[rwest]

Dakota et al,

I see your point and admit you have strong agruments for your position. I believe I have just as equally strong arguments for allowing the appeal.
Both sides rely on the missed bag analogy to support there position. The camp that says disallow the appeal does so because they are on the base that they've missed. How can you call someone out for missing a base that they are standing on? However, I don't agree that they are on the base that they've missed. They missed the orange bag, not the white. The bases are separate. But it has been argued that once they've obtained first base it is one big bag. This is true. But is this not in reference to returning to the base? Upon returning they can go to either the white or the orange. I do not recall the rule book allowing the runner to go to either portion accept upon returning once they've obtained first base. The double base becomes one big bag for purposes of returning to the base. I submit to you that on their first attempt at first base the runner must go to the orange and that only on returning can they go to either. Also in every case of a missed base, the runner has to do something to rectify the situation. They've have to return. In this scenario, the runner has to do nothing. It doesn't match the analogy.

Another argument to disallow the appeal is that the intent of the rule is to avoid injury. I agree with this, but to allow an exception to the rule, that I don't believe currently exists, puts us on a slippery slope. It now opens up exceptions where there is no possibility of injury. This waters down the rule and requires a judgement call from the umpire that I don't believe the rule intended. Are you going to allow the appeal when the first baseman is pulled off the bag and the runner overruns first base only touching the white? Assume that the runner was pulled off into fair territory away from the bag. There was no interference and no possibility of injury in this example. Allow or disallow the appeal?

I guess we'll just have to disagree.

Respectfully!
Randall

Edited to Add this comment from another thread....didn't want to highjack

Dakota said....

In no case can a runner be appealed for leaving early or missing the base she is standing on when the live ball appeal is made. (In the case of the double base situation, the crux of the disagreement was is standing on the white base the same as being on the base missed; IOW, the BR can "return" to the white to negate the miss of the orange, but... well, that is for on that thread...)

Dakota,

I agree the runner can return to the white portion to negate the miss of the orange bag. The runner did something to rectify their mistake. The defense had a chance at an appeal. However, that is not the case in this scenario. In the OP, the runner never left the white portion of the bag. They did nothing to resolve their mistake and the defense did not have a chance at an appeal. This is a totally different situation.