Retreating from home
 

This was brought up during high school clinic last night. Was an actual play that happened over the weekend in I believe a 12U game.

Runner on 3, batter thinks it is missed strike 3 and runs for 1st. Catcher throws to 1st, and runner at 3 comes home and scores. For whatever reason, coach yells at runner to get back to 3rd, runner resteps on home plate headed back to 3, and in the process ball is thrown to F5 who tags the runner while in between home and 3rd.

Umpire ruled that once the runner had scored she was "retired" per the rule book and was not subject to being called out. The general consensus amongst the instructors was that while not specifically addressed in the rule book, this is a DMR on the runner, and by retracing her track back across home plate on her way to 3rd, she put herself back into jeapordy of being called out.

We all searched the rule book last night for a refrence in both the ASA and NFHS rule books and couldnt find anything. Closest I could find was the force being reinstated after retreating from a base already touched.

Opinions?

Ive got a couple of phone calls in on this one, and Im gonna look it up a little later. I will let you know what I come up with.

For NFHS refer to the case book 9.1.1 Situation B.

The ruling is the runner is not out. Once a runner legally touches the plate, the runner cannot be put out, even if the runner attempts to return to a preceding base.

Although I do not have a case play for ASA, I believe that the run would count under Rule 5.5. "One run shall be scored each time a runner touches first, second, thrid and home plate."

I don't think you are going to find such a reference for ASA.

However, if you are not going to call the runner out because she has already scored, are you willing to call INT for drawing a throw IF THIS OCCURRED during a valid play with other runners attempting to advance?

According the the case cited above, no, unless the umpire deems it to be an intentional act to draw the throw. Then runner closest to home called out and runner who drew throw is ejected for unsportsman like conduct.

In NFHS you gonna eject her?

No intent required in ASA

In ASA...
 

I think the only way you could get an out would be if the runner from 3rd was forced. ASA has a stipulation that if a runner in a force situation retreats for any reason the force would be reinstated. However, this isn't a force situatoin.

Instead of a dropped third strike, say it was a fly ball to the center field fence that the runner thought wasn't going to be caught? But the ball is caught. If she has crossed home plate [and no subsequent runner followed her there] can't she retrace her steps by touching HP and trying to retreat to 3B before a live ball appeal is made?

She has "scored" and if no appeal was made the run would count. But having scored, and knowing she was way off the base at the time of the catch, she should be able to try to get back to 3B.

Yes?

Ted

Yes, the runner can retreat to a base left too soon.

Yes, so long as she did not enter dead ball territory, and a following runner did not also score.

You did mean or not and, right?

Yeah... and and/or or... :confused:

One or the other, but both also works... ;)

This is a pretty good one. The status of a runner who has scored seems in question - but I dont know that that is the big the question. The big question is the score.

Rule 5.5.1 - A run scores when...

So are there any criteria which would negate that score?

There is no legit appeal being made, so there is no rule negating the run scoring .. ie the score is in the books. The runner could do any number of things, Interfere (were something else going on), get ejected, do a hand stand, beg the umpire not to score the score because they dont want to play extra innings and want to go home, purposely return to 3rd to prevent the score to prevent run rule.

But they cant.

It's in the book. The ruling on the field was essentially correct in my view, with the exception that I dont believe the status of the runner is the big question - the big question is can that runner do anything at that point to unring the scoring bell?

Barring an appeal sitiation, I dont believe they can.

Still havent found anything in the ASA rule book that covers this situation, but obviously we have the case play in the NFHS book that does. While it is addressed, not sure I necessarily agree with the reasoning of it. At every other base, the runner through some dumb act can put themselves back in jeapordy of being put out. Yet as soon as they legally touch all bases and home the run is "in the book" and cant be erased, no matter what act the runner may make. The only thing she can do at that point is put a succeeding runner at risk by drawing a throw, assisting etc.

It would seem to me that if for what ever reason the runner is dumb enough to backtrack across home headed back to third they would have put themselves back in jeapordy. But, I didnt make the rules and will call it by the book if this situation ever comes up.

The difference between home and every other base is that after touching the first three, the runner's status is still that of "a runner"- from a definitional rules standpoint- and she is still liable to be put out.

Once a runner crosses the last one, she is no longer "a runner" (pick your term- an "offensive player", an "offensive teammate" or "a person authorized to be on the field of play") and can no longer be put out (assuming no valid appeal is possible).

Not having looked at 5-5-1 (I'm at work) I'd have to guess that even without an exception, you are expected to take off a score in this case: runner goes home and then goes back to third because she left early. She can retrace since no following runner has scored and she stayed in live ball territory. Now, once she retouches, the appeal violation is cleared up. If you don't take the run off the board, then you either expect the runner to stay at third and score twice or run off into DB territory.

Now, suppose I change that scenario a little bit. She did not in fact leave early. (Ball was bobbled in the outfield and nobody but the guys in blue knew the rule.) Are you still going to take the run off the board?
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WildonGirl

Or anywhere else, as far as I know.

Cecil, per the NFHS case cited, they say if the runner retracing back to 3rd draws a throw that lets another runner advance, it is not to be ruled interference unless deemed to be intentional by the umpire. In the case study, the base coach thought the runner had missed 3rd and recalled her to the base, drawing a throw from the outfield that allowed the batter to move to 2nd. Since the act of returning to 3rd was not intentional, there is no intererence.

However, per ASA, if a retired runner draws a throw that allows a runner to advance it is interference and closest runner to home is out.

In both the rule book and case book, the sentence about drawing a throw does not say intentionally, although the context of the paragraph supports intentionally and now I agree.
Good catch!

From my point of view, you are making the mistake of complicating this. Either its an appeal play, which is covered by rule, or a score, which is covered by rule.

You can flavor that anyway you like it and it still boils down to that.. but if you then go farther with your "what if" and add conceivable umpire errors, UFO's causing panic, malaria induced blindness of the PU, etc - that only muddy's the water.

I think the play is interesting because it seems logicially we should hold the runner accountable for obvious DMR (more accurately dumb move coach) - but I dont believe that position can be supported by rule in terms of negating a scored run barring appeal.

I came into this last night at the follow up HS rules meeting with RKB.

This is actually one of the plays I was going to talk about in my OBS/INT clinc tomorrow morning.

I'm going to cite NFHS rules since I have that book in front of me. If I put together a few rules and some "read between the lines" this is what I come up with:

(read between the lines disclaimer - I believe this is intended more for the retired runner from first base that reaches out and knocks down the relay throw to first after the front end of a double play) (read between the lines disclaimer - Per the definition of interference, the act does not have to be intentional, it just has to interfere. The penalty is that the ball is dead and the runner closest to home is declared out.

Rule 9-9-1 defines how a team scores and basically restate 2-49 as cited above. None of the exceptions listed for 9-9-1 include a runner who has legally scored retreating back across home for any reason. I can't find anywhere in the book that allows for a run to be "unscored" once it has legally scored.

So, without seeing the play, I count the run, call interference on the runner that scored, and declare the runner closest to home out.

In my opinion, the case play does not match up with the wording of the rule.

Without looking at the ASA book, I believe this interp would be the same as I can't recall any differences in these rules between NFHS and ASA.

There's nothing UFO-like about my scenario. If you have a runner who retreats to third after touching home because she left to early, are you negating the run? If so, using what rule? If not, what are you doing with the runner on third? And does it matter if the player retreating to third does so in error.
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WASHINGTON MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

I tend to agree with Andy but the wording in the case book is making it a hard sell.
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then---
If the runner that was on third touches home then the coach calls her back to the base with no throw by the defense-- I hope the car is started when you pull the runner off third and add a point to the offensive team.

A point? :rolleyes:

RS #1 pretty well lays it all out if you are having trouble with appeal plays. Let me know which part is confusing you.

9-9-1 (NFHS) defines how a run legally scores. Touching first, second, third, and home. In the original scenario, this is exactly what happened. That run has legally scored and cannot be "unscored".

In your scenario above, the runner has not legally scored (yet) since she left third early on a caught fly ball. As Mike said earlier, a runner is always allowed to retreat to correct a baserunning mistake. The runner is subject to appeal up until the next pitch to a batter or the end of the inning. If no appeal is made, the run legally scores when the time for the appeal has passed.

Maybe so, but if the runner has legally scored per 9-9-1 (NFHS) and her continued running did not cause interference, you would be correct in pulling her off of third and scoring a run.

There's no appeal in the scenario I'm presenting. Just a runner who a) was (or b) mistakenly believed she was) subject to appeal retreating to third and arriving safely before the defense could consider appealing.
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YOUNGSWEETPUSSY4U

In a) the runner did not score, since she left early / missed 3B, etc. IOW, a baserunning infraction leaves her (and her score) in jeopardy. Since she rectified the basrunning error, she now has to proceed home again to score. The alternate way for her to score here is to not return to 3B and hope the defense does not appeal.

In b) it is just a bit of post-scoring harmless exercise.

I admit I was having trouble interpreting what you meant before; given what you just stated, Dakota's post should clear it up. My original answer to you "From my point of view, you are making the mistake of complicating this. Either its an appeal play, which is covered by rule, or a score, which is covered by rule."

Is still the same. The answer has been stated pretty clearly by different people in different ways under different rule sets in this thread so hopefully its all clear now.