First,
From Dictionary.com:
im·me·di·ate adj.
- Occurring at once; instant: gave me an immediate response.
- Of or near the present time: in the immediate future.
- Of or relating to the present time and place; current: It is probable that, apart from the most immediate, pragmatic, technical revisions, the writer's effort to detach himself from his work is quixotic (Joyce Carol Oates).
- Close at hand; near: in the immediate vicinity. See synonyms at close.
- Next in line or relation: is an immediate successor to the president of the company.
- Directly apprehended or perceived: had immediate awareness of the scope of the crisis.
- Acting or occurring without the interposition of another agency or object; direct.
As used in 7.08(k), immediate has the definition of #1 above, not #4.
Second,
Immediate is used elsewhere in Rule 7.00. Refer to 7.08(c):
Any runner is out when --
He is tagged, when the ball is alive, while off his base.
EXCEPTION: A batter-runner cannot be tagged out after overrunning or oversliding first base if he returns immediately to the base.
What is the difference between this "immediate" and the one in 7.08(k)?
Third,
Why were the clauses (j) and (k) added to 7.08 in the first place?
(j) was added to clairify further plays involving 7.08(c) EXCEPTION.
(k) was added because the defense, in a missed home situation, had no recourse under the other 7.08 clauses other than chasing down the runner.
I can't remember the details, but I do remember reading some MLB history(1940's or 50's I think) wherein a runner missed home as in this situation. The throw in to F2 was off-line. F2(maybe Berra, not sure) realized that the runner missed home and retrieved the ball. By this time the runner is sitting in his dugout with his teammates. F2 isn't sure which guy was the runner so he goes down the bench and tags them all!
He could take the time to do that because there was only the one runner. It was quickly realized, however, that if there were other runners they would have been able to advance while F2 was busy chasing down the errant runner. It did not seem right that the defense was being forced to make the choice between negating a run or preventing other runners from advancing. After all, it was the runner
missing home, an
offensive baserunning error, which was forcing the defense to make that choice.
Hence the 7.08(k) clause, and the subseqent AR making it incumbent upon the runner to immediately make an effort to touch home after missing it.