If you're still wondering what in the world happened to cause the long, confusing delay in Wednesday night's Red Sox-Rays game, allow umpire Angel Hernandez to explain.
When Rays manager Kevin Cash attempted to make some bizarre pitching changes in the top of the eighth inning, it caused mass confusion among the umpiring crew as well as Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
Cora felt the Rays' placements of their substitutes in the lineup were illegal, but Hernandez clarified to a pool reporter that the moves were legal per Rule 5.10 B. Cash apparently didn't specify where in the lineup he wanted his substitution placed, so Hernandez made the decision for him.
Here's Rule 5.10 B as written in the MLB rulebook:
Rule 5.10(b) The manager shall immediately notify the umpire-in-chief of any substitution and shall state to the umpire-in-chief the substitute’s place in the batting order.
Rule 5.10(b) Comment: To avoid any confusion, the manager should give the name of the substitute, his position in the batting order and his position on the field. When two or more substitute players of the defensive team enter the game at the same time, the manager shall, immediately before they take their positions as fielders, designate to the umpire-in-chief such players’ positions in the team’s batting order, and the umpire-in-chief shall so notify the official scorer. If this information is not immediately given to the umpire-in-chief, the umpire-in-chief shall have authority to designate the substitutes’ places in the batting order.
Confusing, we know. That's why it took 23 minutes to sort out.
The Rays ended up winning 3-2, but the Red Sox put the game under protest. According to Hernandez, that protest likely won't get anywhere as the outcome of the game "was not altered" by the Rays' substitutions.
Let's just hope we all never have to witness that kind of embarrassing display again.
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