FED - Missed base

[PeteBooth]

I'm surprised the following play has not made it to this Forum The play has been discussed at eTeamz and the URC.

R1/R3 - 2 outs. B1 hits ground ball in the hole between third and short, F6 fields the ball and trys to get R1 for the Force at second. R1 CLEARLY beats the throw but does not touch second. R3 scores and R1 scrambles back to second immediately and is tagged out. Does R3 run counts?

The answer in OBR anyway is it depends upon what interpretation you go by.

PBUC - says score the run, however, the defense can subsequently appeal (the advantageous 4th out) that R1 MISSED a Force to base and thus cancel the Run.

PRO Interpretation stems from the Nick Bremigan Ruling which says Count the run.

Side Note: Warren Wilson is presently writing an article at officiating.com on this subject.

I did not post this play to discuss the OBR interp but the FED interp.

In FED, no appeal needed on a Forced to base, meaning if F4 tagged the base, the umpire would register the out. Similar to a play at first where B1 clearly beats the throw but does not touch the bag.

Now some say, this is a rediculous ruling in FED, however, the OBR interp of this play isn't so easy either, just check out the discussions at the other Forums.

Does anybody know of the FED history behind their appeal ruling process? I know in the past the Umpire had authority to rule on missed bases without an official appeal and that was recently changed.

Did someone in FED, read the 1978 referee article concerning the Bremigan Ruling and decided that it wasn't clear and something needed to be done?

Based on all the discussions concerning this play, I would say that the FED way at least until OBR clears it up is as good as any.

Your thoughts? Thanks

Pete Booth

[bob jenkins]

Fed calls it an "accidental appeal" but I think that's a mis-nomer.

It's a literal reading of "a force out occurs when a fielder holding the ball touches the base to which a runner is forced before the runner touches the base" (those are my words, not the direct quote from the rule book).

Given the previous FED emphasis on lack of interpretation by umpires, the ruling makes sense.

[greymule]

In Fed, if with two out the batter hits a bases-loaded inside-the-park home run and misses 1B, and the catcher puts the tag on him after he slides safely across the plate, the batter is still out on the accidental force play, and no runs score.

Just how long the runner remains liable to be accidentally put out has been disputed on this site.

I have been reading Warren Wilson's installments on Nick Bremigan's view of a force play, but I can't see where in Bremigan's interpretation the defense, after getting the tag out, can't still get the advantageous fourth out on appeal. Is Bremigan saying that if a runner beats the throw and slides past 2B but stays within the "cutout," he has in effect reached the base and any subsequent out there isn't a force? Doesn't make sense to me.