[QUOTE]
Originally posted by mick
Quote:
Originally posted by greymule
greymule,
Maybe the reasoning for tagging the player or the base is as simple as, if the runner is hustling to get back there is no time to get an umps attention to appeal the bag, and if the runner is standing near the dugout, or on second base, there is plenty of time. 
mick
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Runners must touch the bases in order. When they don't, the defense (if the miss was so blatant that they noticed) has the right to put them out. The consistency is in the method with which runners who have missed their bases can be put out.
First, second, third, and home are all different with different dynamics. In many ways, how we handle a missed base at first will not be the same as it would be at home plate. For example, we are taught to give no signal when a runner misses home plate. But for a runner who beats the play at first, we ignore the missed base and call him safe. That is a clear result of the different dynamics that the rules establish at each of those bases.
At first, the runner may overrun without liability. At home, the runner has no further bases to achieve, and his next destination is in semi-dead ball territory - - the dugout. At second and third, the runners still have not achieved a score, but they are closer to that goal. At second, the runner is in the middle of the diamond. At third, he is near foul territory and possibly his dugout.
However, in other ways, the way in which we handle the missed base is identical at all base points. Since the runner must touch the base, it is a clear advantage to the fielder who possesses the ball in close proximity to that base. All the fielder needs to do is stay right there and tag the runner as he attempts to touch the base.
And since the responsibility for touching each base in order falls heavily on the offense, when a runner does not fulfill that responsibility, when he makes no immediate attempt to correct that error, and when he continues on without touching the base, then it would be unfair for the rules to require the defense to chase him down. Thus, the fielder need only tag the base for the out.
Although I used a lot of words in the paragraphs above, they really outline simple fundamentals. Appeals are not as difficult as many people make them out to be. Understanding what unmistakable means, coupled with a thorough examination of the variety of dynamics present at each base point, and it all starts to make better sense.