Administer This Play

[Dave Reed]

For JJ's original situation, some posters have suggested an immediate out call is appropriate. I think not making an immediate call is superior. An immediate call is not necessary-- if it were strike two, no subsequent action is possible. But if it were ball 4, then the runner, who has been called out, may well step off the base, perhaps on his way to the third base dugout, and could be tagged again by an alert fielder. Now he really is out, and everybody has seen that he is out. Yet, by making an immediate out call, BU is obliged to try to "fix" it. It's poor game management in my opinion. The unfortunate reality is that BU does not know if the runner is out or instead not liable to be put out. Why on earth would he make a call?

A pre-emptive reply to those who feel that it is the runner's responsibility to know the situation and he therefore deserves to be tagged out if leaves the base after being spuriously called out:
1) If you don't know whether the last pitch was a ball or strike, how should he know?
2) Regrettably, some umpires regard a runner staying at the base after being called out as having "shown them up." A player may have learned the hard way to quickly vacate.