In the bottom of the fourth in an ALDS game, Zack Greinke entered in a tough spot. Houston was down 7-6, with two on and no outs. Yasmani Grandal came up, already with a controversial strike earlier in the game that later turned into a homer. On his second pitch from Greinke, Grandal hit a soft grounder down the first base line. The Astros tried to get the lead runner at home, but the throw got away. It bounced off Grandal, who was sprinting inside the baseline on the grass, and chaos followed. A run scored, the catcher went flying, and players started arguing that Grandal was out of the baseline.
Greinke and the Astros were livid, pointing at the chalk and the grass, saying Grandal intentionally interfered. But the umpires huddled up and explained the rule. For plays at home, there’s no fixed baseline. A runner can set his own path as long as he doesn’t intentionally interfere with the throw. The ball hitting him, even if he’s on the grass, is legal unless he goes out of his way to block it. Despite Grandal’s odd route, the play stood. Dusty Baker pushed back, but the crew stood by the call.
Soon after, more weak grounders kept finding holes or led to close plays. One finally resulted in an out when the runner stayed on the dirt instead of the grass. It’s a strange part of the rulebook, but consistent with past examples. Unless a runner lunges or makes a clear move to obstruct, the ball hitting him doesn’t matter. Grandal’s route may have looked sketchy, but under MLB rules, it’s fair game.