Speaking ASA (Mike or others will have to address the ISF ruling - but it
sounds odd to me),
the location of the ball has nothing to do with a dead ball appeal. Any infielder may make a dead ball appeal when the ball is (ahem) dead.
However, (continuing to speak ASA), POE #1 contains these two sentences regarding dead ball appeals,
Quote:
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Runners must be given ample opportunity, in the umpire's judgment, to complete their base running responsibilities.... If the ball has gone out of play, runners must be given the opportunity to complete their base running responsibilities before the dead ball appeal can be made.
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How, when, or where the umpire tosses the ball from his bag into the game has no bearing whatsoever on when the umpire will hear any appeal. As long as the runner is still legally running the bases (including returning to touch a missed base) the umpire must allow him to complete that before recognizing any dead ball appeal. Again, where the ball is is of no consequence.
Finally, POE #1 says
Quote:
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A runner may not return to touch a missed base or one left too soon on a caught fly ball if he has left the field of play ...
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Which would be the dugout or bench area in most instances of a home run.