Leaves base path to avoid tag

[Guest Mike]

Last night in a Little League game:  Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 outs.  Batter puts ball in play by hitting a grounder to center field.  Runner on 2nd advances to 3rd and is waved home.  Center fielder throws ball to catcher at home plate.  Catcher now has ball in front of plate.  As runner approaches slows and jumps away from tag towards backstop and 3rd base fence.  Catcher moves at him and swipes but misses tag as runner jumps farther towards 3rd base fence and dugout.  Runner then retreats to 3rd in a diagonal until reaching the original base path 1/3 of the way from 3rd base.  The runner was ruled safe.  The explanation given was that the runner can leave the base path approaching home to avoid collision.  As I read the rule, if you're outside 3 feet of the path to avoid a tag, you would be out.  Can someone clarify this for me?

[noumpere]

You have the rule right.  Whether the call is correct is HTBT (depending on the distance of the jumps and the direction relative to a straight line from the runner's position at the time of the tag attempt and the base)

[Man_In_Black]

45 minutes ago, Guest Mike said:

The explanation given was that the runner can leave the base path approaching home to avoid collision.  As I read the rule, if you're outside 3 feet of the path to avoid a tag, you would be out.

You read right. Sure, the runner can attempt to avoid collision by deviating, but if he deviates more than three feet on either side of his basepath to avoid the tag, he's out. Like noumpere said, it's a HTBT situation, but sounds to me like the potential collision was avoided after the first "jump" by the runner. Any additional "jumps" constitute avoiding the tag and if far enough from the runner's original basepath, I'm getting the out here. It's baseball, not tap-dancing.

[stkjock]

Also realize the "base path" is the path from the runner to the base.  The runner choses that path and can reestablish a path after the tag attempt.  

[dookiexman]

This is one of the rules that I see many coaches misinterpret as they conflate "base path" with "base line". When teaching our younger umpires during the winter, this is one of the plays we physically show them in class. The confused looks we get at first show that most people don't know the proper call here. They only read "the runner has 3 feet" and then apply their own logic after that.

[Kevin_K]

12 hours ago, Man_In_Black said:

You read right. Sure, the runner can attempt to avoid collision by deviating, but if he deviates more than three feet on either side of his basepath to avoid the tag, he's out. Like noumpere said, it's a HTBT situation, but sounds to me like the potential collision was avoided after the first "jump" by the runner. Any additional "jumps" constitute avoiding the tag and if far enough from the runner's original basepath, I'm getting the out here. It's baseball, not tap-dancing.

Wouldn't the runner who legally avoided the first tag attempt re-establish a new basepath once the he avoided the tag? Thus any subsequent avoidance should then be judged on his new basepath?

[noumpere]

6 minutes ago, Kevin_K said:

Wouldn't the runner who legally avoided the first tag attempt re-establish a new basepath once the he avoided the tag? Thus any subsequent avoidance should then be judged on his new basepath?

Yes, if they were really separate tag attempts.  But, most of the time, it's a continuation of the first tag attempt.  And, give the benefit of the doubt to the defense here.