The Twenty-Four-Inch Home Run The Twenty-Four-Inch Home Run The Twenty-Four-Inch Home Run: And Other Outlandish, Incredible But True Events in Baseball History is a book about baseball lore written by sportswriter Michael G. Bryson. The title refers to the book's central story, about a game where Andy Oyler hit a baseball that became stuck in the mud 24 inches in front of home plate, allowing him to score an inside-the-park home run before the opposing team located it. All told, the book contains 250 such stories, including an anecdote about a team registering a triple play without touching the ball. Bryson also debunks several
Holding the ball Holding the ball Holding the ball is a rule in Australian rules football. The rule results in a free kick being awarded against a player if he fails to correctly dispose of the football upon being tackled by an opponent, although not under all circumstances. The rule provides the defending team a means to dispossess a player who is running with the football, as well as preventing players from slowing the play. The holding the ball rule dates to the formative years of the game. It has a long history as one of the most contentious rules in the game