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Last week I was having dinner with some umpires from my association. I had a disagreement about the following play. We were talking baseball but last night he brought a publication from 1983 titled "Illustrated Softball Rules" endorsed by the Amateur Softball Association to support his side.
Here is the play from the book: A runner is sliding into third. The third baseman loses possession of the ball and the ball goes out of play. A quote directed toward players: "When a fielder loses possession of the ball, such as on an attempted tag, and it goes out of play, each runner is awarded one base beyond the last base touched at the time the ball entered the out-of-play area. The runner sliding into third would have reached this base before the ball went out of play, and would therefore be awarded home plate." Another quote directed toward umpires: "It is not considered a throw when the fielder loses possession of the ball. Awards are judged by the positions of the runners at the time the ball leaves the playing field. Signal and call "Time" and award one base to each runner."
I would like to know if what he is quoting from that softball book applies to baseball. I argued that it should be a two base award.
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