Dang, it looks like no baseball tonight. After raining most of the day here in Champaign-Urbana, the sun actually came out for about 20 minutes around 4:00pm. It did resort to cloudiness but I half wondered if they would go ahead with the game. Looking at the forecast (it’s calling for more thunderstorms around 7pm), I don’t blame them for postponing the game.
Tonight’s scheduled game will be made up as part of a doubleheader Saturday. Game time is 12:05pm.
Ruling question
At the ballpark, my friend Robin asked me about runner advancement on a infield fly rule. The debate centered around if the ball dropped to the ground as opposed if it was caught and if either action affected runner advancement. I asked my umpire friend (the one from my previous article) and he says:
Runners can advance at any time at their own risk. Since the batter is called out the force is removed at all bases and the runners need to be tagged in order to be put out. If the ball is caught and a runner has left the base before the catch then he still can be put out for leaving early.
My friend is a wealth of knowledge, I tell you.