In the Angels vs. Giants tonight, the Giants hit a ground-rule double in the bottom of the 10th with the bases loaded. The runners on second and third were initially awarded home with the final score 8-6 Giants. However the score was later changed to 7-6, presumably because the runner on second never touched home. In a case like this, would the sports books go with the initial final score or the official score? I would imagine either way, there were some very upset run-line bettors.
[Editor's Note: We're very lucky to have Blair Rodman to whom to direct questions of this nature. Blair's book, All about Sports Betting (on sale now for $33.95), is the definitive guide to the subject. Better yet, Blair is a lifelong sports fan and he's seen more "interesting and rare occurrences" than you can shake a money line at. Take it, Blair.]
This is a very interesting and rare occurrence. Walk-off home runs aren’t uncommon, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a walk-off ground-rule double. The rule is that all runners are entitled to their bases, so the player on second should have been awarded two bases and therefore scored on a ground-rule double. However, there’s a superseding rule that a run doesn’t count unless the player in question touches home plate, which he didn’t, so the run doesn’t count.
While the scoreboard initially showed 8-6, the Angels immediately appealed, which by rule they must do before the umps leave the field. The appeal was upheld, so the MLB official score was recorded as 7-6, which is what sports books use to grade bets.
I can’t imagine that any books graded bets based on the scoreboard showing 8-6, since it was quickly corrected. There have been instances where official scores have been changed a day or more later, but in that case, books grade from the official score that day and the changed score is irrelevant. Books must do this to avoid paying both sides of a bet.
I’m not sure why the player on second didn’t touch home plate. Maybe he didn’t know the rule or the celebration took over and he was just happy to win. But it did have an effect, both for bettors who had the +1.5/-1.5 run line, or possibly some player props or some kind of total.
For the players involved, for whom stats are important, the batter lost an RBI, the guilty player lost a run scored, and the pitcher avoided an earned run.
