tag play

[Umpteenth]

Originally Posted by youngump

...whether the fielder actually had possession before the tag is a judgment call and that judgment call is heavily influenced by what happens before and afterwards...

Originally Posted by Dakota

...Since it is judgment, the criteria is all that can be really described. You aren't going to get an answer to the question, How much time "after" is required for the runner to be out? The rule says "none"; the reality says "judgment."... Again, judgment based on what the actual plate umpire actually saw.

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

...As others have said - it's judgement, and there's no way to determine with 100% accuracy whether the ball was completely secured at the moment of the tag - so we have to go with what we see....

Originally Posted by johnsonrod

...would you say, 100% of the time, that when a fielder has the ball securely posses, the runner is out the instant the tag is applied, regardless if the ball comes loose a millisecond after the tag?

As others have said, this is a judgment call. I would have to be there and see the play. I might see it different than mbcrowder, than Dakota or than youngump. I see what I see and make a ruling based on that information. When coach comes to gripe about my call, I tell him, "Coach, in my judgment..." End of story, the play stands.