Perhaps I oversimplified. The Fed rule states, 5-1-1f:
Ball becomes dead immediately when:
1. a fair batted ball touches a runner or an umpire before touching any fielder and before passing any fielder other than the pitcher.
2. touches a runner after passing through or by an infielder and another infielder could have made a play on the ball.
Admittedly, Grey, I would call a dead ball and the runner out on the play you have layed out. Assuredly the defensive coach is going to be screaming for an out but at the same time I'm going to be wrestling with the idea that the defense could NOT have made a play, coach.
However, the play you have layed out meets the requirements of the first part of the rule, 5-1-1-f1. Runner must be called out.
BUT... examining the Table in Chapter 5 item #13: this statement of the rule combines the two parts of 5-1-1f and doesn't state them as specifically.
#13. Fair ball touches runner before it touches an infielder or after it passes any fielder except the pitcher and another fielder has a play... hit runner is out...
Rule 8-4-2k is very similar: Any runner is out when he: is contacted by a fair batted ball before it touches an infielder, or after it passes any infielder, except the pitcher, and the umpire is convinced that another infielder has a play.
These two simplified statements of 5-1-1f could readily be interpretted to mean
the defense must be capable of making a play and that the offense must have interfered with the defense's opportunity.
So for the sake of this line of discussion (which I am going to recant from in the end), I feel it really comes down to the definition of passes or "passing."
Does 'passes' mean that the ball is at a distance farther from home plate than the infielder? Or does 'passes' mean the ball is beyond a location that the infielder could have made a play?
In your play, Grey, the ball is likely not beyond the distance of the shortstop or the second baseman (distance from home plate). However the ball is not in a location where either infielder could make a play. Should the ball remain live? With the words of item #13 and 8-4-2k I think I could make a case that the ball should stay live. However with the added direction of 5-1-1f...
Personnally, I'm going to call this dead and R2 out. I don't think of it as a credit to great defense but rather as a runner's error.
Anyone else got comments?
