The Pecan Park Eagle

The Hot Stove League Fire is Now Kindled.

OK, with the MLB league championship games heating up and the World Series coming next, it’s not too early for those of who live in cities like Houston to strike a match and light up the Hot Stove League with topics on how our teams and the game itself can be improved. I have two related rules changes I’d like to recommend, both of which pertaining to my favorite “pet peeve” subject of fan interference, something that baseball normally just ignores, allowing mindless people to reach over the rails down the outfield lines and across the rail from front row outfield bleacher seats and kill an active play in progress by capturing or simply touching the ball that’s coming near them.

The “ground rule double” call now governs the fan-touched fair balls hit down the line. The umpire’s “home run or out by fan interference” call now controls fans touching balls hit near the outfield walls in fair play.

Neither rule curtails fan interference. And the game goes on, played by the 18/20 legal players in the lineups of each team at the time – in addition to the unwanted contributions of front row “buttinsky” fans who just have to grab for every baseball they can get their hands on. PA announcers often warn fans that they can be ejected from the ballpark for interfering with the game, but it never happens in ways that I can see. Money-tight owners apparently are fearful that these wonderful ball-grabbing fans will get their feelings hurt by a much-deserved ejection and not come back to future games.

Enough is enough. For rules to mean anything, there must be a consequence that teaches both transgressors and victims a lesson that neither cares to forget or repeat.

The transgressor is the idiot ball-grabber. The victim is the game of baseball itself, the fans who paid to see the game played as it was intended, and the owners who fear turnstile retribution from ejected transgressor fans.

Here are my two rules change suggestions for MLB. They are very simple, very clear, and very pointed toward the establishment of black and white consequences that aim to wipe out the practice of fan interference by the provision of real lessons:

Rule One Change (on fair balls touched by fans leaning over the rails down the line in foul territory): If the batted fair ball was hit by a home team batter, it is automatically ruled a ground rule single. On the other hand, if the batted fair ball was hit by a visiting team batter, it is automatically ruled a ground rule triple.

Before you get carried away with any concerns that this radical rules change would simply invite visiting clubs to plant fan-interfering visitor fans down the lines, or you get lost in fearing how unfair it now will be for the home team, remember the first intent. – That is to establish a sharp first consequence for fan interference that will demand better control of fans who violate the rules by mindlessly reaching over the rails and snatching at any baseball that moves. This rule puts the pressure on the home team to do something about all fan interference, or else, suffer the consequences that tilt heavily more harsh upon the home club. My guess is that we could make fan interference down the lines almost unheard of in a very short time. The interfering fans aren’t going to enjoy the reaction from the home crowd who just watched them hand a ground rule triple to the visitors.

The current “ground rule double” is no deterring consequence. If anything, in fact, it is nothing more than a quick way to second base that teaches nothing to no one.

Rule Two Change (on balls touched or caught by outfield fans leaning over the rail in fair play above the field): If the ball was hit by a home team batter, the play is ruled a fly out catch by the nearest fielder. On the other hand, if the ball was hit by a visiting team batter, the play is ruled a home run. – Also, if the play was unclear as to the location of the ball in relation to the field exit plane, the two stated above rules still apply.

As we recently saw in the A’s v. Tigers ALDS game in Detroit, the Tigers were awarded a home run in right field when two home fans seemed to lean over the rail to deflect a ball that might have been caught. It fell to the ground in deflection away from any possible catch and was soon awarded to the home field Tigers as a home run. Under this suggested new rule, the batter would have been declared out.

As with suggested Rule One, the pressure is all upon the home team to clean up the mess of fan interference. If clubs don’t want close calls at the outfield walls, they need to modify outfield barriers so that fans cannot reach over the line and get their hands on a ball that’s in play.

That’s it. But these are just my hard thoughts on what needs to happen. Please check in with your own opinions.

Let’s get this Hot Stove League cooking.