I could search through the J/R, the PBUC, and the BRD (I know it's not in the OBR rule book), but I'll pose it as a question on the board.

BR hits safely, touches 1B, and for some reason starts retreating toward home. BR trots back down the 1B line, and when he is 6 feet from the plate, he hears his teammates yelling for him to go back to 1B. F3 gets the ball and steps on 1B before BR arrives.

And the call is? . . .

OBR
He could be called out for abandoming his base per
Rule 7.08a(2)if the umpire judges that he has abandoned his effort to run the bases. It sounds like he was SAFE but thinks he's OUT. How ever you decide to get the Out, he deserves it.

I think 7.08(c) might the one to get an out, if he is tagged by the defense. Tagging 1B would not do it, IMO. He has not abandoned the bases, ie headed for the dugout, so 7.08(a) does not seem to apply. But he is off his base and the EXCEPTION to 7.08(c) does not apply because he did not return directly to the base after overruning.

Think about a similar situation. A batter hits a ball toward RF and ends up sliding into 2B and for whatever reason (ie he heard a fan say foul ball)thinks he needs to return to the plate to bat again, so he goes directly toward the plate from 2B. He is not abandoning the bases (ie returning to dugout or going to his defensive position), but he is off his base and can be tagged for an out.

Second base is no problem. The runner reinstates the force by going back toward 1B. It's solely 1B I'm concerned with (since 1B is technically not a force).

I did not say he retouched 2B on his way to 1B. I said he went directly toward home from 2B, so he is off his base. The original post also did not say he retouched 1B on his way toward home, so he is off his base. I think if he did retouch 1B on his way home he could be called out by tagging 1B instead of tagging him. In the other situation he would have to be tagged since no force. Almost anything you call in this situation is going to be accepted because nobody is going to know the difference. Get an out.

I give up.