Expert: Dennis Girardi - 4/28/2007

Question
If my daughter hits a sharp ground ball to the shortstop, she picks up the ball cleanly and throws to first and the runner was called safe at first because the first baseman was not on the bag, is that a hit or an error and why?

Answer
Hi Joe,
I'm not there to see the play, but I am assuming that it was a routine ground ball that was picked up cleanly, with a good, belt high, throw to the first baseman. For some reason the first baseman pulled his foot off the base. This has to be called an error and not a hit. If the throw was good and the first baseman pulled his foot, then the error would be on the first baseman.  If the throw was bad, then the error is on the shortstop. The reason it is an error, is because, if the grounder was picked up cleanly and thrown cleanly, then the batter would have been out easily.  If the grounder was hit between 2 infielders, and it was a hard ball to field and the throw pulled him off the base, then you have an arguement.
I hope this helps.
Dennis