OT: Mr 3000 question?

by covenant on Oct 28, 2008 1:34 PM PDT

Watched this movie Mr 3000 (which could have been good with a bit more thoughtfulness) the other night and have a totally stupid question.

About 2/3 into the movie Bernie Mac's character to help his pitcher fakes giving the ball back to the pitcher (hiding it in his glove), walks back to first, sets like he is waiting for play to begin again and when the runner takes his lead Mac pulls the ball from his glove and tags the runner out.

Is that legal in the real world or is there a rule that the ball must be returned to the pitcher for play to commence again?

PS Can we trade Cain for Maddon? Guy is an awesome coach. Why can' t the Giants bring in talent like that.

PSS. The Cain thing was sarcasm for the internet deaf.

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The hidden ball trick is illegal in the baseball world, IIRC. It was just for fun in the film.

I was more concerned that they had a Latino actor playing a Japanese dude…but still, I enjoy the movie.

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by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Oct 28, 2008 1:39 PM PDT 0 recs

The only time the trick is illegal is if the pitcher is standing on or astride the pitcher’s rubber. JT Snow did the trick a few times.

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by Natto on Oct 28, 2008 1:57 PM PDT up 0 recs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_ball_trick

Third baseman Matt Williams used a different technique; on more than one occasion, he asked the runner to step off the bag so that Williams could sweep the dirt off it, then tagged out the runner when the runner complied.

Ha!

by Natto on Oct 28, 2008 1:58 PM PDT up 0 recs

that's Shane Victorino shit right there...

by boonitez on Oct 28, 2008 4:15 PM PDT up 0 recs

No.

Shane Victorino would just push them off the base.

by chilibean_3 on Oct 28, 2008 4:49 PM PDT up 0 recs

No, what Matty did requires using your brain.

by Natto on Oct 28, 2008 6:31 PM PDT up 0 recs

Learn something new every day!

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Oct 28, 2008 2:08 PM PDT up 0 recs

I've always wanted to try it

Either vicariously through the Giants trying it out randomly (cause hey the worst thing that happens is that it doesn’t work) or in a video game, and low and behold no video game has ever included it…though I suspect if they ever made a mutant league baseball it would include that.

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by homerdrew415 on Oct 28, 2008 3:37 PM PDT up 0 recs

That movie was awful!

It may have killed Bernie Mac.

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by xanthan on Oct 28, 2008 1:40 PM PDT 0 recs

It also might have been a pornstar.

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by marcello on Oct 28, 2008 2:45 PM PDT up 0 recs

hate to date myself because she looks old now, but I used to love Vanessa The Undressa

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by rxmeister on Oct 28, 2008 7:37 PM PDT up 0 recs

She IS old now.

And what of it?

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by victor frankenstein on Oct 28, 2008 10:40 PM PDT up 0 recs

Did something similar to that happen to Ozzie Guillen as a base runner on 1st?

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by SoFa King Mike on Oct 28, 2008 1:43 PM PDT 0 recs

Haven't seen the movie.

Did they make the trick illegal?
It at least used to be very legal and was one of the reasons I loved Matt Williams. He would act like he was talking to the pitcher, go back to third after pretending to hand the ball back, then precede to tag out the baserunner while they weren’t paying attention.
It would be illegal if the pitcher actually took the mound.

by chilibean_3 on Oct 28, 2008 1:48 PM PDT 0 recs

He would then precede to do something?

Your physics fucking time warp just blew my mind.

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by howtheyscored on Oct 28, 2008 11:03 PM PDT up 0 recs

Whoops!

by chilibean_3 on Oct 29, 2008 9:02 AM PDT up 0 recs

totally legal. JT Snow did this.

the pitcher has to be off of the mound, me thinks.

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by The Gene Hackman on Oct 28, 2008 1:56 PM PDT 0 recs

This

If the pitcher is on the mound it’s a balk.

by W8ingForATitle on Oct 28, 2008 2:15 PM PDT up 0 recs

He can be on the mound, but not the rubber.

by Natto on Oct 28, 2008 2:19 PM PDT up 0 recs

No

He can’t step onto the dirt portion of the mound, he has to stay on the grass.

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by Azantor on Oct 28, 2008 5:08 PM PDT up 0 recs

Agreed

Can’t be anywhere on the mound. Our high school coach would tell us to pretend to tie our shoe on the grass. Can’t go on the mound

by m34josh on Oct 28, 2008 5:53 PM PDT up 0 recs

Guess someone needs to fix that Wikipedia article then.

by Natto on Oct 28, 2008 6:32 PM PDT up 0 recs

I believe..

They are right. The play cannot happen while the pitcher is on the dirt mound. In the example I list below, the pitcher goes up the mound, towards the rubber, but gets off the rubber before the play is put on.

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by WalrusMan on Oct 28, 2008 6:09 PM PDT up 0 recs

Correct me if I'm wrong...

Didn’t someone once try this trick with Julian Tavarez on the mound, but then he went and stepped on the rubber anyway?

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by Stuttering John Tamargo on Oct 28, 2008 2:21 PM PDT 0 recs

Probably.

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by WalrusMan on Oct 28, 2008 2:22 PM PDT up 0 recs

They only thought he stepped on the mound

Since anyone who looks at Tavarez turns to stone, there’s really no way to know.

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by groug on Oct 28, 2008 2:48 PM PDT up 0 recs

fits my memeory as well.

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by daveinexile on Oct 28, 2008 2:53 PM PDT up 0 recs

If I remember how Kruk and Kuip were explaining it...

The hidden ball trick is legal if the pitcher is not on the mound. The explanation I remember was when Snow was playing first and Rueter was on the mound. Woody walked up towards the pitching rubber, then turned back down it. When he started towards the rubber, the runner started taking his lead. When Woody turned away from it, the runner just kind of stood up and waited. Then Snow came over and tagged him.

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by WalrusMan on Oct 28, 2008 2:21 PM PDT 0 recs

I second the on the mound motions...

that’s how I have always known it

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by NeifiChicken on Oct 28, 2008 3:16 PM PDT 0 recs

Here's a video

Mike Lowell pulling off the hidden-ball trick in 2005

by sfmaynard on Oct 28, 2008 3:48 PM PDT 0 recs

LOLuis Terrero

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by CB30 on Oct 28, 2008 6:37 PM PDT up 0 recs

Ugly old Dbacks unis warning!

by Natto on Oct 28, 2008 6:43 PM PDT up 0 recs

Wow

that is awesome… I just figured that was hollywood bs…. so cool its true. Though in the movie he was on the mound I might add.

by covenant on Oct 29, 2008 7:06 PM PDT up 0 recs

Every Little League team tries this

I recall attempting to pull it several times. Usually, (since kids acting nonchalant is about is subtle as a political ad) the opposing bench would spot it immediately and scream their heads off at the kid on base to stay put. This would continue until the first baseman sheepishly tossed the ball back the the pitcher, the whole thing having been a complete failure.

The best part was when the kid on base would take a lead anyway.

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by Ott on Oct 28, 2008 5:39 PM PDT 0 recs