Sports 101

The Cleveland Indians scored the go-ahead run against the New York Yankees during the American League Championships on a controversial play Wednesday and went on to win 4-1.

1. With runner Enrique Wilson on first base, Cleveland's Travis Fryman bunts the ball down the first-base line.

2. Fryman runs to first to the left of the foul line as Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez fields the ball and throws to second baseman Chuck Knoblauch covering first.

3. The ball hits Fryman in the back and falls behind Knoblauch, who thought the ball was dead.

4. As Knoblauch protests to first-base umpire John Shulock, Wilson continues to run toward home and manages to score. Home-plate umpire Ted Hendry rules no interference.

Q: Is Fryman out?

A: Yes, but the umpire's ruling was not in accordance with the rulebook. According to rule 7.09 (k), it is considered interference by a batter when in running the last half of the distance from home base to first base while the ball is being fielded to first base, he runs outside (to the right of) the 3-foot line, or inside (to the left of) the foul line. The penalty for interference: The runner is out and the ball is dead.