“Just Ask Earl” Can’t someone call “Time Out!” for an injured player?

From: Christian Heiss <christian.heiss@arcor.de>

Hi Earl,

I am a big baseball follower from Germany and I try to see at least one game every time I am in the US.
Baseball actually isn’t popular at all in Germany so I’m starved…

Coming to my question:

Seeing the incident happening to J.A. Happ when he was hit in the head (and instantly remembering McCarthy last year) I was wondering if there is no rule in baseball, where the umpire can declare the ball instantly dead.

Coming from Germany where the most popular sport is Soccer I know that in a special case the referee can stop the game on the spot, e.g. to get medical attention to an injured player. Afterwards he will toss the ball in the middle of the game and by gentleman’s agreement, the team previous in ball possession will continue. The worst thing ever that happened on a playing field was a player who swallowed his tongue after a collision. This was absolutely time critical and the player could be saved.

I saw that after Happ was hit in the head, the play still continued even when all the players wanted to rush to help. Wouldn’t it be safer to call the ball dead and repeat the at-bat with runners still on their previous bases ? I thought there was a rule when an umpire could do exactly that.

I am worried that one time (before the MLB and MLPA agree on a kind of pitchers “helmet”) someone might die on the field. Those hits in the head are awfully dangerous.

Thanks for some clarification

Christian

[VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfQcPZYAQfg]

EARL:  Great to know that there are baseball fans in Europe.

"Only an umpire may “call” time out."

Any player or coach may ask for time to be called by the umpire. The umpire is never required to grant time to anybody except to a manager who wishes to make a substitution, or attend to an injured player. Even then the umpire decides when and how long that time out will be.

In MLB, when a player, in fair territory, is struck by a ball, the ball is still “live.”  The umpires will allow the play to “complete” its natural course; EX: a defensive player picks  up the ball and makes a play on it.

In this case, the ball caromed off the pitcher’s head and a defensive player fielded it.  The batter, Desmond Jennings got to first on a single. Two runs scored and the play “completed.” Then, you will see the Jay’s C request time out from the umpire, who granted it immediately.

Although it makes sense to get medical attention to an injured player as soon as possible, MLB rules do not allow an umpire to interrupt a play in progress, until it reaches conclusion.

A related issue is protective equipment.  When helmets were introduced in the NHL many players objected to being required to wear them; so the league allowed current players to have the option not to wear them, but all new players were required to wear them.

The future of protective gear will be revolutionized by nanotechnology, which, essentially, allows the strength of materials to increase by 1,000 times.  I predict that we will see small, light customized protective devices in all the major sports in the next few years.

One impact might be the homogenization of the strike zones, where they are very different in the AL and NL leagues in MLB.  Historically, the AL umps wore outside “balloon” chest protectors, which meant they called fewer low strikes, since they had to peer over that obstruction.  NL umps opted for the chest protectors that fit under their shirts and were believed to call low strikes.

Technological improvements tend to involve these factors: smaller, lighter, faster, cheaper, more convenient, and multi-use.  The “smart phones” are a good example.  Watch for the protective equipment to follow this pattern and they will be more concealed.  EX:  a chest protector that is 1/4″ in thickness, but 100X stronger than the ones in use today.

And, once they perfect bat made from nano materials [probably compacted maple and ash sawdust added to resins], we will see bats that have the same “bounce” as the old wood bats and they will hardly ever break.

I expect the conversation about pitchers wearing protective “hat cages” under their caps to migrate to consideration of the same protection for the man on the “Hot Corner” and then, with lefty batters to the player on First base.

Someday, nano versions of the catcher’s shin guards will be so thin and strong, they will be worn under the uniform, perhaps even in the form of long “socks” to protect the feet, shins, and knees.

"Very soon, in baseball, other sports, and the entire society, the new thing will be “nano.” Got a question about baseball? Send it to Earl: thethrillofthegrass@yahoo.com"

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