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When F2 stated that he blocked the plate, I understood it to mean that he knew that R1 had not touched the plate. F2 also knew that he had not tagged R1 out. F2 looked for R1 to tag him, but R1 was already beyond fence. (The distance from home plate to the backstop/dugouts is the shortest of all of the fields I work, thus R1 was in dugout immediately) So I improperly called R1 out for leaving the field of play, since F2 could no longer tag him out, when I should have called him out based on F2's verbal "appeal". Thanks for the feedback.
I don't think players know nor understand the difference between proper live and dead ball appeals. I myself did not about it until I became an umpire and read the book. Are we ever supposed to provide any instruction or help to a team when it is making an improper appeal?
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