When an umpire makes a decision that a manager feels is incorrect, the manager may decide to protest the decision. Home plate umpire Gary Darling signals that the last pitch was a strike In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and meting out discipline. ... In baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager; this individual controls matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. ...

When a manager decides to protest, he must inform the umpire of the decision immediately, before the next pitch is made. He must explain that his team is now playing the game under protest. A manager may only protest when he feels the umpire's interpertation of the rules is in error. Judgement calls, such as ball or strike, foul or fair, out or safe, interference, or obstruction may not be protested. Protests also may not be lodged over issues that do not directly affect the game (such as ejection) or on scoring decisions. In baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. ... Strike zone boundaries (MLB) Definition In baseball, the strike zone is a conceptual rectangular area over home plate which defines the boundaries through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike when the batter does not swing. ... In baseball, a foul ball is a batted ball that is not a foul tip, and that. ... In baseball, a fair ball is a batted ball that has not yet become a foul ball, and that. ... In baseball, an out occurs when the defensive team effects any of a number of different events, and the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. ... Alex Rodriguez commits interference, 2004 In baseball, interference is an infraction where a person illegally changes the course of play from what is expected. ... In baseball, when a fielder illegally hinders a baserunner, the fielder is guilty of obstruction. ...

If the disputed play is last of the game, the manager has until noon the next day to lodge the protest.

A protested game is continued as normal. If the protesting team wins, the protest is dropped. Otherwise, the decision is reviewed by the President of the League. If it is determined that the umpire was in error, and that the decision adversely affected the outcome of the game for the protesting team, then the protest is upheld. The game must be replayed from the point of protest as soon as possible for both teams. All results of the old game are thrown out. Otherwise, the protest is thrown out and the game stands.

Protests in baseball are rare, and an upheld protest is rarer still.

The Pine Tar Incident

Perhaps the most famous of baseball protests is the so-called pine tar incident. On July 24, 1983, George Brett of the Kansas City Royals hit a ninth-inning 2-run home run against longtime rival Goose Gossage to put the Royals ahead of the New York Yankees 5-4. At this point, Billy Martin, the Yankees manager, came out of the dugout. Martin had known beforehand that Brett used pine tar on his bat that extended above the legal limit of 18 inches, and since Brett had just hit a home run, he brought the fact up to the umpire. The umpire inspected the bat, called Brett out, and nullified his home run. The Royals protested the game, and lost 4-3. This article deals with the baseball player George Howard Brett. ... The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. ... For other uses of the phrase see Home run (disambiguation) In baseball, a home run is a base hit in which the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring a run himself (along with a run for each runner who was already on... Richard Michael Goose Gossage (born July 5, 1951 in Colorado Springs, Colorado) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played 21 seasons for nine different teams before retiring in 1994. ... The New York Yankees are a Major League baseball team based in The Bronx, New York City. ... Alfred Manuel Billy Martin, a. ... While pine tar is most widely known as the sticky substance baseball players use on their bats to improve grip, it has many, lesser-known uses. ...

The American League President at the time, Lee MacPhail, made the ruling. Although he acknowledged that the umpire had ruled correctly, he upheld the protest. Some of the reasons cited are that he believed that games should be won and lost on the field, that the rule did not call for the batter being put out (only his removal from the game), that the pine tar was necessary for Brett's grip since he did not wear batting gloves, and that pine tar did not alter a bat to allow it to hit a ball further. Also implied was that Martin's tactics of waiting for the proper moment to call the violation to the attention of the umpires was against the spirit of the rules. The American League (or formally the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States of America and Canada. ... Leland Stanford MacPhail, Jr. ...

The game was replayed on August 18, 1983, from Brett's home run, with a score of 5-4 in favor of the Royals. That was the game's final score.

External Links

Twenty Years Ago: The Pine Tar Game.