“Tie Goes to the Runner” Myth - Like Santa, it does and doesn't exist!

Who hasn’t heard someone yell “tie goes to the runner” after a close play at first? Of course that plea is just another example of a fan grasping at the nearest cliché to rationalize a favorable outcome for his or her team, the offense. It’s a complex discussion to talk about all the factors that influence the call when it’s so close to the naked eye it can go either way, but what of baseball’s rule book? Since I’m in a debunking mood, let’s see what the rules say about TGTTR.

Before I start dissecting words, we need to remind ourselves of some of baseball’s inalienable truths. 

The object of the game is for the batter is to circle the bases and score a point. The defense’s job is to put the batter out. Sure, that’s obvious, but the underlying implication might not be - baseball is the only sport where the defense holds the ball so they bear the burden of proof to put the batter out. If we can expand on the legal analogy and say “beyond a reasonable doubt”, you’ll see where this is going. Heck, the batter can just stand there and do nothing, but if the pitcher can’t do his job and throw a strike, the batter wins the outcome. See how it works?

The first statement we need to study is in Rule 6, “The Batter." “The batter is out if…he or first base is tagged before he touches first base.” Read this carefully: the batter must be put out BEFORE he touches first.

If our hypothetical batter is playing in an adult league and his day job happens to be a computer programmer, he might think of his dash to first like this, “I need to get there in time that is not less than the ball, which means greater to or EQUAL. Equal is good. Equal is safe!"

This Rule 6 declaration implies that when the batter-runner’s foot comes down on the bag the instant the ball pops the first baseman’s mitt…the proverbial “tie”…the runner must be safe because he wasn’t put out BEFORE he touched the bag. So that’s it - end of story, the rulebook supports TGTTR! But wait…

In the very first sentence of Rule 7, “The Runner,” the book says a runner [is safe] “when he touches it before he is out.” This is different. Now, as our weekend warrior programmer/slugger is trying to steal second, he is thinking “I need to get there in time that is greater than the tag. I need to get there first. Equal is bad. Equal is out!"

This logic seems to contradict the Rule 6 logic because now, the book is saying if he didn’t get there first, he is out. Why is the rule book so confusing? Actually, it’s not. Rule 6 is about the batter and Rule 7 is about the runner. The simple baseball truth is that once our guy reaches first, his time at the plate is done, and now, the burden of proof is on him to move safely around the bases, at his own risk, beyond doubt. Rule 7 clearly says he has to touch the base BEFORE he is put out. This is beautifully illustrated in the infamous play Derek Jeter made in the 2001 playoffs vs. Oakland where he ranged all the way to the first base line to cutoff an outfield throw and backhand the ball to catcher Jorge Posada. Jason Giambi was caught off guard so he failed to slide and Posada slapped the tag down just as Giambi stepped on the plate. To the naked eye it looks like a tie.  In real time it’s hard to say what happened first, the tag or the step on the plate. What is clear however is that Giambi didn’t get there noticeably first, before the tag. When you look at it like that, he was clearly out on a play that seems like it could go either way. This was an unbelievable defensive play and a great call by the umpire. The Rule 6 & 7 statements tell us that in the end, the tie goes to the batter, but not the runner.  But wait, there is still more...

There is a third reference like this, also in Rule 7, “The Runner.” It says, he is out if he…”is tagged before he touches the next base, after he has been forced to advance by reason of the batter becoming a runner.” If the runner is being pushed up, i.e. forced, then just like the batter-runner, the benefit of the tie-doubt swings back to him.  This makes total sense and solidifies the idea that when the ball is put in play, the burden is on the defense to be first to the punch, but if a runner is advancing on his own, he must win the race. When we piece these three rule book statements together, the logic is consistent and shows remarkably how proper baseball’s rules really are.  

This analysis simply tells us what the underlying rules of baseball say, but doesn't guarantee a thing as far as how the game is officiated on the field. Certainly Jeter's effort had an impact on the arbiter's decision in that instant he made such a memorable play.  Regardless of the appearance of any play, an umpire has to make a call one way or the other, so ties can’t really exist in outcome, although they can in space and time. In that respect, ties in baseball are indeed like Santa Clause, they do and they don’t exist. I’ll address how this plays out on the diamond in an upcoming segment but in the mean time, remember, ties go to the batter, but not the runner - in theory.

Jim Tosches is an amateur umpire and blogger in Encinitas, Ca and author of the book, "The Rules Abide: The Thinking Fan's Guide to Baseball Rules (With History, Humor and a Few Big Words)"

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