The 7th Inning: Should the Run Have Actually Counted?

In one of the most bizarre plays maybe in the entire history of sports, the Rangers take a 3-2 lead on a Russell Martin throw back to the mound that hit batter Shin-Soo Choo's bat. The deflected ball allowed Rougned Odor to score from 3rd to give the Rangers a huge 3-2 lead in the 7th inning. After plenty of confusion, and an umpire review, the run was deemed to count; much to the dismay of the Blue Jays faithful. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons stated they would be playing the rest of the game under protest, and then Bautista smacked a home run so hard all of Canada heard it. And in case you live under a rock, the Blue Jays won the game thanks to that home run.

So the play is a moot point, and because it is, I can look back without crying helplessly and share my thoughts on whether I think it should have counted or not.

The MLB rulebook states:

"If the batter interferes with the catcher's throw to retire a runner by stepping out of the batter's box, interference shall be called on the batter.

However, if the batter is standing in the batter's box and he or his bat is struck by the catcher's throw back to the pitcher (or throw in attempting to retire a runner), and, in the umpire's judgment, there is no intent or the part of the batter to interfere with the throw, the ball is alive and in play."

According to the rulebook, yes the run should count. But here's my issue with the play:

See umpire Dale Scott? He just ruled the play dead. As you can also see, Odor has not yet reached home plate. To me, this means the play is over, Odor should go back to 3rd, Martin throws the ball back to Sanchez, and the game continues. Unlike other sports, MLB officials don't have nor do they need a whistle. In hockey, football, and basketball, the referees have whistles to stop the play. In hockey, if the puck crosses the goal line after the ref blows the whistle, it doesn't count. I compare that scenario to the bizarre one we saw with the Blue Jays. 

Because Scott signified the play as dead, neither Sanchez nor Donaldson made an effort to get the ball to attempt to throw out Odor. Martin made a mistake when he hit Choo with the ball, but so did Scott by ruling the play dead. By the letter of the law, the run should count, but I don't think the run should have counted because the play was ruled dead. It was just a good thing the Jays came back to win, that loss may have been more painful than the Leafs game 7 collapse.