[Carl Childress]

Originally posted by greymule
Carl: Your answer is exactly what I have believed since I was 10 years old. On a batted ball that drives in the game-ending run, all forced runners must still touch the next base or risk being called out on appeal with the run nullified. Every baseball game everywhere. I would never have called that play any other way.

What I'm trying to do is make sense of PBUC 3.14. Why did they word it they way they did? "Runner on first, thinking home run automatically wins the game, leaves the baseline and heads toward dugout. He is declared out before the runner from third reaches home plate." RULING: No runs score; this is a time play.

Don't you sense a strong implication that if the runner leaves the baseline and is called out AFTER the run scores, the run then counts? Why else the emphasis on "before the runner . . . reaches home plate"? If before and after are ultimately irrelevant, PBUC 3.14 should omit that part, or the ruling should say, "No runs score; this is a time play. Of course, no runs would score even if the runner is declared out AFTER the run scores, because that runner's failure to reach second is a force out."

Or is the sole distinction that runner abandons effort (1) before the run scores is umpire's out call, but (2) after the run scores is appeal play by defense?

Already someone pointed out that an out for abandoning the basepath IS NOT A FORCE OUT.

Capice?