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7.08(k) ...
This rule applies only where runner is on his way to the bench and the catcher would be required to chase him. It does not apply to the ordinary play where the runner misses the plate and then immediately makes an effort to touch the plate before being tagged. In that case, runner must be tagged.
The AR(above) attached to the rule itself says 1)that the effort by the runner to return must be immediate, and 2)failing immediate return the runner is subject to being called out on appeal. Nowhere does it imply that the runner may, after a time, return to touch home and thereby reinstate the slight protection afforded by the AR of having to be tagged for the out.
We may ask "What constitutes an 'immediate return'?" Well, that's why there are umpires: it becomes a judgement call. However, in the original situation it is painfully obvious that the runner's return is NOT IMMEDIATE.
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