The scoring of ‘error’ in Yu Darvish near no-hitter is correct

Debating games gives baseball fans as much excitement — if not more — as watching the them. The debates range from managers’ decisions to umpires’ (blown) calls, to players’ physical and mental errors. Now, the debate has raged into the realm of the scorers’ decision. On May 9, that decision could have affected the outcome of a potential no hitter — and it did until Texas Rangers starter Yu Darvish had two outs in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox.

With the no-hitter — a perfect game at that point — still in tact in the top of the seventh, Red Sox slugger David Ortiz lofted a high, lazy pop fly to short right field. Second baseman Rougned Odor and right fielder Alex Rios both converged on it, and then — in  a Little league moment — both gave up. As the two stood approximately four feet apart, the ball plopped to the turf in between them untouched.  The video shows the play multiple times with various announcers providing their takes.

According to the official Major League Baseball Rules, scoring this play an error is correct. Rule 10.12 explicitly states,

“It is not necessary that the fielder touch the ball to be charged with an error. If a ground ball goes through a fielder’s legs or a fly ball falls untouched and, in the scorer’s judgement, the fielder could have handled the ball with ordinary effort, the official scorer shall charge such fielder with an error.”

The official scorer, Steve Weller (as announced on MLB Network’s MLB Tonight), followed the rule perfectly. In Weller’s judgement, either Odor or Rios could have made the play with ordinary effort. He gave the error to Rios. I agree; Rios should have caught that ball.

During the May 9 edition of MLB Tonight following the game, analysts Greg Amsinger, Harold Reynolds, and Mitch Williams discussed the play and the scoring decision — quite heatedly. They cited the Elias Sports Bureau as backing up the decision in contrast to Reynold’s opinion. Williams was correct in saying that Rios could and should have caught that ball with ordinary effort.

Regardless of the rule, if left to the scorer’s judgment, any play of this type should go as an error. These are Major League players — the best in the world. Yes, even the best in the world make mistakes (just less often), but the pitcher should not have his ERA or other statistical performance affected by them, especially mental mistakes such as this. Rios should have taken charge and made the play.

Weller’s decision allowed Darvish to hold onto his no-hitter at that point. The game situation should have no bearing on the scorer’s decision, and if this would have happened under ordinary circumstances, few would care, and we would not have this discussion. The potential perfect game/no-hitter in the seventh inning, though, magnifies the decision.

It turned out that Darvish lost the no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning. Ortiz lined one through the shift to break it up.  This was the second time that Darvish lost a no-hitter with just one out remaining. He did so in April last year, a perfect game up to that point.  At least Big Papi’s hit in Friday night’s game took some heat off Weller as his decision no longer affected the outcome.