Defensive Indifference?

MLB Rule 10.07

I had to look it up! Sully gives us a good explanation, and here’s another from Answers.com:

“That is a term generally used when a base runner is stealing a base. The catcher will not attempt to make a play on the runner (throw the ball to the base that the runner is attempting to steal). Sometimes, the official scorer will rule this defensive indifference’ and not award the runner with a stolen base. You might see this in the 9th inning of a game where the team batting is down by several runs and the defensive team is more concerned with getting the batter out than attempting to throw out a base runner attempting to steal since that run will not affect the outcome of the game.”

I tried several resources to see when the defensive indifference rule came into effect. I learned to keep score in 1956 and I don’t recall ever have this come up before. It appears to be in the early 1950’s, but don’t hold me to it. A complete list of Major League Baseball Rules can be found at Baseball Almanac. This video caught my interest because I had never heard the term”defensive indifference” before and I was curious what it meant. I’m such a novice …..but there’s hope. Here’s what Einstein had to say about the complexity of baseball: