Play in question: If a runner who is leading off a base and a ball is batted
foul... if it is not caught it then becomes a dead ball and play is then
resumed. Does the base runner have to go back and re-touch their base before
play is resumed.
This is one of those rules where it is helpful to know the history of the
game. In the early days of the game, the umpires often put the ball back in
play almost immediately following a foul ball. Runners who failed to return
to their base prior to the ball being made live were in jeopardy of being
tagged out. That rule was changed in the late 1880s and the current rule
has changed little since those days.
There is no penalty if a runner fails to actually retouch at the time of
pitch. It's the umpire's responsibility to make sure the runners are on or
in "close proximity" of their base at the time of pitch prior to making the
ball live again.
To attempt to try and enforce this rule would add time to
the game and is not important due to lack of penalty if it is enforced.
The key to all of this is we play Major League Rules with exceptions to
player contact and actual lineup stuff. Major League Baseball uses the
"proximity" mechanic which we will follow and we should NOT make this an
issue. Let's not beat this one to death and be sure we don't over exaggerate
it either - stop delaying the game and lets just
play.......
Per Baseball Rule Book...
5.09 The ball becomes dead and runners advance one base, or return to their
bases,
without liability to be put out, when-
(e) A foul ball is not caught, in which case runners return to their
bases. The umpire in-chief shall not put the ball in play until all runners have
retouched their bases;
However there is no penalty for the runner not retouching their bases when a
foul ball is not caught.
7.02 In advancing, a runner shall touch first, second, third and home base
in order. If forced to return, he shall retouch all bases in reverse order, unless the ball is dead under any provision of Rule 5.09. In such cases, the runner may go directly
to his original base.
Comment: Batter hits foul ball before landing in foul territory down right
field line, R1, who occupied first base,
ran almost to third. In that case, he would be allowed to cut
across the infield behind the mound to return
to first base before the home-plate umpire puts the ball back in
play.