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Skunk in the outfield illegal


Jimurray
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New NCAA interp:

"NCAA Baseball Interpretation
February 22, 2019
Rule 8-5-n- Baserunner Runs to Outfield Area to Avoid Being Tagged
A runner is out when:
n. The individual runs bases in reverse order to confuse opponents or to make a travesty of the
game;
This will also include the situation where a runner, after legally touching a base, runs into the
outfield area to avoid being tagged, and in the judgment of the umpire, abandons his effort to run
the bases.
Penalty for n.- The ball is dead and other runner(s) return to the base last touched.
Play: Rl and R3, less than 2 outs. Rl runs into the outfield area of right field and stands there in
an effort to draw a play that would allow R3 to score. In the judgment of the umpire, he has
abandoned his effort to either advance to 2nd base or return safely to 1st base.
Result: The umpire shall call "time", the ball is dead, Rl is out, and R3 remains at 3rd base."

But what about the runner that stalls between 1B and 2B with R3? Is the same rationale used?
 

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4 minutes ago, yawetag said:

Why wouldn't it? The play is an example based on 8-5-n and the penalty, and the rule doesn't list specific bases.

The interp specifies the outfield area but the rationale is stretched and could be applied to a runner not advancing between bases. But I wouldn't.

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I'd say that he hasn't abandoned his effort to either advance to 2nd base or return safely to 1st base by simply stalling between the two. It's still reasonable for him to reach either base and he's not making a travesty of the game. The skunk in the outfield is a blatant effort to cause confusion by not running the bases 'properly,' for lack of a better term. 

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39 minutes ago, johnnyg08 said:

I want to see a recent video clip of a team trying this. 

You'll have to wait for someone to convert those BetaMax tapes to digital. Alternately, go to the National Archives - you might find some 8mm recording of one. :lol:

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On a four-man umpire crew no less.

This may be an absolutely stupid question, but why doesn't defense just ignore the dumb-ass just outside the diamond (my new name for this play)?

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11 minutes ago, yawetag said:

On a four-man umpire crew no less.

This may be an absolutely stupid question, but why doesn't defense just ignore the dumb-ass just outside the diamond (my new name for this play)?

That was at the HS level and they know they should have had an out of the baseline call as per how FED calls it. 

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4 hours ago, Jimurray said:

That was at the HS level and they know they should have had an out of the baseline call as per how FED calls it. 

How so? For most of that time, no play was being attempted on the runner out there, and when there was one, did he veer more than 3 feet from a line from his outfield spot to 2B? Maybe but not sure from this video. 

I'm just not sure this was a problem that needed a solution. Did it really violate the rules - or just someone's sensibilities? I'm fine if they want to call it a travesty, it's stupid bush crap, but I think it deserves more than just a short case, to avoid unintended consequences like someone calling it on a runner taking a wide turn or stopping to try and draw a rundown in the 'normal' way.

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49 minutes ago, scrounge said:

How so? For most of that time, no play was being attempted on the runner out there, and when there was one, did he veer more than 3 feet from a line from his outfield spot to 2B? Maybe but not sure from this video. 

I'm just not sure this was a problem that needed a solution. Did it really violate the rules - or just someone's sensibilities? I'm fine if they want to call it a travesty, it's stupid bush crap, but I think it deserves more than just a short case, to avoid unintended consequences like someone calling it on a runner taking a wide turn or stopping to try and draw a rundown in the 'normal' way.

I think you could call it when he was going toward 1B and not direct to it. When they pull this we are looking for a reason to call it. But who knows what occurrence engendered this interp at the college level. 

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9 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

What's funny... I was talking about this to a bunch of guys in my HS unit yesterday and today. And NONE OF THEM had ever heard or seemed to have come across this play. At least not in many, MANY moons.

Exactly. This play has been a topic in message boards for as long as I've been involved...which for me is approaching 15 years. I am still curious as to why Bruns picked this moment to issue an interpretation on a play like this. 

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13 hours ago, johnnyg08 said:

Exactly. This play has been a topic in message boards for as long as I've been involved...which for me is approaching 15 years. I am still curious as to why Bruns picked this moment to issue an interpretation on a play like this. 

The other popular one is the CI/Catcher Balk for the play at the plate with R3 stealing. I've has that play MAYBE twice in some 25 years on the field.

But the way it is brought up on the forums. You would think it is an every day occurrence. 

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6 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

The other popular one is the CI/Catcher Balk for the play at the plate with R3 stealing. I've has that play MAYBE twice in some 25 years on the field.

But the way it is brought up on the forums. You would think it is an every day occurrence. 

You have to remember that we are in a bubble here. If it happens once in every 1000 games, yes that is a small percentage. But covering all the levels that people do on this site there are thousands of games done by members every week and when they see something weird they post about it. Just because it hasn't happened to you on a regular occurrence/ever, doesn't mean it doesn't happen fairly regularly. 

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