More questions

In situation 1, I assume you meant that there were 2 outs and there was a ground ball hit that would have ended the inning but an error occured. What the scorekeeper was saying was correct. If an error occurs with 2 outs, the inning should be over and the pitcher should not be penalized with any earned runs. This is covered in OBR 10.16a

Rule 10.16(a) Comment: The following are examples of earned runs charged to a pitcher:
(1) Peter pitches and retires Abel and Baker, the first two batters of an inning. Charlie reaches
first base on an error charged to a fielder. Daniel hits a home run. Edward hits a home run.
Peter retires Frank to end the inning. Three runs have scored, but no earned runs are charged
to Peter, because Charlie should have been the third out of the inning, as reconstructed
without the error.

Situation 2 as you describe it sounds like all runs were earned to me. Many of these situations that people put on here one really would have to see in person to judge properly, but if the ball got by diving outfielders and everybody scored. An error had to occur somewhere for runs to be unearned.

Now if this happened in the same inning as the first sitation you described, these would be unearned runs, because as the scorekeeper said, the inning should have been over.

It sounds like the scorekeeper ruled it a hit, but an error that the ball got by the outfielders. It would appear he thinks they should have stopped the ball and then all the runners would have held if he got the ball back in quickly to the infield.

Like I said, You really had to be there.

According to your thinking, if 20 runs were scored in an inning after an error that would have ended the inning, no runs could ever be earned because the inning should have been over if not for the error?

So basically a pitcher who has one of his teammates make an error that would have been the 3rd out can then pitch to a bunch of hitters, he can give up run after run on doubles, triples and homers, but none will even count against him for that inning?

Maybe I am nuts, but that does not sound right.

In the second situation, both outfielders dove to catch the ball, but neither caught it. It was correctly ruled a hit with no errors. The ball which normally would have been gotten by one of the outfielders backing up the other rolled to the fence and by the time it was relayed into the infield, all the runners scored. I do not see how these were not earned runs since no error occurred.

Not my thinking, OBR rules. And yes if the same pitcher stayed in, yes all unearned. Now in reality the coach is going to change pitchers at some point. The new pitcher in that inning can be charged with any runs on batters he allows to get on base by base hits that score, but not any of the runners that were on base when he entered the game.

Here is a link to the rules. Section 10 covers scorekeeping, lots of good stuff there.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloa...l_Baseball_Rules.pdf

OK Heat is correct.

As strange as it sounds, if a pitcher gets two outs, walks the bsaes loaded, drops a pop-up (E that should've been third out) then gives up ten straight home runs, all 14 runs would be unearned. Not exactly intuitive to everyone, but by rule when you reconstruct the inning as if no error had occured, there would've been no earned runs, as three outs would've occurred prior to a run scoring.

The only fly in the ointment would be if they put in a relief pitcher after one of those home runs. If the new pitcher then gives up a run (or runs)that are not the result of an error when reconstructing his inning (coming into a game wtih two outs and none on), those runs are earned to the relief pitcher.

In the second situation, this is a "had to be there" play.

We had one with my son pitching a few years ago where with bases loaded, CF charges hard line drive, dives ball bounces in front and then over his head and rolls another 200' to the 420' fence. All four runners scored.

I scored grand slam HR. This was a big playoff game in a stadium with fancy scoreboard. As I recall H&E went up, then E came down, then E went back up, then back down. I think they finally decided grand slam as well as there was no error on the play.

Yours may be the same situation. If two OF's dive for a ball and it splits them and rolls, the batter gets what he gets. Most inside the park home runs have something like this happen.

If there was no error, there was no error.

I think the reasoning behind the situation #1 scoring is this...

The pitcher's job is to get the offense to make three outs before a run scores. If the pitcher has to get more than three outs, everything that happens after the would-be third out is not the pitcher's fault.