Quote:
Originally Posted by mbcrowder
I don't buy it, but let me ask you this.
Say BR simply refuses to go to 2nd, or leaves the field of play after advancing to 1st. Would we treat the out at 2nd as a force? Of course not.
More food for thought. A ground rule double is also a 2-base award. A runner from 2nd would similarly be "forced" to vacate 2nd base. However, if you ruled such a player missing 3rd base on his way home to be a "force out", you'd be laughed out of the locker room. So why is THIS 2-base award different from THAT 2-base award?
Answer ... it's not.
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The answer is that they are, by their very nature, very different.
On a two base award (or ground rule double), the award is made to
every runner, including the batter-runner. In this kind of an award, if there are two runners who would be awarded the same base, the bases awarded would be first governed by the lead runner (8-3-B and 8-3-E).
In the OP, however, the base award only applies to the batter-runner, and the positions of all other runners are governed by the batter-runner's awarded base. The other runners are not "awarded" bases, they are simply allowed to advance without liability to be put out when they are
forced to advance.
That, to me, is a big difference.