|
I know the umpires involved in this play
We talked about this ad nauseum at our local FP Devlopment School. The reason why they moved the runner from 1B to 2B is they felt they had to honor the advance. By rule all bases advanced are legal once a pitch has been thrown to the next batter. Therefore, they felt obligated to advance the runner from 1b. After the offense protested, they held up the game for about 30 minutes while the UIC's tallked it over. I believe Dick Gayler was even involved in the conversation. I could be mistaken about that.
Originally when I heard it I thought: DQ the FLEX, get an out and leave the runner at 1B. I just can't see taken a runner off base, without an out. However, after a great deal of discussion, it was determined you can't get an out because they are not an illegal substitute. They've been batting the entire game. They were not an illegal batter. That rule only applies to the first 9 batters. The FLEX was batting 10th.
So, I think the runner should have been left at 1b and we DQ the FLEX as if she/he never batted. No outs.
One further comment. I have to say that the individuals involved have far more experience and knowledge than I and that if I were one of the umpires, I wouldn't have disputed the ruling too vigorously. I would have gone along with it. Both umpires are first class, IMO. One of them was even an instructor at the aforementioned FP Development School. I learned alot from him. He did get some friendly ribbing the entire weekend, though. He took it well!
The rule book is not real clear on this situation. In fact, I believe this was discussed at OK City and the national staff came up with three different rulings. I don't know what they were, but that's what was said at our FP school.
I bet we have a new rule next year.
|