Confused

[UmpJM]

GuyMan,

This is actually a deceptively complicated question.

First, on a legally caught batted fly ball any runners are required to retouch their Time of Pitch (TOP) base as or after the in flight batted ball is first touched by a fielder.

Second, when a ball thrown by an outfielder goes out of play (into DBT) any runners at the time are awarded two bases from the last base touched or passed at the time the errant throw left the fielder's hand (as opposed to where they were when that throw actually entered DBT) - that is, it is a Time Of Throw (TOT) award.

Thirdly, the fact that the ball became "dead" does not relieve any runners of their obligation to run the bases legally - if they were required to retouch at the time the ball entered DBT, they are STILL required to retouch, and whether advancing or returning, they are required to touch the bases in sequence.

Fourthly, a runner who has touched home most certainly IS allowed to go back and touch 3B (assuming he is under a requirement to do so) as long as no "following" runner has subsequently touched home and he had first touched home while the ball was still live/in play.

Should a runner fail to comply with these requirements, he is "in jeopardy" of being called out if the defense executes a properly constituted appeal of his baserunning infraction once the ball is again made live.

Now Dixie Youth Baseball uses Official Baseball Rules (OBR) as its "foundation" ruleset. A couple of the points above would be different if Dixie used High School (aka FED) rules as the foundation ruleset.

So, how does all of this apply to your situation?

It sounds like the R3 never actually made it all the way back to 3B to complete his "retouch" requirement. If that is true, you "provisionally" allow the run to score and wait to see whether the defense appeals. If they do so properly, you call him out and negate his run. If he did go back and retouch 3B (which he is certainly allowed to do ), or the defense fails to appeal before the next pitch or play, his run stands.

You never said where the R1 was when the throw left the fielder's hand or whether or not he had fulfilled his retouch requirement. Ultimately he is under the same obligations, and it is most likely that the proper award is 3B.

There is one school of thought that says if he were already past 2B at the TOT, you would provisionally award him home as well, and then, in the event he went back and retouched 1B (while the ball was dead), you would adjust the award to be an award of 3B.

Make sense?

JM

Edited to add the following:

I see a number of others have posted while I was composing my reply. Since there seems to be a number of different and differing statements on the proper ruling, let me offer my $.02.

NIUmp50 asserts that the runner may not go back to retouch 3B once he has touched home. While this would be true under FED rules (whether the ball was live or dead when he did so), since Dixie plays under OBR-based rules his assertion is incorrect.

PWL says this is a TOP award. He's kind of right and kind of wrong. Technically, a throw into DBT by an outfielder is a TOT award; however, with runners obviously required to retouch on the catch, it might as well be a TOP award. In a 9/10 game, that is certainly how I would rule it. Though there is a school of thought that says if the R2 was past 2B at the TOT, you would first award him home. PWL also mentions that if the R3 fails to legally complete his retouch obligation, AND the defense subsequently successfully appeals, no run could score on the play. That is correct. He also asserts that if the R1 failed to complete his retouch obligation and the defense properly appealed, no run could score on the play. I disagree. If the R3 did complete his retouch OR the defense never appealed his failure to do so, his run WOULD score, even if the defense successfully appealed the R1's failure to retouch.

RPatrino, I'm guessing, just made a typo in his last TOP & I'm pretty sure he meant TOT because that would make his statement correct & he pretty much always knows what he's talking about when he posts..