On the Phrase, "Tie Goes To The Runner"

"Tie goes to the runner". There are few commonly-used phrases that bother me more than this one. I don't know when or where it came about, but could we please put it to rest? Admirably, it's often used to settle arguments in pick-up softball games. But here's the problem: there's no such thing as a tie.

The phrase bothers me as a baseball fan, but more so as a math/science guy. There's no such thing as a tie, just like no two snowflakes are exactly alike. On a force play at first base, either the ball reaches the glove first, or the foot touches the base first. They do not--they cannot--happen at the EXACT same time. If we had limitless video technology, and could look at the play over and over with increasing precision, eventually we'd see that the runner is either out or safe, even if it's just by a nanosecond. And if it still looks like the ball reaches the glove at the exact same nanosecond as the foot reaches the bag, slow it down further. Go to the next decimal place.

I realize we don't have limitless video technology, especially in a pick-up softball game. But to call it a tie is to undermine the efforts of the players on both sides. We don't know if he was out or safe. What we do know is that it was NOT at tie. Call out or safe, and move on. The other team can get the next close call. Or use my patented method for close calls in any sport: the team that first calls for a do-over is the team that knows they are in the wrong.

I continue to be surprised by how often I still here "tie goes to the runner". And it seems to carry weight, almost as if it is an official rule, even among the semi-educated baseball community. I even heard a broadcaster use it once. It's a cop-out, a disservice to the fans and players, and worst of all, it's disrespectful to the mathematical laws of the universe.

So there.