The Throw That Hit the Bat

October 14, 2015, Game 5 of the American League Division Series, the top of the seventh at Rogers Centre. Russell Martin, the Toronto catcher, made the ordinary throw back to the pitcher. The ball hit Shin-Soo Choo's bat as Choo stood in the box and rolled away. Rougned Odor scored from third. Texas led, 3–2.

The ball was live. Dale Scott's crew let the run stand, which is what the rule required. Fans threw bottles and trash, and the game stopped. In the bottom of the inning Toronto made three errors, and then José Bautista homered and the Blue Jays took the lead. The series ended that night.

The throw is a routine that became a run because a bat was where a bat is allowed to be. The delay is the crowd. The entry is the rule, applied once, in a game that already had a lead to lose. It is a different night from the one, a season later, when Odor and Bautista fought.