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3 hours ago
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A whole season of baseball may have come down to the most precise of placements.
If Addison Barger's drive to deep center had been an inch higher or an inch lower, the ball would've bounded off the wall. Myles Straw would've scored to cut the deficit to one. Maybe Barger is still on second, or maybe he goes to third.
Maybe, after that, nothing would've changed. Maybe Tyler Glasnow would've worked a great escape anyway.
But all we know for sure is what did happen. The ball did get lodged at the base of the centerfield wall. It was a ground-rule double. And the Blue Jays didn't score a run at all.
Barger ended up making a big mistake and getting doubled off second base on a liner with one out to end the game, but the bad luck had already occurred.
MORE: Why Addison Barger only got a double on ball lodged under wall
How did a dead ball happen and decide World Series Game 6?
As soon as that baseball became lodged at the base of the wall and the outfielders stuck up their hands, it was "dead."
A "dead ball" is when the runners are meant to stop moving. They can't advance of their own accord. They're placed based on the rule book.
A hit by pitch is one of the most basic forms of a dead ball. The batter is awarded first base, and any runners he forces to move forward get one base.
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A more traditional ground-rule double, when the ball bounces over the fence, is another dead ball. Every player on base, including the batter-runner, gets two bases.
This was a ground-rule double, too, just a different kind. But that ball was "dead" the moment it got stuck and no one made an attempt to field it. The umpires have to confirm that it's lodged, but once it is, that's that.
And so a dead ball killed a portion of the Blue Jays' rally, and they'll have to play a Game 7.
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