safe or out???

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You can not just keep putting that in every umpire post....

And that was one of the all time great Bugs Bunny cartoons.
I am sure I have seen it 20 times. But love it everytime.

Do they even play those anymore. And if yes where. I am feeling old.

 

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Great cartoon and explanation. I agree with spartansd and thanks again for helping me learn another point of interest about our game. It does make sense to me now.

 

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And here is the difference between baseball and softball rules when it comes to the situation mentioned in Post #1.

Watch the umpire.. makes no call on the missed first base bag by runner.


http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=16972107&source=MLB&gid=2011_07_15_kcamlb_minmlb_1

 

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... On the other hand, if the catcher has the ball and is attempting a tag...catcher misses tag and runner misses the plate...you signal safe because the tag attempt was missed and a runner passing any base is assumed to have touched it. From that point, if the runner wants to go back and touch the plate or the defense wants to tag the runner or appeal the missed base...it is up to the players to figure that out for themselves.

Do you signal safe right away or do you briefly pause to see if either player makes a second attempt?

 

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Do you signal safe right away or do you briefly pause to see if either player makes a second attempt?

The prescribed mechanic is to briefly pause, to see if either player will recognize the miss and try to complete the play. If the runner is immediately trying to scramble back to the plate, or the catcher is immediately trying to tag her, you can hold off on the safe signal. If neither is happening, go ahead and signal safe.

 

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And here is the difference between baseball and softball rules when it comes to the situation mentioned in Post #1.

Watch the umpire.. makes no call on the missed first base bag by runner.


http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=16972107&source=MLB&gid=2011_07_15_kcamlb_minmlb_1

I don't know about that. This is from the Major League Baseball Umpires Manual (MLBUM):

Interpretation of Rule 7.01: Appeal Plays: Approved Rulings (12) Batter-runner hits a ground ball and beats the play at first base but misses the bag.
Ruling: The proper mechanic is for the umpire to call the runner safe, indicating he beat the play. If the defense appeals by tagging the runner (or base) and appealing that the runner missed first base before the runner returns to first base, the batter-runner would be declared out.

This is the what I've been taught for high school baseball and the same as ASA softball. Baseball does say to make no signal if the runner misses home plate and the catcher misses the tag on a non-force play, which is the opposite of what is taught in softball.

One other thing to keep in mind...the umpire in the MLB game was Angel Hernandez, who seems to make up his own mechanics half the time. I could give you a long list of things he's done in games that are not "by the book". Of course, at the Major League level they have a lot more leniency when it comes to using standardized mechanics.