Thread

[greymule]

Last year, I had a heavy, slow runner try to stretch a single into a double (he thought the ball had gotten away from F8). He had taken a large turn around 1B, and when F6 caught the throw at the bag, the runner was barreling hard 3 fifths of the way to 2B and probably 18 feet toward RF from the line. He was dead meat and wasn't about to try to get into a rundown, so he tried to get around F6 to the inside of the base. To do so, he ran directly to a point on the baseline about 8 feet before 2B and then tried to dive around the fielder to the inside. So he actually did leave his base path, but no tag was imminent, although a tag was certainly anticipated.

He was out, of course, and everyone had a big laugh, but the play made me wonder just when "attempt to tag" goes into force. Was it when F6 got the ball and began to wait for the runner? Or does the runner have to be somewhere approximating tagging distance?

To take the example of the "skunk in the outfield" play, if the runner is standing out near F9 and an infielder 100 feet away starts to run out to play on (tag) him, is the runner at that moment confined to the base paths, or is it only when the fielder gets closer to him?

Without knowing for sure, I think I'd rule than once a fielder started in the runner's direction, he was being played on.