Appeal situation
 

FED rules.

Bases loaded, 1 out.

Ball is hit to deep center. F8 makes the catch and R3 and R2 advance. R1 returns to first, so we are going to have R1 and R3 with 2 out.

Everyone in the park knows F3 left early before he scored. The defensive coach obviously doesn't know FED appeal rules (dead ball appeal) because he instructs F1 to engage the pitcher's plate so they can make the ball live. As he does, R1 sprints off and gets into a rundown between first and second. He is tagged out and the "new" R3 doesn't score.

At this point, since the defense doesn't lose the right to appeal from the offense initiating a play, can't the defense still appeal the runner leaving early from the sacrifice fly to F8? Would this be a fourth out appeal? This didn't happen in any of my games, but it was brought up to me by someone.

Yes, they can appeal as the offense instigated the action.

Is this a Calvinball [Fed] thing?

B/c in all other codes, this is a play on a runner. Since it is not continuous action, the defense would lose the right to appeal R3 leaving early. And, it would not matter who instigated the play.

Another reason to not like Fed rules.

Yes, it's a FED thing.

you can live ball appeal in FED

Not all other codes. NCAA has the same ruling as FED.

So R1 is running on a dead ball?

That's interesting.

p.s. was the ball actually dead?

Unless something is missing in the OP, it shouldn't have been.

I stand corrected. I looked in the NCAA rules and it is there under Rule 8.

I know.

From the way I was told, yes the ball was dead and had been put back in play when F1 engaged the pitcher's plate and R1 sprinted off to get in the rundown. Either that, or it stayed live and the DC thought that the pitcher had to engage the plate so the PU could put it in play. Regardless, the DC didn't have a clue about what was going on. The person who told me this story was the offensive coach. He got a run from the guy leaving early at 3rd and the DC had no idea he could either A) Appeal during a dead ball, or B) Appeal after the rundown for the fourth out.

See above.

IMO, FED and NCAA have this rule "right" for amateur baseball. This prevents the offense from initiating a play to gain an advantege from wahat was a (potential) baserunning error.