Ball breaks glove - Hit or error?

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Jun 6, 2016
2,712
113
Chicago
So here's a new one that just happened in the Royals/A's game.

Routine grounder, but the throw to first literally broke the glove of the first baseman. The ball just went completely through the webbing.

The official scorer (who, I should add, is very very bad in Oakland) called it an error, but I kind of wonder if that's a fair call. The 1B did nothing wrong. He didn't drop the ball. The glove broke upon impact. Could any other player through "ordinary effort" have made the play? No. Because no player is going to not have the ball fall when it breaks the glove.

Awarding a hit doesn't seem all that fair, but I don't think an error applies either.

Can't find anything in the rules that specifically covers this, but it has been ruled an error in the past when its happened. Doesn't seem right.
 
Apr 28, 2019
1,423
83
So here's a new one that just happened in the Royals/A's game.

Routine grounder, but the throw to first literally broke the glove of the first baseman. The ball just went completely through the webbing.

The official scorer (who, I should add, is very very bad in Oakland) called it an error, but I kind of wonder if that's a fair call. The 1B did nothing wrong. He didn't drop the ball. The glove broke upon impact. Could any other player through "ordinary effort" have made the play? No. Because no player is going to not have the ball fall when it breaks the glove.

Awarding a hit doesn't seem all that fair, but I don't think an error applies either.

Can't find anything in the rules that specifically covers this, but it has been ruled an error in the past when its happened. Doesn't seem right.
Yeah I would agree failure to inspect/maintain glove would be my guess. Error on 1st.
 
Aug 1, 2019
950
93
MN
So here's a new one that just happened in the Royals/A's game.

Routine grounder, but the throw to first literally broke the glove of the first baseman. The ball just went completely through the webbing.

The official scorer (who, I should add, is very very bad in Oakland) called it an error, but I kind of wonder if that's a fair call. The 1B did nothing wrong. He didn't drop the ball. The glove broke upon impact. Could any other player through "ordinary effort" have made the play? No. Because no player is going to not have the ball fall when it breaks the glove.

Awarding a hit doesn't seem all that fair, but I don't think an error applies either.

Can't find anything in the rules that specifically covers this, but it has been ruled an error in the past when its happened. Doesn't seem right.

I would score it an error, I keep going back to the phrase, "would have been out with normal defensive effort." The batter sure didn't do the right things to earn a hit.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,712
113
Chicago
It's clearly an error.

I guess it would have to be, but it absolutely, 100% does not meet the "ordinary effort" standard since exactly 0% of players can catch the ball if the glove breaks and the ball goes through the webbing. There's nothing in the rules to suggest you should penalize a player for having sub-standard equipment (and you certainly can deem it the player's fault because it could break for any number of reasons).
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,712
113
Chicago
I would score it an error, I keep going back to the phrase, "would have been out with normal defensive effort." The batter sure didn't do the right things to earn a hit.

I keep going back to that phrase, too, and that's why I think the error is unfair. None of us. No player who's ever played Major League Baseball. I'd say no human, ever, is going to hold onto the ball when it flies through the back of the webbing because of equipment failure. To me, that's evidence that normal defensive effort isn't enough to make that play.

But again, I don't think a hit is necessarily fair, either. But there are plenty of situations where a hit isn't "fair" and that's the correct ruling (popups that drop because of fielder confusion, routine grounders that hit a rock and take a bad hop, etc.).
 

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