Buckeye_bomber00
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Please clarify what you mean by an active tag attempt. Obviously the catcher has to possess the ball. Do they also have to be making some motion to tag the runner or can they be waiting for the runner? 8-7A states they can't run more than 3 feet from the base path to avoid being tagged. My understanding is that starts as soon as the fielder has the ball, so they can position themselves on the basepath and not have to chase (i.e. beyond a step and reach) a runner trying to go around them.The base path is a straight line between the runner's position and the base when a fielder has the ball and is attempting to make a tag. When a fielder is attempting a tag, the runner may deviate from the base path by up to three feet on either side of that line. If she goes more than three feet, she is out.
On this play, it sounds like maybe the base path rule was violated. Sometimes you really have to see the actual play to know for sure. It is possible that the runner left the base path before the tag attempt, when she was still some distance away from the catcher. In that case the rule wouldn't apply. There must be an active attempt to make a tag before the runner can be called out for being out of the base path. If the catcher went after her, then a new base path would be established on any subsequent tag attempt.
First, a clarification on the "baseline" and "base path". The two terms get interchanged, but they're really two different things. The rule that applies on this play is the one about the runner's base path.
The baseline is the straight line that runs directly from one base to another. Of course, runners aren't required to run in perfectly straight lines between each base. They commonly round bases and can be out of the baseline without penalty.
The base path is a straight line between the runner's position and the base when a fielder has the ball and is attempting to make a tag. When a fielder is attempting a tag, the runner may deviate from the base path by up to three feet on either side of that line. If she goes more than three feet, she is out.
On this play, it sounds like maybe the base path rule was violated. Sometimes you really have to see the actual play to know for sure. It is possible that the runner left the base path before the tag attempt, when she was still some distance away from the catcher. In that case the rule wouldn't apply. There must be an active attempt to make a tag before the runner can be called out for being out of the base path. If the catcher went after her, then a new base path would be established on any subsequent tag attempt.
You say that there was an actual tag made. Did the umpire not see that? A tag here would obviously be an out. Why wasn't an out called on the tag?
There is one more thing that apparently was missed here. If another player "grabbed and pushed the runner to go back and touch home" then this would be illegally assisting the runner. The runner should have been called out for being assisted.
I simply substituted "tagged" for "touched by the ball in the hand or glove of the fielder" - that doesn't change it's meaning.
I still need clarification on your active tag attempt. Is that only when they are within close proximity are does it include when the fielder makes a motion towards the runner? I'm looking for anything that stops a runner from circling WAY around while keeping their distance. You surely aren't suggesting fielders would have to follow and chase a runner around the outfield.
I added the photo from where tag was being made. It is hard to see tag from this angle and to see runners path toward pitcher!
In District game tonight in Oak Harbor, a base hit goes out to centerfield, runner comes around from 2nd to score, centerfielder guns ball home, runner realizes she is not going to make it, catcher controls the ball, runner leaves normal baseline and runs 10 ft out in front of home plate toward pitcher, catcher makes a tag on runners leg, runner goes toward dugout. She is grabbed by another player and pushed to go back and touch home plate. Home plate umpire calls her safe? Where does staying in the baseline come into play? When there is an active play on the runner ?
The catcher ( my daughter) had control of the ball way before the runner got there and she realized that she was going to be out so she headed toward the pitcher to avoid the tag attempt. After the tag attempt, as the umpire called it, she walked directly toward the dugout area, where she was pushed and persuaded to go back and touch the plate. It would have been inning ending out in the bottom of the 11th.