I've been scoring games ever since I was a kid and it seems you see something new or learn something from an odd play all the time.
I was scoring our varsity team's game when a ball was hit to shallow right field, approximately 50' past the bag. The right fielder was playing in and grabbed the ball on one hop and fired to first in an attempt to get a not so fast runner. Had the ball been on target, the runner would've been out by 2 or three steps. However, the throw sailed over the top of the outstretched glove of the firstbaseman.
I scored this an E-9 on the throw.
I was recently confronted by the father of the rightfielder, who is also a JV coach at the school we were playing against (another story) and he was irate that I scored an error against his kid. He said that a ball hit into the outfield is a hit unless dropped by the fielder and since the runner didn't advance to 2nd, there was no error because a 9-3 putout "is not an expected play".
I countered that while I'd agree it is not expected, it was a play none the less and that had the throw been on target, that the runner would have easily been out. I further tried to explain that it wasn't a throw from the fence that required extraordinary ability but rather a simple one hopper from no further distance than that made by a secondbaseman shaded toward center.
Any thoughts...
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