2019 Appeal Exam Question

[Tru_in_Blu]

Originally Posted by youngump

One thing I've convinced myself of thinking through this one (the end of game one, not that dreamland play) is that if the ball isn't dead then they can't appeal and since no one has left live ball territory, there is no abandonment. So I think ideally, we're just leaving the ball live here and waiting for something to happen. There are two force outs available. And maybe that's it we just wait until the offense leaves the field; though if the home team is planning to have a celebration and a barbecue post game in the outfield we could be stuck there a long time. (I don't think the entire defense leaving the park even changes anything from this perspective.) Does this create a rather weird situation where you couldn't coach them and the entire defense could leave, then get the outs and then forfeit for having left?

But suppose the ball becomes inadvertently dead; F1 wants to appeal and she wants to make dead ball appeals so she asks for time. Your partner grants it much to your chagrin. Now the ball is dead. You can't give the defense the chance to appeal until the offense has had sufficient time, but I think we can cede that they already had it and accept the appeals. But again, I'm stuck on what you're appealing. Not running the bases is not one of the listed types of appeals. And neither the BR nor the runner at first ever got remotely close to missing a base. They just didn't run the bases.

In my experience, when fielders (or even coaches now in USA) want to make an appeal, they aren't astute enough to ask for time first. Reading RS#1, a live ball appeal requires a player to have the ball in their possession.

But if the runners and BR are celebrating at home, I will assume they've been given time to fulfill their base running duties. Then, if a fielder without the ball says they want to appeal, we would call time out and rule on the appeal.

For the runner at first, she went home without touching second (or third) and can be ruled out for missing a base. The BR who never reached first, can be ruled out for missing first.

And the order in which the appeals are made would impact whether the run would score or not.

[youngump]

Originally Posted by Tru_in_Blu

For the runner at first, she went home without touching second (or third) and can be ruled out for missing a base. The BR who never reached first, can be ruled out for missing first.

My hangup is that there's no way that the runner at first "missed" second and third. If you believe that then you'd have to be willing to say that they scored.

Let's say this is a tournament where score differential will determine seeding.
And there is also a runner on second who does the same dumb trick. The defense gets the ball and appeals that the batter runner missed first. So you now have two outs. Then they say the runner from second missed third so you have 3 outs. Most of the defense is already off the field and as soon as you call the third out the last defenders run off.
The scorekeeper then asks you if the run counts. Are you seriously going to tell her that it does, and ALSO the runner from first who came in to celebrate scores so the home team wins by 2?

I'm not, she has to touch all 4 bases or approximate it well enough to be considered to have missed the base to score a run. She's guilty of abandonment not finding a shortcut to scoring.

[Tru_in_Blu]

Originally Posted by youngump

My hangup is that there's no way that the runner at first "missed" second and third. If you believe that then you'd have to be willing to say that they scored.

OKAY, that's your hangup. Perhaps without a proper appeal, in some situations, the run might count.

Let's say this is a tournament where score differential will determine seeding.

Irrelevant - I don't care.

And there is also a runner on second who does the same dumb trick. The defense gets the ball and appeals that the batter runner missed first. So you now have two outs.

Good so far. Now force plays at the other bases are eliminated.

Then they say the runner from second missed third so you have 3 outs.

OKAY so far.

Most of the defense is already off the field and as soon as you call the third out the last defenders run off.

At this point, the runner from third has scored the winning run. The game is over.

The scorekeeper then asks you if the run counts. Are you seriously going to tell her that it does,

Yes, seriously.

and ALSO the runner from first who came in to celebrate scores so the home team wins by 2?

As stated above, once the runner from third scored, the game is over.

I'm not, she has to touch all 4 bases

That part is true.

or approximate it well enough

Here's where I'll need a citation, please.

to be considered to have missed the base to score a run. She's guilty of abandonment not finding a shortcut to scoring.

This is still a bit TWP to me, but whatever. If players didn't think it was the end of the game, there wouldn't be a celebration around home plate. Now given the TWPishness of this scenario, if this happened in an inning other than the bottom of the 7th (would be strange in and of itself) and the runner from first base managed to step on home plate, would the run count? It probably has to, despite the approximating you've described. To fix it, how about a 4th out appeal? TWPs all around!

[Tru_in_Blu]

Bottom 7th, home team at bat trailing by a run.

Bases loaded, batter hits an over the fence home run. Home team wins by 3 runs.

Bases loaded, batter hits a gap shot to the outfield that has no fence. Runners score from third and second. Home team wins by 1 run.

Once the winning run crosses the plate, the game is over.

I'm sure some score keeping parent will log the gap shot as a grand slam with 4 RBIs, but I don't think it's right.