[greymule]

Very interesting. Thank you, Mike, for doing the research on this.

Therefore, in my original post, the tag of Baker is not a force play. Baker passed 2B when he overslid, so the tag has the same effect as if Baker had missed 2B and was tagged halfway to 3B. The tag of Baker effects the third out as a time play, and because Baker did not score, there is no fourth out appeal on him for missing 2B.

So Abel's run would count in ASA because no appeal is permitted on Baker (and the run would also count in OBR, for different reasons).

Note that if after Baker slid past 2B without touching it, F4 (if he thought fast enough) could appeal to the umpire and tag Baker to nullify the run—perhaps by yelling, "He missed the bag" as he dove to tag Baker. The out at 2B would then be the third out—and a force out. This is because ASA (unlike OBR) permits an immediate live-ball appeal on a missed base.

And...just to ask...would the ruling be different in FED and/or NCAA?

In NCAA, the defense can obtain a fourth out on appeal whether or not the runner being appealed had scored. I'm sure that's the case in Fed also. I never heard of this rule under any code until it came up with ASA recently.

In terms of whether a live-ball appeal can be immediate:

I don't know about Fed. Though I do NCAA, I admit that I do not know the answer. But I will find out. A preliminary reading indicates that a live-ball appeal can be immediate.

I believe that in Babe Ruth softball, which by and large follows OBR rules for runners (obstruction, interference, crashes, etc.), the run would not count, since there is no live ball appeal while the runner is in the vicinity of the base.