Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay last night at Tropicana field, which Buster Olney has described as "like playing baseball in your grandmothers basement". That said, two outs R2, R3, routine pop up to first base. Ball doesn't hit anything up top, but first baseman loses it. He does the dance of death, ball lands fair starts to roll foul about 60' from HP but stops just fair. The first baseman never got close enough to get a glove on it (barely), but this was a routine pop up at the MLB level. Scorer gives infield hit and 2 RBI (and makes two runs earned).
I am constantly amazed with scoring decisions like this. Is it a hard place to play, YES. Should a major leaguer catch a routine pop up within 30' of where he is standing when the ball is hit? YES. I don't care where you are playing, that ball is an error.
We heard the classic saying by the announcers, "It's a hit because he didn't get his glove on it." So a slightly better player who gets slightly closer to actually making the catch deserves an E where the guy who couldn't even get a glove on it doesn't deserve an error? If this play wasn't ordinary effort, I will turn in my scorebook.
I had another one in a D-I college baseball game. Line drive to center field, CF takes six hard steps back, even turning his back, stops, changes his mind, takes six hard steps in, dives and doesn't catch the ball. Home scorer gives a double. I give E-8. The ball hit the spot he was standing in when it was hit. I don't give extra credit for running around in circles.
