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Originally Posted by mbyron
This is not a useful question. The rules do not address this situation or any like it, so following "the letter of the law" is not an option.
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I disagree.
If the rules don't address this situation then by the letter of the law you must allow the appeal. You said so yourself.
Which goes back to my original question.
Which is more important, the letter of the law or the best interest of the game?
It appears that more than a few are struggling with allowing the appeal because in their gut they realize it's unfair, even if they can't come up with an exact rule rule to disallow it.
When you're on the field you don't have days to consider the sitch, dozens of umps to bounce your thoughts off of and plenty of time to peruse the rule and case books, you have to make a relatively quick decision on a sitch you probably never considered before.
If you're a letter of the law kind of guy then I'm suggesting you're going to fall back on whatever rule you know and apply it regardless of outcome.
If you're a best interest of the game guy you may determine the outcome you feel is in the best interest of the game and then find a rule to sell your outcome.