The whole "travesty" thing comes up a lot, is often wrongly applied and is one of those missaplications that really stick in my craw.
The actual rule:
(7.08) Any runner is out when- (i) After he has acquired legal possession of a base, he runs the bases in reverse order for the purpose of confusing the defense or making a travesty of the game. The umpire shall immediately call “Time” and declare the runner out.
The first point is that this rule is clearly applied ONLY to a runner. Not a batter, fielder, pitcher, coach, bat boy, hot dog vendor...
The second point: How can anyone read that rule and come up with the interpretation that it is saying:
Any runner is out... if he run the bases in reverse order for the purpose of confusing the defense OR IF ANY OTHER GAME PARTICIPANT DOES ANYTHING IMAGINABLE OUT OF THE ORDINARY NOT COVERED BY THE RULES, AS JUDGED BY THE WHIM OF THE UMPIRE, HE SHALL ALSO BE CALLED OUT.
Yeah, I get a little wound-up about this one...
