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ASA, NSA or USSSA rules. Posted from another forum. What say you all?

Need more info. Where was the first step after touching the plate?

So the fly is huge enough to the infield that the runner can run home, score and then walk back to third base before the ball is caught? My question would be how do you keep the ball from burning up on re-entry?

Let's split the question into two scenarios:

1 - The runner runs home, touches it, and immediately heads back towards 3B and NOT the dugout.

2 - The runner runs home, touches it, and immediately walks towards his team's 3B dugout.

I agree. And I told the player that his "what if" scenario was so absurd and un-effing likely that I initially did not weigh in on the matter.

She said "walk back toward third base" not TO third base.

Anyone not using a cane can run one base while a normal IFF is in the air.

Pretty sure the umpire needs to judge intent on this one. From the OP's description, "walk back towards third" could be judged as retreating back to third base, so she better get back there or touch home again.

I personally doubt this was a player's question. Sounds more like something a rat coach would try.

Obviously a good question since there are 6 replies and not even close to an answer.......

It was posted on softballfans.com, so it's probably a player. You should see the crazy stuff they ask on there!

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How can you answer a question without all the data?

But if you want an answer, here it is.

If, IMJ, the runner is returning to 3B, he needs to retouch home or have turned directly TOWARD 3B to remain immune from an appeal at the plate.

If, IMJ, the runner touched the plate and started directly to return to 3B, he has placed himself in jeopardy to be retired.

Now comes the argument that once a runner has scored, the run has scored. Okay, I can buy that. However, if that is your belief, you must hold that a runner which touches home can never return, yet the rules clearly state that they may.

Hmmmm.....where do we go now?

In baseball rules you cannot "unscore" a legally scored run. So if the fly is caught and you need to tag the run was not legally scored so you can retreat. But if the ball is not caught then the run has scored and nothing the runner does can unscore it.

Do (should) the various softball codes have the same?

Are you saying that in 'baseball rules', that if said runner has a brain fart after touching home plate, (and an un caught fly ball), but thinks the ball was caught, and retouches home plate on his way back to tag up 3rd, that run is not 'unscored' ?

If this is true (and I'm not convinced yet), then in baseball, this player's tactic would have worked the way he wanted it to. I can't imagine, were this the actual case, that NO ONE in 100+ years of ball has thought of trying this on a sky-fly-ball, especially a high and short one that they aren't likely to score on anyway.

you should check for a shaved bat.

Not a blue so don't generally post here, but I think the reason you've never seen this in baseball is that no one can hit a pop-up high enough to give the runner time to get home and back to 3B. It's 60yds from 3B to home and back and a world class 60 yd dash time is 7 seconds. Allowing an extra second for the time to stop and turn around before sprintinig back to 3B plus assuming less than world class speed and I'd guess that the best 3B-Home-3B time you could hope for is 8 seconds or a bit more. Some quick calculations show that a pop-up with an 8 second hang time has to be hit about 260ft high or over the top of a 17 storey office building. Not saying it couldn't ever be done, but awfully hard. At a MLB game the other day, I counted the hang times (I know, but the physics of stuff like this is interesting to me) of several really high pop-ups and none even got to 6 seconds.