The MLB Protest Rule Explained
By Sean Facey
Things got wacky at Tropicana Field during Wednesday's matchup between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Kevin Cash's managerial maneuvering with pitchers Chaz Roe and Adam Kolarek in the eighth inning left the umpires flabbergasted and led Red Sox skipper Alex Cora to play the remainder of the game under protest. So what does it mean in baseball to play a game under protest?
What Does Playing Under Protest Mean in the MLB?
A protest is an action by a manager to dispute a ruling made by an umpire by seeking a review from the league office. The dispute is then reviewed by the league, and if it is upheld, then the game in question will restart from the point at which the protest was issued.
Things just got very weird, and no one is quite sure what happened.
— NESN (@NESN) July 24, 2019
But the Red Sox are playing under protest after an odd, confusing scene at Tropicana Field. https://t.co/MsP5DtEEaL pic.twitter.com/dqkXQbN3FF
It's exceptionally rare that a protest gets upheld, however. It's happened just 15 times in MLB history, and just once in the last three decades-- the lone occurrence being a 2014 contest between the Giants and Cubs.
If this particular instance is upheld, the Red Sox and Rays would restart play from the eighth inning of Wednesday's game.
Announcement: Protest is due to the placement of the substitutes in the lineup following the removal of the DH. (Hope that clears it up)
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) July 24, 2019
We'll see how things pan out for Alex Cora and the Sox, but considering just how rare successfully protested games are in baseball, he and the team probably shouldn't hold their breath hoping to undo what was ultimately a losing result at Tropicana Field.