Another play...

[chuckfan1]

Happenned last week...
Runner on 1st, one out. Batter his a fly to right. Runner breaks for 2nd, forgetting how many out there are. This is 12 yo ball.
Runner rounds 2nd when he realizes his mistake. He does not turn around and re-touch 2nd to get back to first. He stops about 1/4 of the way to 3rd, and makes a beeline back to 1st, cutting across the diamond.
HOWEVER, on his way back to 1st, F9 drops the ball. Runner, having never gotten back to 1st, now reverses and heads to 2nd. Makes it safely.
Both me (BU) and my partner (PU) see it. Still learning, I start to go over to tell my partner what I saw and should we call anything. Before I can turn around, he comes out from behind the plate, and calls runner out for not re-tracing.
Offensive coach questions but accepts decesion.
I asked some fellow umpires if we handled that right a few days later, and one said we had "nothing". Meaning, that since the runner never got back to touch first, all he was doing was doing the hokey pokey in getting to second. And cant call him out for being out of the baseline as no play was being made on him. And that any base running act must be on appeal, as leaving to soon or not touching a base.
One cited the "last time by" which is in the annotated. So looking back, I think we had nothing. Anybody??

[greymule]

First, you don't call anything unless the defense appeals.

Second, the runner made it back to second and didn't go out of the baseline to avoid a tag. So there's no violation to appeal, anyway.

Your fellow ump was right. You had nothing.

Now had the runner rounded 3B and then run directly back to 2B without retracing, then you would honor an appeal at 3B. But only if the defense appealed.