Establishing the Baseline
 

I had an interesting play yesterday. I wanted to get any feedback on the call I made (that's never a problem)!

R2 running on the pitch does not break stride and takes an extremely wide arcing path after touching 3B. The throw comes in from F7. F2 catches the ball on the baseline, up the line about three feet. R2 is clearly more than three feet off the baseline because of the arcing turn he made. He does not make any movement to deviate from the baseline he established. F2 swipes at R2 and misses him. R2 completes his arcing path by diving and touching homeplate.

I had nothing since R2 already established his baseline and did not deviate from it.

Good call. The only time this rule comes into play occurs when the defense is actively making a play on the runner. Then he must run directly from wherever he is to a base, and he is out if he deviates more than 3 feet from his basepath.

The line between the bases is irrelevant to the enforcement of this rule.

I'll agree on the good call. Baseline isn't established until they're making a play on the runner. Hence the "skunk in the outfield" type scenarios/plays.

I agree - good call.

I had a similar sitch last weekend. Rundown b/w 1B & 2B. R1 was headed toward 2B and made a wide turn back toward 1B and dove in safely. F1 (or F3) was behind him with the ball when he turned. There was no attempted tag, other than running behind him for a couple of steps. HC went..let's just say he didn't agree with my call. He claimed, "It was an obvious attempt to avoid a tag" He didn't want to listen to my explanation. He just wanted to tell me how wrong and how ridiculous the call was.

Tell the coach, the line between 3rd and home is the foul line, not the base line! If a rat coach complained about this, he needs to go to T-ball.

Good Call! Everyone (not umpires of course) thinks the foul line is the baseline

-Josh

Had a similar sitch in a tournament this past weekend but different result. Runner took a wide turn, throw from center is in advance of the runnter but takes catcher well into foul territory on 3B side of Home, about 6 feet up the line. As catcher is fielding the ball, runner sees he will be tagged out easily and swerves back into fair territory, around the lunging catcher and touches the back side of home plate, barely, with his outstretched hand. I banged him out for being out of his baseline to avoid the tag. OC argued briefly because the runner was in the dirt part of the lane (grass infield) but nodded when I pointed out that he has been running well into the grass/foul part of the field until he saw he was going to be tagged out.

Now that's a good (and gutsy) call simply because most people would never have noticed where he was running and it probably didn't really look like he had avoided the tag etc,.

Thanks
David

Classic case of a smart coach going looking for an uncertain umpire. Well handled, amigo.:)

From the Fed Rules
 

Why don't they get rid of this language?

8-4-2 . . . Any runner is out when he:
a. runs more than three feet away from a direct line between bases to avoid being tagged or to hinder a fielder while the runner is advancing or returning to a base;

They did in OBR.

The rule now reads:

7.08 Any runner is out when—
(a) (1) He runs more than three feet away from his baseline to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner’s baseline is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely

Which is why I did not post the OBR rule, but thanks for posting it so there would be no misunderstanding by those who work multiple rules sets.

I also did not quote the NCAA rule as it does not contain the misleading language, so here it is:

Rule 8 Section 5. A runner is out when:
a. In running to any base, while trying to avoid being tagged out, the runner
runs more than three feet left or right from a direct line between the base
and the runner’s location at the time a play is being made.

Now if we could get NFHS to follow suit, all would be well.