base mechanics

[teebob21]

I'm a little surprised at the quantity of discussion on this...as I said before, I've always been instructed that this is PU's call. Allow me to compare this to another relatively routine play.

R1 on 1B, the BR bunts a ball that settles fair on top of home plate. F2 has no play at 1B on the BR, but R1 advances non-stop around 2B to 3B. F5 throws to 3B to make a play on R1. Who makes the call?

Plate umpire, right? EVEN THOUGH, this is one of the 4 times the book says this call belongs to the base umpire: "First throw from an infielder after fielding a batted ball". I don't think it is a reasonable expectation for the BU to start behind F4 on the pitch and move to a credible calling position on any initial play on the lead runner at 3B, at any level. The ASA/USA manual agrees, but the printed version has a typo. Correction posted here in April: April Plays and Clarifications

Originally Posted by Manny A

But if there is no play at second base and the runner simply rounds the bag and continues on to third, the BU should have no trouble moving to third to take the play there. That typically happens when the ball is rattling around near the backstop or dugout, and the PU will likely be pinned back there watching to make sure it doesn't enter DBT.

Manny, if you have those kind of wheels, good for you. I used to be as fast as the players, but I don't think I've been able to beat the runner to both 2B and 3B on the outside of the basepaths since I was 18 or 19.