[greymule]

We had our first rules review meeting last night, and as might be expected, confusion reigned over the new appeals processes. Some people were insisting that if a runner hit a ball off the wall, touched first, and then missed second on his way to third, a fielder could immediately appeal to the umpire, who by rule must now call the runner out even with the live throw coming in. The one thing that was agreed upon was that we should call time out as soon as play stops so that runners can't try to advance if the coach says, "Hey ump, the guy missed second."

Then the bomb was dropped: "This year, if a runner misses a base and a fielder with the ball touches that base, even accidentally, you have to bang that runner out immediately." I tried to explain that this pertained only to force plays, but nobody wanted to hear it. When I brought up Situation 19, they said tags don't count--only inadvertent touching of the base. When I showed them the ruling in black and white, they said they'd ask the interpreter.