Double Play or Not?

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by mbyron

I don't find such a tactic at all plausible. First, I'm kinda impressed that the F6 in the OP could bump a runner off a base and still make a catch. Coaching him to TRY to bump into R2 standing on the base is going to result in dropped pop-ups, not INT calls.

Second, unless F6 is as big as a sumo wrestler, it just ain't that hard for a runner to stay on a base while a fielder is fielding a batted ball, provided that he's watching the fielder and not the ball. If he's not watching the fielder, too bad for him.

Third, I make my calls based on the rules, not what coaches might do if I enforce the rules correctly.

You stand on 2nd base. I will come from the shortstop position, not looking at you but watching the high pop fly that is scheduled to come down about 5 feet to the first base side of 2nd. I guarantee that I can knock you into next week and still catch the ball, come back and tag you while you are still laying where I left you, wondering WTF just happened. You cannot call the runner out for this. If a runner is forced off the base, and had no momentum, he can't get tagged out. What would stop a player from shoving a runner off the base and then tagging him? It would be anarchy, I tell ya.

Sometimes you have to use common sense in the absence of a written rule.