Infield fly/force out?

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by RonA

Right, I understand that. But, given that the runner on 2nd and the runner on 3rd were advancing (or trying to) at their own risk, wouldn't the runner at home be forced? The runner going from 2nd to 3rd forced the runner on 3rd to make the try for home.

That's not how runners are forced. Let's see how I can explain a "force..."

If the batter-runner is not yet out, the batter-runner is forced to advance to first base. In doing so, runners are forced to attempt to advance if doing so is the only way the runner behind them can attempt to safely advance to the next base without having two runners on the same base.

Does that make sense?

So if the batter-runner is retired, there is no one forcing the runner on 1st base to advance to 2nd. That then means there is no one forcing the runner on 2nd base to advance to 3rd.

There's also this:

ASA 8-3-E: Two runners may not occupy the same base at the same time.
EFFECT: The runner who first legally occupied the base is entitled to that base, unless forced to advance. The other runner may be put out by being tagged with the ball.

[RonA]

OK, so the runner at 2nd is not forced. But, when R2 advances to 3rd, isn't R3 forced at HP, because R2 reaches 3rd?