Baseball rules corner: appeal plays involve restrictions on both offensive, defensive teams - Brief Article

Baseball Digest, June, 2002 by Rich Marazzi

RESTRICTIONS REGARDING APPEAL plays are placed on both the offensive and defensive teams, To begin with there are five appeal plays in baseball: (1) batting out of turn, (2) failure of the batter-runner to return to first base immediately after overrunning or oversliding, (3) failure of a runner to retouch his base after a fly ball is caught, (4) missing a base while advancing or returning, and (5) failure to touch home.

If the ball remains alive, the defensive team merely needs to throw to the base being appealed alerting the umpire as to the improper actions of the runner. In cases where the ball becomes dead, the appeal cannot be made until the ball is in the pitcher's hand while he is on the rubber and the plate umpire signals play. At that point, the pitcher can either throw from the rubber to make the appeal or step back off the rubber to make his throw. In either case, it must be done before the next pitch, play, or attempted play.

Generally speaking, the appeal play process places most requirements on the defense. But on occasion, the offensive team can become the main focus.

Take what happened on April 2, 2001, at Camden Yards in Baltimore where the Orioles hosted the Red Sox. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Orioles had Melvin Mora on first base with one out when Brook Fordyce hit a line drive to Boston third baseman Shea Hillenbrand. The Red Sox rookie threw errantly to first to double up Mora and the ball went into dead territory.

Umpire Brian Gorman instructed Mora to go to third base, reminding him that a runner gets two bases on an overthrow that goes into dead territory. Apparently, Mora took Gorman literally and went directly to third without touching second base. Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove said, "I couldn't stop laughing a few innings later, but I wasn't laughing at the time."

Mora's running faux pas put his team in jeopardy per rule 7.10-b which states, "When the ball is dead, no runner may return to touch a missed base or one he has left after he has advanced to and touched a base beyond the missed base."

The moment Mora touched third, he could not return to touch second base since the ball was dead. Orioles' third base coach Tom Trebelhorn asked the third base umpire about the possibility of Mora returning to second before the Red Sox appealed the missed base. The ump nixed the idea immediately.

Before the next pitch, Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez threw to second to appeal Mora's missed base. The appeal was upheld and the putout was recorded 1-4.

There are times when you cannot fault a runner for a sin created by the defensive team. Take what happened in the Giants-Pirates game on July 18, 1967. The Giants had Jim Ray Hart on first base when Ollie Brown hit a liner to shortstop Maury Wills. The Bucs' shortstop stopped the ball, then dropped it. Umpire Augie Donatelli ruled Wills had possession of the ball long enough for the out on Brown.

Hart took off for second on the play. Wills recovered the ball and tossed to first in an attempt to double up Hart. But the throw landed in the stands in back of first base for an error.

"Giants manager Herman Franks ran out to Donatelli protesting Wills did not have possession and that Brown was safe," wrote Bob Stevens in The Sporting News. "By then, Hart was in the argument at third base, too, having touched and rounded second base.

"Donatelli told Franks to `get off the field, Herman, the play is still in progress. I awarded Hart third base for the overthrow but Brown is out.'"

With the ball in dead territory, third base coach Charlie Fox told Hart to return to first base and tag up. Jim Ray started to cross the diamond through the mound until Fox reminded him to touch second base on the way back. Hart made the half arc turn, stepped on second and walked casually back to first base as the crowd screamed its approval.

"The screams turned to boos, however, when Jim Ray calmly toed first base and then swept majestically on up to second base, and around and into third without a challenge being made by Pittsburgh," wrote Stevens.

In the latter case, Hart was allowed to retrace his steps while the ball was dead because he had touched second en route to third on the original play and it wasn't his fault that the ball became dead. It wasn't Mora's either in the previous play described, but he missed second on the way to third, violating 7.10-b.

Earlier I stated that an appeal must be made before the next pitch, play, or attempted play. All appeal is not to be interpreted as a play. There is unfairness to the rule, however, that a wise manager from the offensive team can take advantage of and circumvent

Let's say the Mets and Diamondbacks are involved in a 1-1 game entering the bottom of the eighth inning at Shea Stadinn. With one out, Mike Piazza singles home Roger Cedeno from second base. Arizona is about to appeal Cedeno missed third when Piazza is directed to run to second base by Mets' manager Bobby Valentine.

The Diamondbacks don't want to put a runner in scoring position in case the appeal is not upheld so they make a play on Piazza who is called out. Yes, the Diamondbacks erased Piazza but they lost their right to appeal Cedeno's missed base since they made a play prior to the appeal.