Forfeit (baseball)

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.

Forfeits in other sports

In theory, other sports also allow forfeits.

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.

MLB forfeits since 1970

• At the Washington Senators' final game at RFK Stadium against the New York Yankees 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 1972, stormed the field and vandalized the stadium.
• Ten Cent Beer Night: A promotion held by the Cleveland Indians on June 4, 1974 backfired when intoxicated Cleveland fans jumped onto the field and attacked Texas Rangers outfielder Jeff Burroughs 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 Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium, Orioles manager Earl Weaver 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 Night: On July 12, 1979, the Chicago White Sox held a game in which Chicago radio personality Steve Dahl came onto the field to blow up a box full of disco records between games of a doubleheader. Rowdy and intoxicated fans, who had packed Comiskey Park 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 League President Lee MacPhail later declared the second game of the doubleheader a forfeit to the visiting Detroit Tigers.
• On August 10, 1995, the Los Angeles Dodgers gave out baseballs to paying customers as they entered the Dodger Stadium gates for a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. 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 Mondesí, was called out on strikes and promptly ejected by home plate umpire Jim Quick for arguing, as was Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda 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 Baseball forfeits since the late 19th century.