[nickrego]

Greymule,

I don’t have my FED rule book with me, so if you could post the rule you are referring to, it would be helpful. Until you either post the rule quote, or I get home and find it myself, this is how I would call it;

The batter is protected in your situation. The rules do not explicitly exclude a base on balls (as I remember them). It would be perfectly legal for a batter, say with a runner on 3rd, to hustle hard down the line and overrunning 1st (in a straight line) as if he were going to attempt 2nd base to see if he can draw a throw.

It takes more than just a left turn to remove the batter’s protection to overrun 1st base. The batter has to demonstrate to the umpire that an attempt or fake attempt was made to 2nd base. If a batter overruns 1st straight down the line, and then makes a tight left turn and returns directly back to 1st base, you have nothing. The batter needs to make a definite ‘change in direction towards 2nd base’ to lose their protection.