Missed Base Appeal with a Twist
 

Sitch: Runners at first and second, two outs, full count on the batter. On the pitch, both runners take off. Batter hits a base hit into right-center field. R1 from second should score easily, and R2 from first is a speedster who thinks she should be able to score as well. However, R1 rounding third stumbles a little over the bag. Suddenly, R1 and R2 are both heading for home not very far apart from each other.

The throw from F8 to home is a frozen rope that may get R1, but the ball bounces in front of F2 and scoots by her as she puts her leg in R1's path. R1 tries to slide into the back side of the plate, but goes past home without touching it due to F2's leg. PU signals Obstruction as F1, backing up the throw home, fields the ball. She tosses it back to F2 to make a play on R2, but R2 slides into home under the tag just before R1 has a chance to recover and touch home herself.

You're the PU. If the defense appeals, are you really going to rule R1 out for failing to touch home before R2 scores, even though R1 was clearly obstructed from initially touching it?

The above highlighted never happened because you will call dead ball on a play being made on obstructed runner.

Play was not made on obstructed runner, play was being made on trailing runner.

Only if there is an "out".

EDIT: Just for clarity, an "out" of the obstructed runner. This post was to differentiate between a play and an actual out.

If there had been no R2 and R1 was tagged before touching the plate, would you have awarded R1 home and the score?

If so, then you still do that in the above, with R2 also scoring.

Exactly. At the point they do make a play on the obstructed runner you award the obstruction which includes placing all runners where you think they should go, not just the obstructed runner.

In this case the play on the obstructed runner is an appeal play. R1 would have been out on appeal but since she was obstructed you award her home.

Even an obstructed runner has to touch all bases. if she went past the plate, as she did, do i have to see if she was going back to touch the plate. it seems like there was a second or two between R1 going past the plate and the play being made on R2. What was R1 doing during that time. I'd want to give R1 some opportunity to finish her base running responsibilities, but if she missed the base and is not making an attempt to come back and touch the plate (assuming she is not injured), how do we call it if there is a live or dead ball appeal on R1.

Only if the OBS runner is put out.

Oooh I like conceptual situations like this. I'm posting this on the fly, without a book, so feel free to correct any errors in rule application.

I'd like to eliminate the TWP elements but they're pivotal to the situation. If we had just one runner, we could even imagine R1 obstructed at any other base without touching...but that complicates things since she is unlikely to fail to retouch after the OBS.

A runner passing the plate is assumed to have touched it. We don't have the automatic out for passing a leading runner. I've never come across a case play in any code where a following runner "passes" a leading runner at the plate...probably because there is simply no remaining basepath on which R2 can pass R1 after the plate. This situation simply removes the ability of R1 to return to legally touch on her own. No matter if the ball is live or dead during the appeal, I think we kill the play as necessary and make the OBS award of HP for R1. Speaking USA/ASA, appeals are defined as a play, so dead or alive, this is a play on an OBS runner that would normally result in an out: We kill it and award R1 home.

The runner is then obligated to touch all awarded bases. If she doesn't, we have a different can of worms....one with an easy rules application of an out. Give R1 the opportunity to complete the base running, and then entertain an appeal if she does not.

Here's where I can see this getting hairy: can we award bases to players that have been prevented from retouching by rule (having a following runner score)??? I think this is the key point, and I have no idea why we can, but know of no rule saying we can't. This is the one situation where coaches's annoying tendency to tell players to "stay on the base" while the coach argues the call might be valid....could we still award bases to a player who left live-ball territory?

Second question (slightly off topic): If an OBS runner touches a base BEFORE the OBS award is given, does that count as touching awarded bases? Or are they required to touch after the award is granted/announced?

Just to screw with you at a different level ....

Assuming you want R1 to return and touch the missed base, can you allow and accept that AFTER the following runner R2 has touched and scored?

I would assume the same way you ignore a passing of an OBS runner where that runner is ruled out an then brought back to life.

Missing a base is an exclusion to the "between two bases" protection, so an OBS must be given the opportunity to touch the base. Or is someone suggesting the trailing runner be forced to stop and wait until the OBS runner return to touch the plate?

IMJ, you let the OBS runner return and touch the plate and if challenged, cite 10.1

If affected by the OBS of a runner or as a result of a delayed or incorrect call/ruling, yes.No, with the exception of returning to touch a based missed or left too soon, once the runner has touched the base, it is considered touched.

Good reinforcement. That was the context of the previous post:
"Quote:
Originally Posted by robbie View Post
The above highlighted never happened because you will call dead ball on a play being made on obstructed runner. "

See my edit.

In NSA it is dead when a play is made on obstructed runner:

"p) When a play is being made on an obstructed runner, or if the batter-runner
is obstructed before he/she reaches 1st base. "

Is that NOT the case in other codes?

(emphasis is added)

USA Softball:
8 - 5 - B Effect: delayed dead ball
. . 2 "if the obstructed runner is put out prior to reaching the base which would have been reached had there been on obstruction"
Effect: dead ball.

NCAA:
9.4 Effect
. . . "If the obstructed runner is put out before reaching the base she should
have reached had there been no obstruction, a dead ball is called at the
time of the apparent putout."