Apr. 30, 2009 (Baseball Musings delivered by Newstex ) --
Vernon Wells makes a catch with a Royals runner on third and less than two outs, but bobbles the ball. The announcers wonder if the runner left early, but the rule says the runner can leave as soon as the ball touches a fielder. Otherwise, the fielder could bobble the ball all the way into the infield and prevent the runner from scoring. I read recently that this rule, like the infield fly rule, evolved over time as fielders tried to distort these fly ball rules with deception. The Royals so far have scored the number of runs equal to the inning and lead the Blue Jays 6-2 going to the bottom of the fourth.
Newstex ID: BASE-0001-34565305
