FED 2002 Baseball Casebook

[greymule]

Can anyone give a definitive answer to a question that several of us umpires argued about for much of one meeting last year, with no resolution. A new entry in the 2002 FED Baseball Casebook reminds me of the play in question:

8.2.5 SITUATION: With R1 on first and no outs, B2 hits a long fly ball over the head of F8. R1 thinks the ball will fall in for a hit and attempts to advance to third. However, F8 makes the catch. F8 throws to first base, but the ball goes into dead ball territory. R1, who is attempting to return to first base, is between second and third base when the ball becomes dead. Ruling: A runner may not return to a base that he left too soon on a caught fly ball if he was on or beyond a succeeding base when the ball became dead, or if he advances and touches a succeeding base after the ball became dead. Upon a proper appeal, R1 shall be called out.

OK. That's clear in FED (and MLB, too, I assume). My question is this: If the retreating runner was between second and third when the throw left the fielder's hand but had retouched second and was on his way back to first when the throw went into dead ball territory, now he has the right to retouch first. But where do you place the runner?

ASA specifically covered this play in POE #33 in its 2001 Rule Book: the runner is awarded home (two bases from the last base legally touched when the throw left the fielder's hand--second--regardless of which direction he's was going). ASA of course now allows a runner to return even if the ball is dead, so now he wouldn't have to be between first and second when the ball became dead.

But in FED, where would I place the runner? I said home. The other umps said third: two bases from the base he had to retouch. Was I correct? MLB or FED softball any different?