Baseball is all about statistics and rules. The simplest rules are based simple mathematics. Batting average equals hits divided by plate appearances. The player with the highest batting average wins the batting crown. Simple. Straight forward.
But contracts, negotiations, bonus clauses and lawyering have confused a simple rule into a major PR mess. The Associated Press quotes the rule book as stating:
Baseball rules state a player needs to average 3.1 plate
appearances for each of his team's games to become a batting, slugging
or on-base percentage champion. But the last sentence of 10.22(a) says:
``Notwithstanding the foregoing requirement of minimum appearances at
the plate, any player with fewer than the required number of plate
appearances whose average would be the highest, if he were charged with
the required number of plate appearances shall be awarded the batting,
slugging or on-base percentage championship, as the case may be.''
So a player may "win" the batting title even if he does not have enough "real" plate appearances to qualify for the crown? It is a stupid rule, to add phantom plate appearances so a player can "win" an award he did not actually qualify for - - - part of baseball is endurance. So if you can't get to 502 plate appearances to qualify, then you don't win the award.
Giants oufielder Melky Cabrera was suspended for 50 games for testing positive to PEDs. The 50 game suspension ended his regular season.
As AP article states, Cabrera has 501 plate appearances, one fewer than the required
amount if the Giants play 162 games. Under section 10.22(a) of the
Official Baseball Rules, he would win the batting title if an extra
hitless at-bat is added to his average and it remained higher than that
of any other qualifying player. That rule came into play for the first time in 1996, when San
Diego's Tony Gwynn won his third straight NL batting title, and his
seventh overall. Gwynn hit .353 in 498 plate appearances and won when
four hitless at-bats were added and his average still topped that of
Colorado's Ellis Burks, Gwynn's closest pursuer at .344.
Major league baseball and commissioner Bud Selig do not want a drug user to win the batting title. So the union and owners got together to re-write the batting championship rule to state that the phantom at-bats will not be counted for any player who is under a league suspension. That would mean that Cabrera at 501 at bats would not win the batting crown this season, since Cabrera is one plate appearance short. End of potential controversy, or is it.
The media reports suggest that the league and union agreement is worded in such a fashion that it is still possible that Cabrera could win the title: the only way Cabrera would qualify for
the batting title is if the Giants had a rainout and played only 161
games, in which case 499 plate appearances would be sufficient.
More controversy if that happens. And none of this has to happen if the rule was simple and crystal clear: 502 plate appearances or bust. You don't have 502 plate appearances, you can't win the batting championship.
