[greymule]

Please let us know what you find out. I think that the runner, no matter how far past the missed base at the time of the award, should be allowed to return until he touches the next base from where he was at the time of the award.

Concerning the USC, this is from the NJ UIC to me:

#94 Dead ball immediately, eject the batter and bring the runner from third back. Unfortunately this should have been listed as one of the rule clarification[s] (highlighted in the book) and sent out with Merle's comments on the rules. It isn't a new rule[,] just clarification on what is already in the book. We're not going to allow someone to gain when they commit an unsportsmanlike act. If we didn't bring the runner (all runners return) back and allowed the run to score (could be a game ending run)[,] someone could commit an unsportsmanlike act and not be penalized.

It seems to me that this is a new rule, not a clarification. Nowhere in the rule book or the case book does it say that a runner is out for USC, except for crashing a fielder who has the ball. This leaves open, however, whether the USC is penalized from the point of the infraction or the start of the play (TOP). What if a runner touches home and then deliberately crashes the catcher? What if, with a runner on 3B, a batter hits a triple and throws an elbow at F5? Does the run score in these cases, or do we revert to TOP?

I have questions in on those matters.