I suppose he could pitch the top of the ninth while his team was trailing and then get traded to the other team and instantly pitch for them in the bottom of the ninth and give up the lead.

BO, you are right about the suspended game, and the pitcher being traded to the other team before they finished the game, but I don't think your explanation of being both the winning and losing pitcher works.

Yes it does, and I'm not going to take the time and go through all the specifics seeing as how there's no proof given it ever happened.

Here's a funny baseball story that I heard many years ago. I believe it to be true, but who knows...?

In a minor league game a runner raced to home plate, but failed to touch it. The catcher complained to the umpire that the guy had missed the plate. The umpire told the catcher to tag the guy out, because it wasn't a force play. The catcher looked for the runner, but couldn't find him, because the runner had already returned to the dugout. Not knowing what the runner looked like, the catcher ran over to the other team's dugout, and tagged every player on the bench. I believe that the catcher got the runner.

However, what if the runner had gone to the showers in the locker room, because the manager was going to send in a substitute to replace him...?

I am not familiar with your story. But if it were true, the catcher need not chase down the runner. My understanding of appeal plays is that runners that have already proceeded to the dugout are out when home plate is touched by a defender with the ball during the appeal. My other understanding of the appeal play is that it absolutely must be initiated by a defensive player and NOT an umpire. I think the offensive team could protest this play and win it becuase of how it originated. This play would be a major fail on the part of the umpire in both execution and understanding of the rule book. That doesn't make this scenario impossible (see this year's level of umpiring for confirmation...), but it certainly makes it seem highly improbable.

Damn, now I will have to try to Google something from decades ago, which will probably be impossible to find.

p.s. I once suggested that you become a TV movie critic. I will now suggest that you think about becoming a major league umpire. I'll bet you know more of the rules than many of them.

p.p.s The only time I ever umpired a game (softball) was at summer camp back in the mid 1960's. I made one controversial call. The batter hit a slow roller up the first base line, which the 1st baseman fielded, as a runner was trying to score from 3rd base. The player, who hit the ball, saw the 1st baseman starting to throw the ball to home to stop the run from scoring, and jumped into the air with both arms straight up to prevent the 1st baseman from having a good throw to the plate.

I called the batter out for interference with the 1st baseman's throw, and sent the other runner back to 3rd base. There was a big rhubarb, with the guy I called out screaming at me that he never touched anyone or anything, but I held my ground, and my ruling stood. Did I make the right call...?

A runner may be called out for interference if an attempt is made to impede the defensive team in making a play. The runner need not be successful in this attempt for the umpire to call him out. Your call was spot on.

Here's a fun addendum to your original appeal play. If the scoring team was certain that their runner had not touched the plate before entering the dugout and there was less than two outs, the runner on first could have left first and tried to go to second and third. If the defensive team made an attempt to get him out before appealing at the plate, the run would have counted as an appeal must be made immediately before making any other plays. He would essentially be giving up his out for the run.

So far, how many Alaskans have made it into major league baseball?

How would you define "Alaskan?"

The only Alaskan-born player I know of is Curt Schilling, but his Wikipedia page states that he is one of 11 people who have played Major League Baseball who were born there.

-- RWM

p.p.s. How do I define Alaskan? I would guess they would have been born in Alaska, but a better person to ask would be Curt Schilling. He is the source of this factoid.

I was born in Massachusetts, but I do not regard myself as a Bay Stater as I have never lived there.

Presumably Curt Schilling had lived in Alaska, but I don't really know his personal history and I'm not that nosy. Your question could have been phrased, "How many current or former Major League Baseball players were born in Alaska?"

-- RWM

DID YOU KNOW.....Red Sox has lost all games on Ben Affleck's birthday (which is today) since 1999 when he won his Oscar for screenplay writing for "Good Will Hunting"?

LILJOL, i know u want this go to 0-14...lmao

Somebody just watched SportsCenter.