The Toronto Blue Jays were this close to tying or maybe even winning Game 6 of the World Series. Alejandro Kirk took one for the team, literally getting hit by a pitch to start the ninth. Then Myles Straw came in to pinch run, and up stepped Addison Barger with the crowd on its feet. Then—a crack! A line drive into the gap in left center.

It looked like the kind of hit that turns into a forever highlight. Until the ball somehow got stuck under the outfield padding. Both Straw and Barger rounded the bases and crossed home, and the crowd was roaring for an expected 3-3 tie, only for the umpires to send them right back.

That play was ruled a “dead ball,” giving Barger a ground rule double. As the final score stood at 3-1, fans were livid about up in the north.

The momentum had gone, and the Los Angeles Dodgers hung on to win and forced a do-or-die Game 7 after all. Many fans angrily vented their frustration on social media about what they thought was an unfair call.

One fan said, “I just don’t understand how he was allowed to pick up the ball and throw it before the official came over to look at it. Why was the fielder allowed to call the play dead and then throw away the evidence? …literally.”

Another added, “Barger wasn’t safe… but at the same time, that shouldn’t have been a dead ball!!”

And this stance by the Jays fans is not taken well by the Dodger Nation or even other club fans. They are clapping back on the narrative and asking the Canadians to learn the rules.

Baseball universe teaches the Toronto Blue Jays fans the rules

“By rule, it’s a dead ball. I realize you Canadians have no understanding of rules. Pay your tariffs,” one frustrated fan wrote. According to MLB rules, when a fair ball lodges in the wall or padding, it’s automatically a ground rule double, and the ball is dead. The batter is then awarded second base, and runners advance two bases from their positions at the pitch. No players or runs count once the ball is declared to be dead. Hence, what the umpire did with the ruling makes all the more sense. With that, they didn’t back down from the new tariff strategies.

“It’s a simple friggin rule, and all the drama queens on here that need to make a goddamn big deal over nonsense are just sad. It’s a dead ball.  Always has been. Always will be. Get over it. The Blue Jays blew it. Go win tonight,” gloated a fan. There is already a huge narrative among non-Dodger fans that the league must be biased. That everything they do is to get LA to this stage, all because MLB earns a massive amount through the TV deals, merchandise, and ticket sales. The Dodgers indeed generate significantly more revenue than the Toronto Blue Jays. But this is only a small percentage of unverified thoughts, and the call was as per the rules. So, some just gave a reality check, asking Toronto to end the 32-year drought by winning Game 7.

Educating the Jays fans, one user said, “The fact that it lost all momentum and it was not moving anywhere is the reason why it’s a dead ball, you dumb f***.” They went with the literal meaning of dead ball here. In fact, a similar incident occurred in 2019 at Oracle Park. Chicago Cubs’ Javier Baez hit a ball that got jammed under the outfield wall. The Giants’ right fielder first threw his hands up to signal that it was unplayable and then decided to go for it anyway. The umpires ruled it a ground ball double and called the ball dead, just like what we saw in Game 6 of the World Series.

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Brutally straight, a comment went, “Dead ball, learn the rules.” Ironically, just a month earlier, the Toronto Blue Jays had their own mix-up with the same rule against the Reds. When TJ Friedl’s hit got stuck into the wall, Nathan Lukes played it live, letting Reds runners score before a review overturned it to a ground ball double. It was a messy defensive lapse, and that showed Toronto’s shaky grasp on the rule. And sure, the umpires saved them that day, but they still went on to lose. And funny now it has circled back!

Showing Jays the mirror, one fan commented, “Fielding a dead ball to allow runs would be the dumbest, stupid thing an outfielder could do in that situation.” Now this is a rule in place, and it is designed to prevent any foolish or dangerous plays, such as intentionally fielding a dead ball to prevent runs. These actions would go on to violate the sport and the players’ safety.

Simply put, a dead ball ensures that once a ball is unplayable, further plays cannot be made.