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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: net.sport.baseball
Subject: Re: Would you like a little bit of Cricket in Baseball?
Message-ID: <752@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 29-Oct-85 16:28:28 EST
Article-I.D.: mmintl.752
Posted: Tue Oct 29 16:28:28 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 1-Nov-85 01:39:21 EST
References: <1029@decwrl.UUCP> <1152@homxa.UUCP>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT
Lines: 30
Summary: 


In article <1152@homxa.UUCP> pnv@homxa.UUCP (P.VERMA) writes:
>In Cricket, a team can allow its opponent to "follow-on" under certain
>conditions.  Translated into Baseball, what it would mean is the following:
>
>If the visiting team is leading the home team by at least x runs (pick your
>own x) at the end of the eighth inning, the visitors have an option of
>letting the home team continue batting into the ninth inning.  If the home
>team during their ninth inning, makes up the difference thereby making it
>necessary for the visitors to bat again, they will get their chance.  On the
>other hand, if the home team fails to score any runs in the ninth, the game
>is over.
>
>How does this apply to Baseball?  Any comments?

This rule is present only because cricket is played under a time limit.
If the game is not over when the time limit is reached, no one wins.  Since
baseball has no such limit, the rule is not generally applicable.

The one case where the rule might be applied is when rain in impending.
Say the visitors are leading by 5 runs at the end of the fourth, and a
downpour is imminent.  They might prefer to forgo their at bat in the fifth,
hoping to make the game official before it starts raining.

(A recent change in the rules made such a game (a five-inning rainout)
suspended instead of complete, but the principle still applies.)

Frank Adams                           ihpn4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
Multimate International    52 Oakland Ave North    E. Hartford, CT 06108