I ain't letting it go

[Carl Childress]

Originally posted by JJ
I thought I DID find a quote in the FED book about a batter being forced to advance, and I thought I quoted it. Page 46 Rule8-2-5 says, "With two outs, if the base missed was the first one to which a BATTER OR RUNNER was forced to advance, no runs would score."

but if a batter is never "forced to advance", why is worded so on page 46?

That's easily answered: The FED, for years, has been very sloppy in its casebook language. It's an error. They are trying to say that the run doesn't score if the missed base is first base or the first base to which a runner is forced. They tried to simplify; they wound up muddying the waters.

Neither the NCAA nor the OBR has any such erroneous language.

BTW: I appreciate the kind words, but you didn't answer my main question: What is the compeling FORCE that requires the batter-runner to advance ANYWHERE?

You argue that R1 really doesn't have to run when B1 becomes a viable BR. That begs the question: By the rules of baseball he MUST run or be put out. If first is open, R2 is NOT forced to run if B1 becomes a viable BR.

That not only a difference; that's an important distinction your previous message glossed over. I'm not talking about a player's "right" or his "duty" to leave his base after a batted ball. I'm talking only about instances where he is OBLIGATED to move.

In other words: The batter who becomes a viable batter-runner FORCES sequential runners to vacate their bases.

What (or who) FORCES the batter-runner to run? What action in baseball OBLIGATES him to run?