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In my oppinion the BR has abandoned his run to First.
So any runner that gets caught in a rundown has abandoned his effort to advance? And oh yeah, the abandonment rule says "leaves the baseline". Last time I checked the baseline went from home to first, AND from first to home.
And the fielder need not wait until he tags to make the throw to second.
Correct, but if he doesn't tag the BR or the base, he is risking getting at least one out. The BR backing up like this is SMART baserunning.
And futher more, that the first baseman choose to go after the BR knowing that he has to run to first is even more reason to call the BR out.
No, it's even more reason not to reward the stupidity of the F3. There is no reason for him to chase BR, but if he does, I'm not rewarding stupidity.
I can't see, and this is feasible, the first baseman running the BR back to home. At some point you have to stop it.
Exactly, when the BR reveses course all the way to HP, it will be stopped.
It is not smart baserunning.
It may be VERY smart baserunning. If the BR can interest F3 in chasing him long enough, other base runners are going to advance. That is often called a sacrifice, depending on if he was giving himself up on purpose.
Do you think ANY base runner that gets into a pickle should be out for "making a travesty of the game"? What if the runner is forced. Example, 1, out R1 and R3, ground ball to F4. F4 reaches out to tag the passing R1, but R1 backs up, all the way to 1B if he wants to, in order to keep F4 from tagging him, and thus "breaking up" the DP, so now the run scores. Why is F4 backing up in this case any different than the BR backing up to avoid a tag? F4 was forced, he was dead meat, all he was doing was prolonging the play and making F4 work harder for the out. Perfectly legal, AND smart baserunning.
I will call it a travesty whether you agree or not.
Don't count on any upper level games with this kind of absurd call. Any good coach or ump will laugh you out of the park. Next upper level clinic you attend, bring up that you would call this a travesty and call the BR out. You'll just LOVE the reaction from the instructors and other umps on that one!
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