Collision at First Base

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by nopachunts

If a base is touched by a fielder while controlling the ball in hand or glove with any part of her body when a runner is forced to that base/plate, the runner is out. The touch only has to be momentary while having control of the ball in the judgement of the umpire. How many times have you seen F3 field the throw, reach out and touch the bag, and immediately pull her foot back because the runner is going to run through the bag.

Touching the bag with any other part of the body while holding the ball in the hand or glove/mitt is not the issue. In those cases, you have clear, unequivocal evidence that the fielder maintained control of the ball after immediately pulling the foot off the bag.

Are you going to rule an out when the fielder immediately removes the foot from the bag, but then before she reaches into her glove to transfer the ball and throw to another base, she drops it? I hope not.

Originally Posted by nopachunts

If a runner is tagged off of the base, the fielder has to tag the runner with the ball in hand or glove, AND show control of the ball before, during, and after the tag.

Rule cite, please. Where in the definition of Tag does it say that? And why is this different than the tag of the base?

As Irish said, this all boils down to judgment. And I will judge every time I see a fielder touch the base with the ball either in her hand or her glove/mitt and then lose it as not having control.