[greymule]

I'd think I'd uphold that appeal, too.

To give an example of an extreme contrast, in ASA softball, a missed base can be appealed immediately after the miss, whether or not the runner is in the vicinity or scrambling to get back. If you take the strict wording of the OBR book, you might think the same thing applies to baseball, but it doesn't.

I can't remember ever seeing an appeal of a missed base while the action was still "hot," though. I don't know whether Evans or J/R or MLBUM states anything definitively, but since they mention being in the vicinity, attempting to return, etc., we can properly infer that those are key criteria.