Appeal Plays

[Guest Nathan Zide]

This is something that is bugging me... for appeal plays at, for example, third base where a runner may have missed the bag or left too soon on a tag-up, is there a major league rule that says the appeal has to be made by the pitcher stepping off and throwing to the base? Or, once the outfielders throw the ball back in to the infield, can the infielder just automatically throw to the 3B and he can step on the bag to make the appeal?

 

I have searched the major league rulebook for the process of appeal plays and all I can find is that 1) they must be done before the next pitch or attempted play and 2) the ball must be in play. But there is nothing I can find that says the pitcher must be the one making the throw to the base after he has stepped off the pitcher's plate.

[Mike Prince]

If the ball is not live (time is called, a HR has been hit, etc.), that is where the pitcher gets the ball, takes the rubber, umpire puts ball in play and then the appeal process happens.  The ball can't be put back into play until you get a batter, catcher in position and a pitcher on the rubber with the baseball.

 

If the ball has remained live through the play, there is no need to go through the process to make it live and the appeal can carry on.

 

Some of this is rule set dependent (I believe some rule sets allow dead ball appeals).

[grayhawk]

More on this here:

 

http://umpire-empire.com/index.php/topic/53846-appeal-runner-leaving-early/

[maven]

You're correct: the requirement is that the ball must be in play. If the OF wants to throw it in and appeal the retouch ("left too soon"), that can be done immediately. Sometimes, when play stops, the defense will request time or the ball will be dead because it was thrown out of play. When that happens, the ball must be made live again. That can happen only when the pitcher is on the rubber and the umpire says "Play!" That's when you see the pitcher step off and throw to the base to appeal. Since that's how it often happens, people assume that's how it must happen.

[Guest Nathan Zide]

Perfect! Thanks so much!

[cearle23]

In a dead ball appeal in NFHS rules (8-2-6) it is said that any coach or defensive player, with or without the ball, may make a verbal appeal on a runner missing a base or leaving a base too soon on a caught fly ball...

 

So the coach can simply say "Mr. Umpire, your majesty, the runner left third early... we would like to appeal?" and the ball does not go live again and does not even need to be thrown to the bag?

[LMSANS]

In a dead ball appeal in NFHS rules (8-2-6) it is said that any coach or defensive player, with or without the ball, may make a verbal appeal on a runner missing a base or leaving a base too soon on a caught fly ball... So the coach can simply say "Mr. Umpire, your majesty, the runner left third early... we would like to appeal?" and the ball does not go live again and does not even need to be thrown to the bag?

Yes Larry Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2