How far is to far to give up the base?

Big Daddy Michigan said:

This thought just occurred to me. If the catcher has the d3s in her glove and a right handed batter begins walking toward her 3rd base dug out. Could you reasonable argue she was trying to avoid a tag? Could the catcher say to the umpire I'd like to tag her but she is more the three feet out of my reach. If there is a runner on 3rd you probably don't want to chase the batter to the dug out.

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Big Daddy Michigan said:

Comp, so if the catcher reached for her as she walked toward the 3b dugout would you consider that avoiding the tag?

I saw this the other night. There was a d3s on an outside pitch with a runner stealing 3b. The batter walked toward the 3b dug out (5 steps maybe) and the catcher threw to 3rd and then the batter remembered she could run. The throw to 3rd was in the dirt and everyone was safe.

The catcher couldn't reach the batter to tag her because she was walking away from first base, and didn't want to allow the runner to have 3rd uncontested. Is that just the breaks?

I'm just trying to think of what to tell a catcher if that happen to us. Advice?

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Big Daddy Michigan said:

This thought just occurred to me. If the catcher has the d3s in her glove and a right handed batter begins walking toward her 3rd base dug out. Could you reasonable argue she was trying to avoid a tag? Could the catcher say to the umpire I'd like to tag her but she is more the three feet out of my reach. If there is a runner on 3rd you probably don't want to chase the batter to the dug out.

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djcarter1966 said:

I think this would be just like any other LIVE ball situation the catcher has to decide what is more important trying to get the lead runner or taking the sure out by walking over five steps and tagging the runner.

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BretMan said:

A tag attempt involves a fielder with secure possession of the ball in the hand/glove who is actually trying to touch the runner- not thinking about how she'd like to try touching the runner, if only she was closer.

It's not clear that an actual tag attempt happened here. But, if it did...

At that instant the runner's base path is established. It is a straight line from wherever the runner is standing when the tag is attempted, directly to the base to which she is advancing. And on this one, since the runner can't "advance" to home, that would be a line directly to first base. Deviate more than three feet off that line and you are out of the base path.

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Big Daddy Michigan said:

I've never thought about this scenario since my players are better coached than that, but if the runner heads to the 3rd base dug out and then realizes she should go to first, and the catcher runs toward her to tag her, could her base path be a straight line from the dug out area through the pitcher's circle to first? Am I for getting some part of the rule? When this has happened the batters usually try to return to the plate to run to first.

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Big Daddy Michigan said:

I'm just trying to think of what to tell a catcher if that happen to us. Advice?

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Big Daddy Michigan said:

I'd love to see that just to hear the crowd go nuts, when she cuts through the middle of the field and is called safe.

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