Rules Trivia

[youngump]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

Manny ... I'll ask another question. Say, after the overslide, the runner was contacted by a fielder and obstructed in some way. Would you say that runner was obstructed between 2nd and 3rd? Or between 1st and 2nd?

The runner is obviously not on 2nd. The runner is obviously not between 2nd and 3rd. So ... where is the runner? Very plainly (and obviously, to most of us) between 1st and 2nd. And due to the existence of a BR at 1st, the runner is, by rule, forced to advance to 2nd.

I'm actually with you on this. In my opinion, runner who runs (and therefore slides) past second is retreating toward first if she's any where to the right field side of second base. But I just don't buy your arguments on this point for the reason of the example I posted above:

Bases loaded shot to shallow outfield. Center takes the ball to second where she just misses getting a sliding R3. Without calling time R3 decides to get up and as she does F6 tags her while she is standing just off the bag between first and second. Are you really not counting that run?

That runner is between 1st and 2nd. If she gets obstructed while standing there and before being tagged (maybe F4 was planning to cover the base too and can't hold up), then she was obstructed between 1st and 2nd. She's closer to 1st than to third. Etc. I think you have to get there by defining retreat to mean something that does not mean intentionally trying to return. I think if you are intentionally running the bases backwards, when you pass a base you are now retreating toward the prior base absent something really strange happening.