Suppose Derek Jeter wakes up on Sunday morning and discovers that he cannot grip a baseball bat. Does that mean he has to miss the last game to be played at this Yankee Stadium?
Nope.
There’s a work-around to that situation.
You have Jeter in the starting line-up, batting first, as the Designated Hitter. This way, he doesn’t have to play the field in the top of the first inning. And, then you can have him announced into the game in the bottom of the first. That puts Derek in the boxscore and allows the fans to give him an ovation. However, before he has to bat, you remove him from the game and have someone pinch-hit for him, and become the D.H., right there in the first.
And, you then allow Jeter to leave the field to another ovation.
Anyway, that’s what I would do…if Jeter can’t go tomorrow. But, then again, if it’s up to me, with the expanded rosters, I take Jorge Posada off the D.L. tomorrow morning too – and use him, at some point, in the game as a pinch-runner…and this way he gets into the game, and the boxscore as well.
Maybe the Yankees will do that – and give us all a big surprise?
10 Responses to “One Way To Get Jeter Into The Last Game”
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September 20th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
If Jeter can’t play, I make him the honorary bench coach. Or manager.
September 20th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
You can’t do that.
Earl Weaver had a stretch where he was platooning at DH and wanted to guard against a pitching change being made before the DH came up for the 1st time. So, he would put a starting pitcher that he wasn’t going to use that day as the starting DH and then, when he came up for the first time, Weaver pinch hit for him.
In order to prevent him from continuing that, the DH rule was amended to say the starting DH must complete at least 1 plate appearance, with an exception allowed only if the other team makes a pitching change.
September 20th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
~~In order to prevent him from continuing that, the DH rule was amended to say the starting DH must complete at least 1 plate appearance, with an exception allowed only if the other team makes a pitching change.~~
So, if I’m the D.H., and I’m scheduled to bat 1st, in the 1st inning, and I have a heart attack on the way to the plate, from the on-deck circle, I wouldn’t be allowed to come out of the game?
September 20th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
In any event, if the rules would not allow my suggestion, the Yankees could always use Jeter as a PR, somewhere in the game, and allow him to get his due that way too…like my suggestion for Posada.
September 20th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Or, you could DH Jeter in the 1st, etc., and just order him not to swing…taking every pitch until he walks or is called on strikes.
September 21st, 2008 at 2:00 am
Or, you could DH Jeter in the 1st, etc., and just order him not to swing…taking every pitch until he walks or is called on strikes.
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i don’t think jeter would go for this, the yankees are technically not eliminated yet, and that would hurt the team. If the game were meaningless i’d say maybe, but not yet
September 21st, 2008 at 8:45 am
I dunno. Having Jeter punt one PA would be no worse than allowing Jose Molina to get 4 PA in a game, three times a week…
September 21st, 2008 at 10:51 am
So, if I’m the D.H., and I’m scheduled to bat 1st, in the 1st inning, and I have a heart attack on the way to the plate, from the on-deck circle, I wouldn’t be allowed to come out of the game?
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Steve, according to the unequivocably clear language of the rulebook, yes, you would not be allowed to come out of the game.
The rule states, “The designated hitter named in the starting lineup must come to bat at least one time, unless the opposing club changes pitchers.”
On the other hand, this is major league baseball. I keep on bringing up Jerry Reinsdorf’s honest admission–we have a lot of rules and we enforce them when we want to.
Look at what happened yesterday. Jeter was physically able to reach 1st base before coming out of the game, but did not so. He left the basepaths and, if I was the umpire, he would have been called out.
I refer you to rule 5.10–
The ball becomes dead when an umpire calls “Time.” The umpire-in-chief shall call “Time”—
…
(c) When an accident incapacitates a player or an umpire;
(1) If an accident to a runner is such as to prevent him from proceeding to a base to which he is entitled, as on a home run hit out of the playing field, or an award of one or more bases, a substitute runner shall be permitted to complete the play.
When he was hit by the pitch, Jeter ceased being a batter and became a runner, thus bringing him under the purview of this provision. The rule only allowed a substitution “is such as to prevent him from proceeding to a base to which he is entitled.”
Now, I will concede that I am merely a retired attorney, instead of a retired doctor. But, I do know that one does not need to be a doctor to know that getting hit on the wrist by a pitch does not affect one’s legs and therefore ability to proceed to 1st base. Nor does it affect one’s conscioussness (such as getting him in the head), that would have an effect on getting himself to 1st base.
The fact that Jeter was able to physically walk off the field is the smoking gun evidence that he was physically able to walk to 1st base.
My point here is really that, if the rules are going to be ignored yesterday, they would be ignored for a heart attack.
September 21st, 2008 at 10:58 am
And, maybe, FWIW, if the Jeter DH idea had to be used…the umps and O’s would look the other way on that rule too…
September 21st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Steve,
I’ll concede that you could be right on that last point.