Ending Game

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Originally Posted by mbcrowder

You've defined the crux of the argument...

"The runner fails to touch the intervening base or bases ". Intervening means BETWEEN. This rule is meant to allow the defense to appeal an out for a runner MISSING a base. The situation described is NOT missing a base. It is abandoning a base. We don't accurately have abandonment often --- but this is EXACTLY what that rule is written for.

If you think there's no difference, consider the same situation but without it being an end-of-game situation.

No outs. Bases loaded. Batter walks and advances. R1 scores. R2 runs off the field to the dugout. Do you stand around waiting for an appeal, or do you call this runner out? You call her out. If this was a missed base, or there was not a difference between abandoning a base and missing one, then you would have to wait for an appeal. But you don't. She's out right now, without appeal. She abandoned 3rd base.

Similarly, in the OP - the runner from 1st or 2nd, technically (although we often don't bother because it's irrelevant) these runners are out as soon as they leave the field. Appealing for missing a base is irrelevant - they are already out --- and their out was NOT the result of a missed base appeal, which is the rule you're using to say the run should be nullified. No such run nullification clause exists with the abandonment rule.

Mike:

I understand what you're saying. Part of the problem is I read the rule differently than you did. I read it as "fails to touch the intervening base" OR "fails to touch the bases or bases in regular or reverse order". I guess in my mind I was putting a comma where it didn't belong.

Another part of the problem is "abandoning" a base is not defined. Usually in a walk-off situation, the celebration happens on the field of play. Since R1 didn't leave the field of play, when is an umpire to judge she's abandoned her right to run the bases? We're told that a BR on a dropped-third hasn't abandoned her right to attempt to advance to 1B until she's in the dugout. Does that same thing apply here?

I really do understand where you're coming from.

To turn your argument around, if the defense appeals to you prior to you having an opportunity to call her out for abandoning, would you allow the appeal? Or, are you saying there's nothing to appeal because a base hasn't been "missed"? (I think I know your answer.) ;-)