The Chase is still on

In the eighth inning of the Phillies' game last night, Chase Utley, with no hits in four at-bats in the game, hit a bouncer to the pitcher, Randy Flores. Flores fielded the ball, quickly looked Shane Victorino back to third base, then threw to first. As the throw arrived, Albert Pujols pulled his foot off the base, but Utley had beaten the throw anyway. Does this sound like a fielder's choice to you? It does to me. However, this situation was different from most. This batted ball had the potential to extend one of the longest hitting streaks of the ESPN era to 34 games. The official scorer initially ruled it a hit, then reviewed the play further, and again called it a single.

Which is the right call? My opinion is obvious. Was it a bad call? Maybe the rule book can be interpreted in such a way that the scoring is legitimate. I don't know the rules well enough to say. Nevertheless, I am sure Major League Baseball is cringing behind the scenes. At a time when so many baseball records are under scrutiny, controversy over a hitting streak was the last thing baseball needed. A bright spot for MLB, though, is that the Phillies rallied to get Utley another at-bat in the ninth inning. Utley responded with a clean hit, so the integrity of the streak is intact and the official scorer is off the hook to some degree. The scoring of the eighth inning "hit" will still be analyzed to death over the next two days, but hopefully the subject will fade away soon for the sake of the game.