RPD,
Exactly what rule specified to the exclusion of all else that an error MUST be scored on a play like that? To me, as long as nothing says “must” or “shall”, its still a judgment call and open to individual interpretation.
Here’s an example. In our game last night, we had a runner on 2nd. Because our team runs like rabbits on crack, I’ve learned to watch the runners very closely. I watched the runner take off for 3rd before the pitcher released the ball, and the ball hit the dirt. The catcher made a stupendous pick and got the runner by a hair, but when one of the reporters in the press box asked what had happened because he wasn’t watching, the OSK said the runner was caught stealing, but if he hadn’t been put out it would have been a wild pitch.
I called BS on him but there’s no doubt there’s a lot of others out there who believe the same way he does, that if a pitch is in the dirt and a runner moves up, its automatically a wild pitch. That’s only true if the pitch in the dirt is the reason the runner moved up.