Quote:
Originally posted by refman
Back to your original scenerio......I disagree with the explanation of a couple posts. I think you make the out/safe call based on which arrived at the base first. If the ball beat the runner, call him/her out. You don't take the possible pulled foot into consideration at all. Now if the first base coach or even the manager sitting in the dugout thinks the 1B came off the bag and requests you ask for help, fine....ask. If the PU saw the pulled foot, do the right thing and change your call.
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Sounds good in theory, refman, but let's see if it stands up in practice. Consider this play:
R1, 0 outs. Batter smacks a grounder deep in the hole that the F6 only just manages to get a handle on. Seeing R1 is easily safe at 2nd, he instead fires to 1st for a play on the B-R. F3 stretches toward 3rd and comes off the base very early, but as BU you didn't clearly see that even though you had your suspicions. You rule the B-R OUT, because the ball beat the runner, as F3 fires across to F5 for a very close tag out on R1 sliding into 3rd. When questioned later, your partner says F3 pulled off the base by at least 2 feet on the play at 1st. Place the runner(s).
Ask yourself these two questions before answering:
- Would the B-R have been able to make it to 2nd on the attempted play at 3rd if you had ruled him "Safe"?
- Would R1 have been "Out" at 3rd absent the shortened throw from F3?
My point is that once you've made a decision in continuing play, it can be virtually impossible to unravel what follows IF you allow an illegal appeal against your judgement call. There are times when changing the call IS the best option. If there had been no R1 in the above play, you could ask for help immediately F3 gloved the ball - no need to wait for an uproar, providing you already had your suspicions. Ask first, THEN decide the outcome of the play.
OTOH with R1, or any other runner advancing on the play, you don't have that luxury. You have to make a call, and if it's a bad call you often have to eat it, because the continuing play demands that. Just because you CAN change a bad call doesn't mean you always SHOULD.
Hope this helps
Cheers