|
I'll go with treating this as a force out, since the runner was out before reaching the next base he was forced to when the batter became a better-runner.
Yeah, the Rules Supplement does say that a force out can be made by either tagging the runner or the base, but that is just to clarify that either of those two are treated equally- probably because most players think that a force out can only be made by tagging a base.
The R/S is full of examples where they clarify a couple of points while ignoring many other possibilities. For example, look at the R/S for interference. It says that, "Runner interference includes...", then lists five different examples. Now, there are more ways that a runner can interfere than the five listed, but the R/S isn't intended to be all-inclusive. It is simply clarifying the plays that are commonly confused, not listing every possible way that a runner can interfere.
And yet, I have had folks trot out the R/S for interference and try to tell me that those are the only ways a runner can be guilty of interference. They are picking a small section of the rule book- that isn't even an actual playing rule!- and making a blanket assumption that negates the actual playing rules.
Since we are discussing a runner interfering with a batted ball that has not yet touched or passed a fielder, how about this literal interpretation of the rule: 8-7-K says that a runner is out if struck by the batted ball.
The runner in question here was not struck by the ball- he reached over an picked it up. Is there some exception made when the ball contacts the runner versus the runner contacting the ball, much the same as when a batter discards his bat and bat hits ball or ball hits bat?
Of course there isn't. It's still interference, he's still out and I'm going to say it's still treated as a force out. No run scores!
|