SACRIFICE: GIVING UP TO GET BACK PART 4

by Richard Rosen

As for the Sacrifice Fly, with fewer than two outs, a runner on third can score on a fly ball to the outfield, the only requirement being he keep one foot on the base until the ball is cleanly caught by the outfielder. Then he can run home for dear life. There is a modicum of judgment involved with certain SFs.  The factors here include: the inning and score of the game, the depth of the fly ball, the strength and accuracy of the involved fielder’s arm, and the runner’s foot speed. There’s no question with fly balls to the farthest reaches of the outfield’s expanse: the runner on third, even the most sore-kneed lumbering catcher, can more or less trot home. Issues arise on the short to medium fly balls to outfielders whose arms are dubbed "cannons," aye, there’s the rub. To go or not to go, that’s the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to stick to the base and give the next hitter up an opportunity to drive in the run, or to risk it all and charge home, preparing yourself for the worst: a possible collision with a 220 pound catcher wearing a virtual suit of armor. 

Like its bunted cousin, the SF is recorded as a team out, not a personal out for the batter, who in addition gets credit for an run batted in (RBI). There is one big difference though between the Sacrifice Bunt and the SF. In the vast majority of cases the former is intentional, while the latter may or may not be. That is to say, the batter in question may have been, with a runner on third and fewer than two outs, actually trying to hit a long fly ball to score the runner.  In this instance the sacrifice is intentional and admirable. But a different hitter in the same situation may have been selfishly trying for a hit, and happened instead to transport a lazy fly to the outfield, essentially lucking into the SF and yet still reaping the RBI and the patty-cake accolades of his teammates. 

Now there is one thing about this fly ball business that’s very odd if you ask me. A runner can advance from any base if he’s tagging while the outfield catch is being made. In other words, on a deep fly a runner on first can potentially advance to second, or a runner on second can potentially go to third. But should this happen, the batter doesn’t get credit for a sacrifice; it’s marked down as an At Bat and an out, and his BA suffers accordingly.  Friends, I ask you: does this seem fair? You could say that the bunter’s sacrifice is intentional, and so he deserves a reward for a job well conceived and carried out. But what about that unintentional SF?  That hitter wasn’t trying to move the runner along with an out, he was lusting after a hit and just backed into an RBI with no harm done to his BA.  

What would you say to a rule change here?  What if we distinguish between a run-scoring "sacrifly" and a base-advancing SF?  Let Baseball Diary hear from you on this important matter.