Quote:
Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr
If a runner is tagged & is off the base he is out. Period. Nothing needs to change. We don't need umps making calls because the player was safeish or outish.
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They had a discussion about this in the Indians/Boston series also (I forget which game actually). Lonnie Chisenhall also had a play where he beat the throw to second, but lost contact with the bag. It was pretty obvious though on replay. He planted his hands behind the bag and let his knees slide into the bag while his body was in the air. He was basically encompassing the base but not touching it. The umpires made the right call on replay (and in good time).
Without replay, that is called safe 100% of the time. I agree it is a grey area. But in a replay era, being 100% technically right is the new standard so you have to call him out if he loses contact. Just like the neighborhood play on a DP.
The interesting part of the Indians/Red Sox broadcast was that Ernie Johnson and Ron Darling took the "I would have liked to have called him safe" stance while Cal Ripken took the "You have to maintain contact" stance. Was interesting that they actually discussed it for a couple minutes.