Why Blue Jays' Addison Barger was only given a double on dead ball lodged under centerfield wall

Billy Heyen

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Why Blue Jays' Addison Barger was only given a double on dead ball lodged under centerfield wall image

The Toronto Blue Jays got unlucky.

Addison Barger's situation as the second batter in the bottom of the ninth inning, with the Los Angeles Dodgers leading 3-1 in World Series Game 6, can be viewed in only one way.

Barger hit a ball hard to deep center. Myles Straw, who was on first, was poised to score without difficulty.

The ball somehow lodged beneath the centerfield wall. It wasn't by much, but it was sufficient.

The play was called a ground-rule double, placing Barger on second base and Straw on third, after which Tyler Glasnow skillfully escaped the jam to secure the 3-1 victory.

This occurrence is unusual, which explains its cause.

MORE: The decision regarding Tyler Glasnow's pitching has now placed Shohei Ohtani under intense scrutiny.

The reason Addison Barger's hit, which lodged under the wall, was only ruled a double is a question of its specific trajectory and how it was interpreted by the umpires.

This is a rule established in each ballpark's ground rules, which the umpires are aware of prior to a game.

In virtually any baseball stadium, a ball that gets stuck beneath the outfield wall or rolls under it will be ruled a ground-rule double.

The tricky aspects come into play if the outfielder attempts to play the ball, or if the umpire goes out and deems the ball wasn't wedged.

If the L.A. Centerfielder attempts to play the ball here, then it's a live play. It only is dead when he puts his arms up and then the umpire confirms that it was wedged.

If the ump had determined it wasn't wedged, he would then have to use judgment to place the runners appropriately.

But in this case, the outfielder did what he was supposed to do, and the ball was deemed stuck under the wall as defined in the ground rules, giving each player involved just two bases.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle