Expert: Geoff - 7/5/2007

Question
Hi!

Here's an hypothetical situation:
A player has hit a single, a double and a homerun in a game. We're in ninth inning, there's two outs, his team leading 19-0. The player is at bat and hits the ball over the wall again. Can the player think about the cycle an,d if yes, how can he do it? I think he may touch first, second and third base and then never touch the home plate. So, he's credited with a triple but he's also called out. Is that right? Thanks!

Answer
Hi Marco,

Thanks for writing.

You are exactly correct!  There are two ways for a batter to not get credit for a home run hit over the fence, but both result in the batter turned runner being ruled out:

1)  pass another runner already on base, or
2)  simply touch as many bases as you want and then head for the dugout.  The umpire would call the batter turned runner out for "abandoning his effort to touch the next base".

Best Wishes,

Geoff