Thanks to instant replay being in effect in Major League Baseball, a slew of new rules have come into play, this means a lot of questions and concerns. One in particular is the transfer rule.
According to Ken Rosenthal, the tranfer rule is being amended as follows…
Starting Friday night, umpires will rule on catches the way they did in the past, using more of a common-sense approach rather than following the letter of the law, according to major-league sources.
A catch, forceout or tag will be considered legal if a fielder has control of the ball in his glove, but drops the ball after opening his glove to transfer the ball to his throwing hard, sources said. No longer will the fielder be required to successfully get the ball into his throwing hand.
via @MLB twitter
The frustrating part is that there is a rule for it, but officials are supposed to use “common-sense” towards said rule. Does this mean ignore the rule book? Why not throw the whole damn thing away then? That’s the path MLB seems to be going on these days.
You need to 100 respect the unwritten rules 100 percent, as I said here, however without rules, it becomes a mess. Major League Baseball has enough on it’s plate. (yes, pun intended)
With that said, this simply means a lot of people are going to be upset with umpires. Wait, this is nothing new.
More silly measurements. Defining a transfer will eventually turn into “what a throw is” or “what is considered a catch.” Which is fine. But the rule book needs to stay. Either have a rule book, or don’t. Simple as that.
Photo: Kelley L Cox/USA TODAY Sports