Missed base without appeal

[SoCal Lurker]

14U, fed rules.  1 out; R1.

 

Deep fly ball to left center.  R1 is apparently thinking two outs and takes, off ending up a couple of steps past second when the ball is caught.  After a pause he turns and sprints straight back to first, not retouching second, but cutting the corner off by a couple of feet.  Throw to 1st pulls F3 off the bag.  Umpire calls R1 out anyway, saying (so I'm told) that he was out because he missed second coming back.  Is there some exception for cutting off the corner that makes that an automatic call by the umpire instead of one that requires an appeal at second?  (Nothing suggested that the defense was aware there was an issue at second base.)

 

[Jocko]

Nope. Normal appeal rules apply.

@SoCal Lurker

[Jimurray]

Unless it was in that state that does it that way. One of the Carolinas I think.

[sdix00]

Not in California. 

[maven]

Unless it was in that state that does it that way. One of the Carolinas I think.

 

South Carolina uses the old FED rule for baserunning infractions: R1 would be called out immediately when he misses 2B last time by, no further appeal required. The ball remains live, so it's called a lot like passing another runner.

 

So the ruling in the OP is not using that rule. It must be the bum rule: he pulled it right out of his bum!

 

Seriously, though, you have 2 infractions here: one is a missed base at 2B, and the other is a retouch at 1B. The defense intended to appeal the retouch at 1B, which they did not successfully do: the fielder was pulled off the bag. Apparently, the umpire gave them credit for unsuccessfully appealing the retouch by calling the runner out for an infraction the defense did not appeal!

 

Is it possible that the ball became dead and the team appealed the missed base verbally at that point? Trying to be charitable to that umpire!

[Stan W.]

I hated that old fed rule.............I never agreed it was the role of the umpire to aid the defense.... ...in baseball requires both sides to be cognizant of the applicable rules and situations at hand.....I called it when I had to but didn't like it....  

[SoCal Lurker]

 

 

Seriously, though, you have 2 infractions here: one is a missed base at 2B, and the other is a retouch at 1B. The defense intended to appeal the retouch at 1B, which they did not successfully do: the fielder was pulled off the bag. Apparently, the umpire gave them credit for unsuccessfully appealing the retouch by calling the runner out for an infraction the defense did not appeal!

 

Is it possible that the ball became dead and the team appealed the missed base verbally at that point? Trying to be charitable to that umpire!

 

 

Alas, no -- as far as I can tell, the ball never became dead, the umpire simply called the out.  (I didn't have great view of 1B -- I assumed that after getting pulled off, F3 got his foot back to the bag.  But my son told me the U said he was out because he missed second on his way back.  Oh well -- on the plus side, my son's teammate hopefully learned a baserunning lesson . . . )

[SoCal Lurker]

And perhaps I should add that the umpire paid for his error, too.  That was the third out in the bottom of the fifth -- about 3 minutes before the "no new innning" time limit.  The visitors tied it up in the top of the sixth, and the game went 9 innnings.  So his penance was an extra 4 innings.  (My son's team won in the 9th (my kid drove in the winning run  ) so no harm to the result . . . not that I would complain too much on such a dunderhead running play.)

 

But a follow up question.  Let's say our coach objected and argued that the U can't call him out without an appeal.  Could the runner go touch second, or is it too late?  So is it a fruitless appeal since even if the U realizes he had a brain freeze, the defense could appeal (knowing they would win) as soon as the ball was put back in play?

[noumpere]

And perhaps I should add that the umpire paid for his error, too.  That was the third out in the bottom of the fifth -- about 3 minutes before the "no new innning" time limit.  The visitors tied it up in the top of the sixth, and the game went 9 innnings.  So his penance was an extra 4 innings.  (My son's team won in the 9th (my kid drove in the winning run  ) so no harm to the result . . . not that I would complain too much on such a dunderhead running play.)

 

But a follow up question.  Let's say our coach objected and argued that the U can't call him out without an appeal.  Could the runner go touch second, or is it too late?  So is it a fruitless appeal since even if the U realizes he had a brain freeze, the defense could appeal (knowing they would win) as soon as the ball was put back in play?

Since there wasn't an award, it can't be corrected during the dead ball.  And, since FED has a dead ball appeal .....