Protest (baseball)
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When an umpire makes a decision that a manager feels is incorrect, the manager may decide to protest the decision.
When a manager decides to protest, he must inform the umpire of the decision immediately, before the next pitch is made. He must explain that his team is now playing the game under protest. A manager may only protest when he feels the umpire's interpretation of the rules is in error. Judgement calls, such as ball or strike, foul or fair, out or safe, interference, or obstruction may not be protested. Protests also may not be lodged over issues that do not directly affect the game (such as ejection) or on scoring decisions.
If the disputed play is last of the game, the manager has until noon the next day to lodge the protest.
A protested game is continued as normal. If the protesting team wins, the protest is dropped. Otherwise, the decision is reviewed by the President of the League. If it is determined that the umpire was in error, and that the decision adversely affected the outcome of the game for the protesting team, then the protest is upheld. The game must be replayed from the point of protest as soon as possible for both teams. All results of the old game are thrown out. Otherwise, the protest is thrown out and the game stands.
Protests in baseball are rare, and an upheld protest is rarer still.
[edit] The Pine Tar Incident
Perhaps the most famous of baseball protests is the so-called pine tar incident. On July 24, 1983, George Brett of the Kansas City Royals hit a ninth-inning 2-run home run against longtime rival Goose Gossage to put the Royals ahead of the New York Yankees 5-4. At this point, Billy Martin, the Yankees manager, came out of the dugout. Martin had known beforehand that Brett used pine tar on his bat that extended above the legal limit of 18 inches, and since Brett had just hit a home run, he brought the fact up to the umpire. The umpire inspected the bat, called Brett out, and nullified his home run. The Royals protested the game, and lost 4-3.
The American League President at the time, Lee MacPhail, made the ruling. Although he acknowledged that the umpire had ruled correctly, he upheld the protest. Some of the reasons cited are that he believed that games should be won and lost on the field, that the rule did not call for the batter being put out (only his removal from the game), that the pine tar was necessary for Brett's grip since he did not wear batting gloves, and that pine tar did not alter a bat to allow it to hit a ball further. Also implied was that Martin's tactics of waiting for the proper moment to call the violation to the attention of the umpires was against the spirit of the rules.
The game was finished on August 18, 1983, played from Brett's home run. No more runs were scored, and the Royals won 5-4.
