Awarded bases to an injured runner
 

My play in the thread "irritating parent" caused me to think about how to handle this.

Take this example. Tie score, bottom of the inning, two outs. Runner coming home slides into F2 who is blocking the plate with the ball so on OBS...yet. Runner slides into tag and ball comes out. Runner is hurt but still tries to move to home plate but his blocked by F2 who no longer has the ball. Now we have OBS. Runner is tagged; dead ball, runner awarded home for what would be game winning run. But she is hurt and is now just laying on the ground.

Coaches come over to attend to injured runner. Defense is leaving the field but only 2 or 3 have even crossed the foul line when runner is helped to her feet and helped off field with HC and assistant coach on either side of her.

Def coach runs up and says "Appeal she never touched home".

My question in all of this is that we are supposed to give offense an opportunity to complete baserunning duties, and bases awarded to an injured runner may be run by an eligible sub. So at what point to we decide that offense has had the opportunity to give us a sub and have the sub touch home? I could see in this senario the off coach getting all the way to the dugout with injured runner then turning around to come give me a sub.

My first thought would be to not accept the appeal yet until I felt that the off coach was not coming to me with a sub. I don't want to say or do anything to tip off either side.

The rules certainly do not cover a time limit or a defining action; but waiting for the OC to be obviously not subbing seems appropriate.

If the OC seems to be sending their fielders out, that would say no sub to complete the running, especially if the sub is reported and the sub goes into the field.

There was no 3rd out, so even if defense leaves the field, the inning is not over, so waiting still allows time fo ruling on the appeal. That leaves you with whether to announce that before ruling on the appeal.

The DC might have tipped off the OC by announcing the appeal.

Good question. Think about what you do normally in a situation where a player is hurt and must come off the field.

I usually pull out my line-up card and ask the coach for a substitute. If a player is leaving the game, it is obvious you need someone to go in for that player or the coach indicates the team will play shorthanded, so you are not tipping anything off or giving away some secret.

That does not mean you need to direct the coach that the sub must go touch the awarded base(s). If asked, just tell the coach you cannot offer direction to either team. If s/he doesn't or cannot figure it out, shame on the coach.

Question:

If the team on offense was playing w/ 9 [assuming girls FP] and had no subs -

ASA would result in an out?
NFHS would result in a temporary runner being put in for the injured player?

If this were a serious situation where the runner was unconscious or some other ambulance-required situation where the injured player was removed via stretcher. I'm sure that during all the hub-bub, the coach(es) would have been in and out of the dugout looking for icepaks, cell phones, whatever. So the player and coach [probably multiple times] has "left the field". After order is restored, do you allow the offense the opportunity for a sub, providing they have one [for ASA]?

I've been involved in 1 situation where an ambulance was needed, but it was because of the catcher. In that case, coaches ageed to suspend the game and pick it up at a later time.

Thanx.

The ball was dead, so leaving the field is irrelevant.

Yaaahhh... OBS is a delayed dead ball, dead upon the tagging of an OBS'd runner. If the runner gets up, goes into the dugout, she cannot come out of the dugout to then touch awarded base(s). Yes?

Presumably, the ball could also have been dead due to the injury (if it wasn't already dead due to the OBS runner being tagged).

You can judge that the offense has completed whatever base running responsibilities they are going to complete, but you can't hang your hat on entering the dugout alone (i.e. abandonment) since the ball is dead.

Are you implying you would let all these people come onto the field to tend to an injured runner - and not kill the ball?

Back a few, you said the above.

I believe it is most certainly relevant. This in the case of an uninjured runner who, for whatever reason, didn't wait for the award of bases, or complete her baserunning responsibilities. Once she enters the dugout, I don't think she can come back out to complete those responsibilities.

Now in the case of a more severe injury which may involve a player being removed on a stretcher, do we "make allowances"?

And to answer another question, once the OBS'd runner is tagged out, we've gone from DDB to DB or, effectively time out. And anyone who needed to be on the field to attend to an injury would certainly be permitted.

See my reply after the one you quoted.