Ethical Question: Advancing on Injury

[nsimps]

With Rick Ankiel's injury last night, I was reminded of a issue I've always wondered what other people thought about. Is it ok to advance an extra base on someone's injury? I see it a lot when a line drive hits a pitcher or an outfielder collides with a wall and the runner just keeps running until someone finally picks up the ball and calls a timeout.

[Invader3K]

I don't think there's anything wrong with it...when a player is running the bases, it's probably hard to tell what's exactly happening with an outfielder. It's more up to the base coaches to tell him to keep running, or to hold up.

[prophet]

it's a tough question to answer even if you put it in just the context of baseball injuries. in football, if a linebacker misses the runner, falls, and injures himself, the runningback doesn't stop. and in basketball, if someone blows out a knee playing defense the other team gets a fastbreak, and play doesn't stop till the injured team gets possession. but ethically, i guess i would say follow the rules of the game, and the rules say, you keep running till time is called. plus if play did stop because of injuries, players would use that to there advantage too. "ball in the gap, i can't get to it, i'll pull up with a hamstring injury and they'll stop the guy at first."

[JimH5]

I would say you play until the umpire says to stop.

 

It's not church-league softball.

[JohnBriggs12]

It's the other way around. It would be unethical for a runner to stop because of an injury. He's paid to keep running. Injuries are part of the game. Trainers are paid to attend to injured players.

[MessiahRp]

True, but after Cam drilled that Giants pitcher with a line drive and stopped at second, imagine if he had tried to go to third or whatever... That player now has a completely negative public perception to battle. Sometimes just because it's not against the rules, doesn't make it right.

 

Rp

[RobDeer 45]

It's a tough call but I agree you have to keep running. I think sometimes when something horrible happens (line drive off a pitcher) that guys won't push it. They might take 2nd but probably wouldn't try for third. If it's in the outfield guys will keep running I believe. You are right, this is the only sport that this is even a question.

[strawbossisevil]

It isn´t the only sport. In soccer, at least in professional soccer, if someone goes down with an injury the other team kicks the ball out of play so that the injured player can get medical attention.

[FVBrewerFan]

It isn´t the only sport. In soccer, at least in professional soccer, if someone goes down with an injury the other team kicks the ball out of play so that the injured player can get medical attention.

For all injuries or just fake injuries? Actually, that makes this an easy answer. Whatever soccer would do, do the opposite.

[strawbossisevil]

Wow, that´s a pretty low blow for those of us that actually enjoy soccer. Yes, occasionally injuries are faked to try to get a call, but it is a lot more frequent where a player gets kicked in the shin or ankle. In the moment that that happens that could bring anyone to their knees in pain, even if it is something they are later able to walk off. Hardly a "fake injury".

 

Just because you don´t like a sport, doesn´t mean you have to belittle it.

[Brian the Automator]

Just because you don´t like a sport, doesn´t mean you have to belittle it.

It's not like soccer's a real sport anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[valpocrewsader]

soccer

For all injuries or just fake injuries? Actually, that makes this an easy answer. Whatever soccer would do, do the opposite.

Post of the year. (EDIT: sorry strawboss, but this was funny.)

 

On topic, some above are mentioning "stopping at second" on a liner off the pitcher. I must not be picturing the scene correctly; how on earth would a batter ever make it further than first or maybe second in such a situation? Rest of the defense attends to the pitcher?

[davego]

...And Brian drops the puck...

[sbrylski]

It isn´t the only sport. In soccer, at least in professional soccer, if someone goes down with an injury the other team kicks the ball out of play so that the injured player can get medical attention.

I guess I would say it doesn't compare well because baseball has breaks in play every 10 seconds. Soccer can go minutes without a break in play.

[Thurston Fluff]

It's not like soccer's a real sport anyway.

 

It's not a spectator sport but it certainly takes more of an athlete to play than baseball. Any sport that can be played while drinking beer or smoking a cigarette can hardly be called a sport. If a soccer player smoked he would barf up a lung.

[RightFieldCoder]

On topic, some above are mentioning "stopping at second" on a liner off the pitcher. I must not be picturing the scene correctly; how on earth would a batter ever make it further than first or maybe second in such a situation? Rest of the defense attends to the pitcher?

See Cameron in SF. He got to 2nd.

 

In soccer, they're usually kicking the ball around just to get a positional advantage. Baseball runners are trying to score points. They will run home in 15 seconds. And usually the trainer starts going onto the field before the play stops to help the injured player. So playing on in baseball really doesn't delay the medical help they recieve.

[MJLiverock]

Actually drinking beer or smoking while playing soccer is easier than baseball because you have no use for your hands anyway. I have seen plenty of soccer and basketball players who smoked and ran the court or field just like everyone else.

[Thurston Fluff]

How do they keep from spilling their beer? To me that shows even more athleticism.

[joepepsi]

Any sport that can be played while drinking beer or smoking a cigarette can hardly be called a sport.

Now that's my kind of sport. Let's all knock for the day and go bowling!

[areacodes]

It isn´t the only sport. In soccer, at least in professional soccer, if someone goes down with an injury the other team kicks the ball out of play so that the injured player can get medical attention.

The other team kicks the ball out of bounds because they expect it back when when play resumes. If that didn't happen I highly doubt they would give up the possession of the ball. I do agree with you that soccer is pretty sweet and I, for one, enjoy watching the premier leagues of Europe... MLS? Not so much, though if we had a team in Wisconsin I'd follow that too (but I suppose this is for a different thread).

 

Back on topic: If it is unethical to advance on an injury, wouldn't it also be unethical for a fielder to tag out an injured baserunner?

 

It is my opinion that you advance as far as you can, just like you tag the guy out if he tears his ACL rounding third. It does suck but it is part of the game.

[Tbadder]

I just don't believe ethics has much to do with sport outside of gambling. The idea is to win; anything else is a loser mentality. Now, don't get me wrong. It's okay to act ethically, and probably deriseable, but it's not a prerequiste. If an outfielder collides with the wall and is knocked unconscious and his fellow outfielder says "to heck with the ball this guy is bleeding from the ears and nose" and lets the runner advance the entire length of the bases the runner is under no obligation to stop. Like wise, if a pitcher is ordered to throw at a hitter and horrors of horrors it hits him in the head killing him, I don't believe it is a moral dilemna and neither the pitcher or who ordered the pitch should be prosecuted--that's just life and it's anything but fair.

[Thurston Fluff]

Now that's my kind of sport. Let's all knock for the day and go bowling!

 

As a left hander I find bowling to be very discriminatory. Ever try to find a left handed bowling ball? They never have a lefty section of balls and trying to bowl with a right handed ball nearly tears your thumb off at the knuckle. At least in kindergarten they labeled scissors to help us. Bowling is worse than kindergarten scissors by far.

[strawbossisevil]

It isn´t the only sport. In soccer, at least in professional soccer, if someone goes down with an injury the other team kicks the ball out of play so that the injured player can get medical attention.

The other team kicks the ball out of bounds because they expect it back when when play resumes. If that didn't happen I highly doubt they would give up the possession of the ball. I do agree with you that soccer is pretty sweet and I, for one, enjoy watching the premier leagues of Europe... MLS? Not so much, though if we had a team in Wisconsin I'd follow that too (but I suppose this is for a different thread).

 

Back on topic: If it is unethical to advance on an injury, wouldn't it also be unethical for a fielder to tag out an injured baserunner?

 

It is my opinion that you advance as far as you can, just like you tag the guy out if he tears his ACL rounding third. It does suck but it is part of the game.

Well, of course they expect to get it back. The point is, however, that the team doesn´t try to take advantage of the player being injured, seeing it as their opportunity to quick score while the other team is a man down.

 

I guess I don´t see baseball as following that type of sportsmanship though. Sportsmanship in America is dead.

[cwolf2012]

I recall in the Tour De France within the last couple years, one of the leaders was involved in a massive wreck. The people who were close to him in time all stopped and waited for the wreckage to clear before they continued on.

 

I think that you should maybe take the one extra base. If the guy is clearly hurt badly, you stop after that one extra base. So if you hit a legit single, you take 2nd. If you hit a double, take 3rd.

 

The thing is that it's way harder to tell what's going on with an OF injury than an IF (like the guy Cameron hit). Cam could see very clearly that he was hurt bad. If that play was in the OF, he wouldn't be able to tell what was happening as well, and should probably continue running until the base coach stops him.

[lukevan]

Now that's my kind of sport. Let's all knock for the day and go bowling!

 

As a left hander I find bowling to be very discriminatory. Ever try to find a left handed bowling ball? They never have a lefty section of balls and trying to bowl with a right handed ball nearly tears your thumb off at the knuckle. At least in kindergarten they labeled scissors to help us. Bowling is worse than kindergarten scissors by far.

agreed Backup. I've been to exactly one bowling alley that had a left handed bowling ball. Now, I've had my own ball for a few years but it was nearly impossible to bowl with an alley ball back then.