Ghost Runners Thrash Team in Exciting 10-Inning Slugfest!
Here are the rules and the format if the World Baseball Classic is tied after the ninth inning.
The World Baseball Classic championship game between the United States and Venezuela feels like a playoff contest, with both teams tied going into the ninth inning. But what happens if there's extra innings, with that tie holding through nine? The answer is: It's not like the MLB playoffs .
It turns out the "ghost runner" rule is in play, which keeps the game from going too many innings (remember, it's spring training still). Per MLB: "For any inning beginning with the 10th inning, the Federation Team at bat shall begin the inning with a runner on second base. The batter who leads off an inning shall continue to be the batter who would lead off the inning in the absence of this extra-innings rule.
The runner on second base shall be the player (or a substitute for such player) in the batting order immediately preceding the batter who leads off the inning. " There you have it. This article originally appeared on For The Win: WBC extra innings rules and format: Is ghost runner rule in play?