Quote:
Originally posted by Dakota
JMO, of course, but...
I assume this change was an attempt to level the situation up between offense and defense on such plays.
I can see how the previous rule (ASA) allowing the runner to return from nearly where-ever (not the dugout, but just about anywhere else) to touch a missed base before the dead ball appeal would be honored was too favorable to the offense.
However, this "nail 'em to the bag once the award is announced" approach is a significant tilt back in the other direction, and at least until the offense gets used to it, will strand runners who had been used to going back to touch missed bases AFTER the award was announced.
Once everyone settles in, it is probably a fair balance, though.
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I believe the purpose of this was to give the umpire a defining moment as to when a player cannot return. With the previous rule, under a dead ball, nothing could be applied until all running assignments were complete. Since there was nothing in the book to stop them, it was virtually possible to return and touch bags even after the award because of the stipulation of always allowing the runner to return during a dead ball period unless they entered DBT or a following runner scored.