Contact on a Force Play - FED

[bisonpitcher]

How about this situation: R1, Ground ball to F5 who throws to F4 covering second for the force. R1 slides in to the front of the bag and his foot bounces off the front of the bag and contacts the F4's left foot on top of the bag. No throw is made and R1's natural momentum carries his foot about 6 inches or so past the back edge of the bag. BU calls R1 out and warns him as he leaves the field that he would have rung up the BR if a throw was attempted because contact occurred on top of the bag and his foot passed the back edge of the bag. I personally would not have called this, the slide was direct and on the ground and not even a hard slide, but BU said that if the runner passed the back of the bag even an inch it was automatic.

[David B]

Originally Posted by bisonpitcher

How about this situation: R1, Ground ball to F5 who throws to F4 covering second for the force. R1 slides in to the front of the bag and his foot bounces off the front of the bag and contacts the F4's left foot on top of the bag. No throw is made and R1's natural momentum carries his foot about 6 inches or so past the back edge of the bag. BU calls R1 out and warns him as he leaves the field that he would have rung up the BR if a throw was attempted because contact occurred on top of the bag and his foot passed the back edge of the bag. I personally would not have called this, the slide was direct and on the ground and not even a hard slide, but BU said that if the runner passed the back of the bag even an inch it was automatic.

Leave it alone, that would be an OOO.

Runner sliding in hard, who can tell if someone is an inch over the bag?

Thansk
David

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by bisonpitcher

How about this situation: R1, Ground ball to F5 who throws to F4 covering second for the force. R1 slides in to the front of the bag and his foot bounces off the front of the bag and contacts the F4's left foot on top of the bag. No throw is made and R1's natural momentum carries his foot about 6 inches or so past the back edge of the bag. BU calls R1 out and warns him as he leaves the field that he would have rung up the BR if a throw was attempted because contact occurred on top of the bag and his foot passed the back edge of the bag. I personally would not have called this, the slide was direct and on the ground and not even a hard slide, but BU said that if the runner passed the back of the bag even an inch it was automatic.

This is not a violation. The rule states "the runner goes beyond the base and THEN makes contact with the fielder." (emphasis added -- it was a clarification made a few years ago because too many umpires were calliong an out in a play such as above when that wasn't the intent of the rule.)