Forfeit (baseball)
Encyclopedia
In rare cases, baseball
games are forfeited, usually in the event when a team is no longer able to play. In the event of forfeiture, the score is recorded as "9 to 0", as per rule 2.00 of the Major League Baseball Rules Book. However, the actual game statistics are recorded as they stand at the point of forfeit, and recorded as a loss in the standings for the forfeiting team, and a win for the other team, even if the forfeiting team is ahead at that point. The "9 to 0" score equates to the number of innings in a regulation game. Seven-inning regulation games, such as softball and Little League Baseball, generally award a rule-based score of "7 to 0".
In Major League Baseball
, forfeits generally occur only when fans disrupt the game to a point where the stadium staff cannot control them, at which point the home team is forced to forfeit.
Forfeits were more common in the early days of baseball: there were five forfeits in the National League in 1886
. Game 2 of the 1885 World Series
was forfeited when St. Louis pulled its team from the field to protest the umpiring. Game 7 of the 1934 World Series
was in jeopardy of being forfeited when the Detroit fans began showering the outfield with debris, but the potential black eye to the Series was averted by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis
ordering the Cardinals left fielder to be replaced in the one-sided game.
Forfeits have become extremely rare in recent years. There was a spate of them in the 1970s, when the last prior forfeit had occurred in 1954.
In gridiron football
, a forfeiture occurs when a team cannot field a minimum of seven players (the number legally required to man a line of scrimmage
) at or during game time, as a result of a palpably unfair act (only in high school or college football), or (most commonly) as a result of punitive retroactive sanctions against a team from a governing body such as the NCAA. Forfeits result in a 2-0 (the lowest possible score in American football, with the non-forfeiting team credited with a safety
) score unless the team not forfeiting is in the lead, except in high school football
and Canadian football
, where forfeits are registered as a 1-0 score (such a score is possible in Canada because of the single
, but impossible in high school football).
The National Football League
rulebook has a provision for forfeiture, but has never used it (there was at least one alleged "forfeit" in the 1921 NFL season
, but because league schedules were so fluid in the 1920s, the league now considers it a cancellation, which was very common at the time); it was briefly discussed as a potential punishment during Spygate but never implemented. The NCAA also uses punitive forfeiture in other sports.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
games are forfeited, usually in the event when a team is no longer able to play. In the event of forfeiture, the score is recorded as "9 to 0", as per rule 2.00 of the Major League Baseball Rules Book. However, the actual game statistics are recorded as they stand at the point of forfeit, and recorded as a loss in the standings for the forfeiting team, and a win for the other team, even if the forfeiting team is ahead at that point. The "9 to 0" score equates to the number of innings in a regulation game. Seven-inning regulation games, such as softball and Little League Baseball, generally award a rule-based score of "7 to 0".
In Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, forfeits generally occur only when fans disrupt the game to a point where the stadium staff cannot control them, at which point the home team is forced to forfeit.
Forfeits were more common in the early days of baseball: there were five forfeits in the National League in 1886
1886 in baseball
-Champions:* World Series St. Louis Browns 4, Chicago White Stockings 2*National League: Chicago White Stockings*American Association: St. Louis Browns-National League final standings:-American Association final standings:...
. Game 2 of the 1885 World Series
1885 World Series
The 1885 World Series was an end-of-the-year playoff series between the National League champion Chicago White Stockings and American Association champion St. Louis Browns. The Series was played in four different cities...
was forfeited when St. Louis pulled its team from the field to protest the umpiring. Game 7 of the 1934 World Series
1934 World Series
The 1934 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Cardinals' "Gashouse Gang" winning in seven games for their third championship in nine years....
was in jeopardy of being forfeited when the Detroit fans began showering the outfield with debris, but the potential black eye to the Series was averted by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
ordering the Cardinals left fielder to be replaced in the one-sided game.
Forfeits have become extremely rare in recent years. There was a spate of them in the 1970s, when the last prior forfeit had occurred in 1954.
Forfeits in other sports
In theory, other sports also allow forfeits.In gridiron football
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
, a forfeiture occurs when a team cannot field a minimum of seven players (the number legally required to man a line of scrimmage
Line of scrimmage
In American and Canadian football a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun...
) at or during game time, as a result of a palpably unfair act (only in high school or college football), or (most commonly) as a result of punitive retroactive sanctions against a team from a governing body such as the NCAA. Forfeits result in a 2-0 (the lowest possible score in American football, with the non-forfeiting team credited with a safety
Safety (football score)
A safety or safety touch is a type of score in American football and Canadian football and is worth two points . In American football, it is the only means by which a team not in possession of the football can score points...
) score unless the team not forfeiting is in the lead, except in high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
and Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, where forfeits are registered as a 1-0 score (such a score is possible in Canada because of the single
Single (football)
In Canadian football, a single is awarded when the ball is kicked into the end zone by any legal means, other than a successful field goal, and the receiving team does not return, or kick, the ball out of its end zone...
, but impossible in high school football).
The National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
rulebook has a provision for forfeiture, but has never used it (there was at least one alleged "forfeit" in the 1921 NFL season
1921 NFL season
The 1921 APFA season was the 2nd regular season of the National Football League, which was then called the American Professional Football Association....
, but because league schedules were so fluid in the 1920s, the league now considers it a cancellation, which was very common at the time); it was briefly discussed as a potential punishment during Spygate but never implemented. The NCAA also uses punitive forfeiture in other sports.
MLB forfeits since 1970
- At the Washington SenatorsTexas Rangers (baseball)The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
' final game at RFK StadiumRobert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Washington, D.C., United States, and the current home of MLS's D.C. United....
against the New York YankeesNew York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
on September 30, 1971, with the home team leading 7-5 and two outs in the top of the ninth inning, fans angered by the team's impending move to Dallas-Fort Worth, where the Senators were to become the Texas Rangers in 19721972 in baseball-Labor strife and more moving:1972 was tainted by a players' strike over pension and salary arbitration. The strike erased the first week and a half of the season, and the Leagues decided to just excise the lost portion of the season with no makeups. As a result, an uneven number of games were...
, stormed the fieldPitch invasionA pitch invasion or field invasion, known as rushing the field in the United States, occurs when a crowd of people who are watching a sports game run onto the field, to celebrate or protest about an incident...
and vandalized the stadium. - Ten Cent Beer NightTen Cent Beer NightTen Cent Beer Night was a promotion held by Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians during a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on June 4, 1974....
: A promotion held by the Cleveland IndiansCleveland IndiansThe Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
on June 4, 1974 backfired when intoxicated Cleveland fans jumped onto the field and attacked Texas RangersTexas Rangers (baseball)The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
outfielderOutfielderOutfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
Jeff BurroughsJeff BurroughsJeffrey Alan Burroughs is a former player in Major League Baseball. From through , he played for the Washington Senators , Texas Rangers , Atlanta Braves , Seattle Mariners , Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays . Burroughs batted and threw right-handed...
with the score tied 5-5 in the ninth inning. This led to a riot in which the drunken and rowdy fans—armed with an array of debris including chunks of the stadium seating -- brawled with players from both teams as well as with staff members. The umpires forfeited the game to Texas. - During the September 15, 1977 game between the Baltimore OriolesBaltimore OriolesThe Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
and Toronto Blue JaysToronto Blue JaysThe Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
at Exhibition StadiumExhibition StadiumCanadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
, Orioles manager Earl WeaverEarl WeaverEarl Sidney Weaver is a former Major League Baseball manager. He spent his entire 17-year managerial career with the Baltimore Orioles . Weaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.-Playing career:After playing for Beaumont High School in St...
claimed a tarp being used on the bullpen mound endangered his players. After arguing with umpire Marty Springstead, Weaver was ejected and he responded by pulling his team from the field, forfeiting the game to the Blue Jays. This marked the first (and to date only) time since 1914 that a Major League baseball team deliberately decided to forfeit a game. - Disco Demolition NightDisco Demolition NightDisco Demolition Night was a promotional event that took place on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, during which a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field. It was held during the twi-night doubleheader baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and...
: On July 12, 1979, the Chicago White SoxChicago White SoxThe Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
held a game in which Chicago radio personalityRadio personalityA radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
Steve DahlSteve DahlSteven Robert Dahl has been an American radio personality and humorist for more than thirty years. He is currently podcasting, and releases the podcasts for download daily from his own website as well as the iTunes store...
came onto the field to blow up a box full of discoDiscoDisco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
records between games of a doubleheaderDoubleheader (baseball)A doubleheader is a set of two baseball games played between the same two teams on the same day in front of the same crowd. In addition, the term is often used unofficially to refer to a pair of games played by a team in a single day, but in front of different crowds and not in immediate...
. Rowdy and intoxicated fans, who had packed Comiskey ParkComiskey ParkComiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
beyond capacity, immediately stormed the field, engaged in various acts of vandalism and theft, and did not leave the field until the arrival of Chicago Police in full riot gear. Umpires postponed the game and American LeagueAmerican LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
President Lee MacPhailLee MacPhailLeland Stanford MacPhail, Jr. is an American retired front-office executive in Major League Baseball...
later declared the second game of the doubleheader a forfeit to the visiting Detroit TigersDetroit TigersThe Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
. - On August 10, 1995, the Los Angeles DodgersLos Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
gave out baseballs to paying customers as they entered the Dodger StadiumDodger StadiumDodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...
gates for a game against the St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
. The Cardinals were leading the game 2-1 as the Dodgers came to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning. The first batter, Raúl MondesíRaúl MondesíRaúl Ramón Mondesí Avelino is a former Major League Baseball player and the current mayor of San Cristóbal Province in the Dominican Republic. He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1994 as a right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers...
, was called out on strikes and promptly ejected by home plate umpire Jim Quick for arguing, as was Dodger manager Tommy LasordaTommy LasordaThomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...
moments later. Dodger fans, fuelled by a series of close calls and a few rounds of alcohol, immediately began throwing the baseballs onto the field. The Cardinals left the field due to safety concerns and the umpires forfeited the game to St. Louis 15 minutes later.
External links
- List of MLB forfeits, a full list of Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
forfeits since the late 19th century.