Gameplay Situation I need a ruling on

[UmpTTS43]

Johnnyg - I don't own a J/R manual, but I have been told that they consider a "fourth out appeal" of the BR not reaching 1st a legal appeal.

Rube - 7.10d deals with a missed home plate appeal.

Briefly, I am of the opinion, that once the third out has been recorded, the BR no longer has the responsibility to touch 1st base. There are only four types of appeals that can result in a runner being called out. Out of the four, only three can result in an umpire recognizing an apparent "fourth out." The four are: 1) failure to properly tag up on a caught fly ball, 2) missed base, 3) failure of BR "immediately" returning to 1st after over running it, and 4) missed home plate. Number 3 is irrelevant due to the fact that the BR need not return to 1st base after the third out has been recorded. There is no appeal for "not reaching a base" after three outs have been recorded. An umpire cannot use abandonment in this case either, since abandonment is not an appeal play, thus resulting in a "time" play.