appeal at home plate - runner missed touching the plate
 

Recently at the ASA Class B state tournament we had this situation. Runner on Second base touches third and goes home on a single to left field.

Coach notices that the umpire did not make a call on the runner. Before the ball goes dead coach has the pitcher throw the ball to the catcher and then touch home plate...still no call....so, the catcher runs toward the dugout where the catcher and runner do the two step before the runner is tagged out.

Here are my questions.

1. I thought to appeal all you had to do was touch the missed base OR touch the runner that missed the base???? Why wasn't the runner called out when we touched the base.

2. When the catcher went to tag the runner by the dugout, where is the baseline considered. Can the runner run anywhere to avoid the catcher?

3. The coach said he would have never noticed if the umpire would not have just starred at the home plate. I saw this in the WCWS and there was a big discussion on whether or not this was correct mechanics by the umpire. What are your thoughts.

Thanks!

If there's a play being made, the umpire should signal safe ... if no play, you don't signal safe every runner that crosses the plate. Bad umpire. How'd this guy get a state game?

Here are my questions.

I've already answered this --- it's because you had a bad umpire. :) (You are correct in your appeal process).

As in any tag situation, once the tag attempt begins (not the chasing, but when the catcher is close enough to start trying to tag), the runner cannot run more than 3 feet perpendicular to the line between that runner and the base she's going to --- the line being "drawn" the moment that tag started. Of course --- nothing says she can't try to escape by going within 3 feet of the line between her and THIRD base.

ASA, the umpire should rule the runner safe when they cross home plate (assuming there is a play being made on her). Runners are assumed to touch bases they pass, until and unless appealled. Of course, if there was no play, umpire did this correctly. Staring at home plate, however, is a huge no-no.

"Bad umpire. How'd this guy get a state game?"

I know how he got a state game!! Just like here in Kansas. You get whomever you can find or is available to umpire. Doesn't matter if they are good or not. If we only used good umpires they would be doing 7,8 games in a row without a break. At one of our state tournaments we had umpires who were not medically able to umpire and as such could/would only do the bases. Just saying...

Why would there be a call? You did not indicate there was a play, so there would not be a call.

Did the catcher indicate this was an appeal?

The moment the catcher moves to tag the runner, the base path is established as a direct line from the runner to the base.

Umpire shouldn't be staring at anything and should act as if nothing out of the norm occurred.

Well, that's part of it. The other part is to let the umpire know what the heck you're doing!

From the ASA Definitions:

"APPEAL PLAY: A play on a rule violation on which an umpire may not make a decision until requested by a manager, coach or player."

Simply tagging a base or a runner with no request for an appeal is not going to get the job done (unless it's extremely obvious what the defense is doing, such as throwing to a base that a runner left when she failed to tag up on a caught fly ball, and she's running back to that base). Somebody should have said, "Blue, we appeal that the runner missed home," or something similar as the catcher touched home. Just saying to the pitcher, "Throw the ball home so the catcher can touch the plate," isn't a request.