I'm not getting you at all. I was asking you to clarify your statement - which is either just wrong or ambiguous - I can't tell which. Why do we need a ruling on a situation that is black and white.

Let me ask what I feel to be an analogous, but more easily understood example:

No outs, bases loaded. Batter pops to mid-range RF (not an IFF), and in disgust heads straight for the dugout and enters it. The ball is not caught by RF. Tagging runners take off, all 3 advancing. BR called out for abandonment.

Any of you folks sending the runners back in this sitch? Of course not. No reason to - the advances happened during a live ball. Just as the advance home occurred in the OP - during a live ball. The only difference (which protects the runner MORE than the scenario I described, not less) is that the runner is advancing without liability to be put out. If you're not returning the runners in a scenario where the runners are NOT protected, why are you returning them in a similar scenario where the runners ARE protected?

Let me ask another. Say the OP happened in the 1st inning (who knows why BR refused to go to first base and went to the dugout, maybe he thought it was strike three instead of ball four) - and BR goes to the dugout after a bases loaded walk. Would you put runners back in that scenario? Of course not - so why do you want to do so in extra innings?

Dan,

You've expressed your "opinions" on the baseball board (mostly incorrectly), so I'm not surprised to see you doing the same here.

I haven't worked softball in years, but Mike Rowe has shown that the ruling for this situation is pretty much the same as baseball. It's a live ball award. ALL runners are entitled to a one base award without liability to be put out.

I don't know the intricate details in softball, but in this situation in baseball ONLY TWO runners actually need to do something -- R3 score and the BR go to first. So the BR went to the dugout. Well, unless there's 2 outs, it doesn't matter. R3 still scored. In baseball (and Mike can tell me how softball rules this) R1 and R2 don't even need to advance to the next base cause technically they are not forced -- it's an award.

It's not what "seems" fair. It's knowing the rules and how to apply them.

--Rich

Technically, all runners were "forced" until the BR was declared out. At that point, relief is provided the runners.

So it's just another difference, then.

No big deal. I only read the Softball board for the situations and the game management posts, not so I can be a softball umpire.

Hey man, come over from the dark side . . .

As long as you can get "I haven't worked softball in years, but Mike Rowe has shown that the ruling for this situation is pretty much the same as baseball" turned around to softball first. :D

I have great respect for those who have intricate knowledge of the rules to the point where a play happens once a year (or less) is met with immediate, on-the-field knowledge. I don't have that knowledge of the softball rules anymore -- I used to try to keep up with the differences, but now that I don't work softball I don't have to. That's what Mike Rowe is for -- whatever he says, I can take to the bank.

Too many umpires think that they can get strike, ball, safe, out, fair, foul right and that's all there is to umpiring. This play shows that you need to be able to do more.