Valid pitching appearance?

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by pruett3

Why is 1st base treated differently than any other base?

1. Second base is the farthest from the catcher, which makes it the easiest base to steal.
2. Reaching 2B puts a runner in scoring position, so it's important to the offense to get him there and important to the defense to keep him on 1B.
3. That's why 1B is (almost always) the only base where the runner is held on.
4. More runners reach 1B than any other base.

All of these points apply only to 1B, which explains why it's treated differently. The intent of the rules is to balance offense and defense with respect to advancing a runner to 2B.

[TwoBits]

Originally Posted by fongw2

All in all, I guess what bugs me the most is that I didn't just get a courtesy 'warning' and instead had to re-juggle my lineup again as my closer was now effectively 'out' and everyone around me had a 'huh?' look on their faces.

If the rules don't allow for a warning, then you don't get one. While I can't say whether the rule was properly applied by the umpires going off your description of the event, I do know that this is a case where coaches and players don't get a warning.

[bluehair]

Originally Posted by mbyron

More runners reach 1B than any other base.

I hope you have statistics to prove that bold statement

[MrUmpire]

Originally Posted by mbyron

1. Second base is the farthest from the catcher, which makes it the easiest base to steal.
2. Reaching 2B puts a runner in scoring position, so it's important to the offense to get him there and important to the defense to keep him on 1B.
3. That's why 1B is (almost always) the only base where the runner is held on.
4. More runners reach 1B than any other base.

All of these points apply only to 1B, which explains why it's treated differently. The intent of the rules is to balance offense and defense with respect to advancing a runner to 2B.

Evans has explained that his research indicates that even the early rules makers understood that scoring was more exciting than not scoring. The rules regarding first actually lean heavily towards the offense to protect the runner and provide a greater chance of scoring.