Brain freeze today!
 

FED rules.

For whatever reason, I am having a brain cramp and second-guessing myself on a subject that should be simple.

1. Two outs, runner on first. Batter hits a HR over the LF fence. Batter-runner misses second and is out upon proper appeal. One run scores. Correct???

2. Same thing but the runner that was on first misses third and is out upon proper appeal. No runs score. Correct???

3. Same thing, but batter-runner misses first and is out upon proper appeal. No runs score. Correct???

What brought this up was this. My son is a senior and I have went "inactive" with my umpiring license in IL to watch him play. His team was playing Saturday and I was standing along the fence on the first base side just past first base. The batter hits a HR and I watched him miss second by a foot. He even stutter stepped and I thought he was going to go back and touch, but he didn't. After he touched third and headed home, I got out coach's attention and told him that he missed second. We appealed and the BU ruled safe. After the inning, the BU whom I know, came over and asked me if he missed the base. I said "by about a foot". He told me that he had assumed he would touch the bases and that he wasn't watching. Luckily it had no bearing in the outcome.

All 3 correct.

Correct on all three.

The first appeal is not a force play.

The second appeal is.

The third is not a force play but the BR did not safely aquire first so no runs can score.

The second appeal is NOT a force play, since R1 is not forced to 3B. The ruling is based on the fact that since the lead runner made the third out before scoring, no trailing runner can score on the play.

The first play: there's a FED-only wrinkle here, due to the possibility of a dead-ball appeal. I suppose you could, in theory, have the defense appeal while R1 and the BR are still running the bases. Since this is a time play, you COULD have to rule on the appeal before R1 scored, so in theory no runs would score.

That's a bad call, IMO, and I would not rule that way: the spirit of the appeal rule is the same in FED as OBR, and the rule permitting dead-ball appeals is merely a convenience. I would not allow that convenience to trump the scoring rules: one run scores.

Ugh. My brain failed to retain it was third base and not second base R1 missed. You are correct of course.

Runners get to complete their awards before any dead ball appeal.

+1.

Right. Forgot about that. Now we know why it's in the book. :)