Are There Tabs Kept on "Almosts"

With all of the statistics kept in baseball I wonder where the "almosts" are filed.

Almosts are those hits that aren't hits due to a scorekeeper's ruling, an umpire's ruling that the ball is fair or foul, out of play (umpire's judgment) or rule book definition type stuff (umpire's interpretation).

(So you can see where an umpire might think he's the bee's knees. That he is mooey/muy importante. A legend in his own mind. Et cetera, et cetera, etc. This accentuates why, on a previous post, I am compelled to honor that type of umpire behavior with a Pie in the Face.)

Not all almosts are umpire-aided. Sometimes things are out of our control. We do what we can and whatever will be, will be... (que sera sera, no?)

The best example of an almost happened to Barry's dad, Bobby Bonds.

He was set to become the first major leaguer to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases if not for a home run that was cancelled due to inclement weather. (A rule book definition of an incomplete game.)

In the Giants' return to Fenway Park, Barry Bonds hit a ball over the foul pole that was ruled foul. There was no gathering of the troops to make sure the call was accurate. The first -base umpire saw it all the way. Would he admit it if he wasn't quite paying attention until he heard the roar of the crowd and then suddenly had to get into position? Which would mean he was out of position, either at the crack of the bat or after the pressure of the moment caused a clamping of his lower intestines? The umpire of whom I speak is Charlie Reliford.

(I did not see this at-bat. I only have to go by the paint-by-number descriptions of Jon Miller. And Miller discussed Reliford's behavior, in-part, because of Reliford's bad body language as home plate umpire in the next game. And for an announcer, probably the best- painter of a baseball scenario- going, choosing not let the Reliford attitude go, the way lower intestines relieve the body of its gases, I have to award Charlie Reliford with a Pie in the Face.)


kevin marquez