch the bag with the ball in his glove. In a game of inches, this has proven to be an effective and often necessary device to completing the double play.

So why is Brown out? The intent was there for him. His foot hit the dirt closest to the corner of the bag facing third. He didn't take steps to try to cut before the base. He probably would have been to third a half step sooner if he would have dropped his foot on second and turned instead of skipping it.

He just made a mistake. He's a rookie, that happens. As soon as the ump pointed to him he knew exactly what he did and walked toward the dug out. I'm not saying mistakes should be excused but I feel that a mistake that didn't benefit the runner is a lesser offense than an intentional short-cut to turn a double play that might not be possible otherwise.

A rookie mistake vs. an obvious exploitation of the rules? Well we know which one actually ends up winning that battle. Would the Phillies have won if Mayberry's second homer was a two run shot? I don't know. Once you change one variable, all the rest are fair game as well. But I do know a couple things. Dominic Brown will never skip a base again, but infielders will take advantage of the neighborhood rule as long as they are allowed.