Strat-O-Matic Baseball 365

Another Delivery Boy episode...

Let's say again that Delivery Boy and the Lazy Daisy Ranchers have the bases loaded with 1 out against Frank Bailey's Nuku Hiva Tikis. Orlando Cepeda is up and the outfield is playing deep. Cepeda hits a shot in the gap and the runners take off. A diving CF Cesar Geronimo makes a spectacular catch and doubles off Maury Wills at second with his -5 arm before Maury can return to the base. Before the throw to second came in to double off Wills, the runner on third scores. Does the run count? Delivery Boy argues to homeplate umpire Hal, that the defense had to appeal before the third out and the runs counts. Frank Bailey says it is a simple force out at second, a no-brainer, the inning is over, and he's late for the golf course. If you were Hal, how would you call it?

A) Shut down the SOM site a couple of hours for maintenance and updates and hope the situation goes away.
B) One of the dice rolled off the table and now can't find it.
C) Maury was traded for Leo Durocher who could argue better and even played with Babe Ruth!.
D) Buy more 5-pack teams for $79.95.

As long as the runner on third has legally tagged up and crosses the plate before the appeal is made at second, the run scores. It is not a force play, it is a time play. Force plays only go counterclockwise and only occur when a runner is actually forced to leave his base because of the action of the batter.

Wills was not forced to leave second since the batter was "out" on the fly ball.

I am asked this question every year when I do umpire rules clinics -- I always get it right because the first time I was confronted with the situation MANY years ago, I missed it. I looked it up when I got home -- Nobody else on the field knew the rule either, so I got away with the mistake.