The Rays and Yankees played in New York on July 19, 2024 when a relatively obscure rule almost came alive. In the bottom of the fourth, Juan Soto, batting with the bases empty and two outs, facing Zach Eflin, doubled to deep left field. Rays left fielder Randy Arozarena fumbled the ball as it caromed off the wall. He then threw it to Richie Palacios, the cutoff man who fired the ball into dead ball territory while Soto was attempting to slide into third base. Because Soto was between second and third when Palacios threw the ball into DBT, he was properly awarded two bases and scored on the “Little League” home run. Arozarena and Palacios were both charged with errors.

When Soto slid into third it appeared that he did not touch the base, but he had third base made at the time the ball went into the dugout.  He began to run home because of his two-base award. He got about 20-feet from third base when someone apparently alerted him to return and touch third base. He did so and proceeded to score.

Ruleball Comments

1. The question is this: If Soto never returned to touch third base and reached home plate, would he have the right to return to third base to touch the missed base?
2. The answer is “No.” Rule 5.09 (c) APPROVED RULING (B) reads, “When the ball is dead, no runner may return to touch a missed base or one he left after he has advanced to and touched a base beyond the missed base.”  
3. Because the ball was dead, if Soto reached home plate without touching third base, he would lose the right to go back and touch third base. He could not correct his violation.
4. But here’s the catch…The umpires could not legally stop Soto from returning to third base even after he touched the plate. The onus is on the defensive team to appeal the infraction even if Soto returned to third base to touch the missed base and returned home.
5. Let’s say in the above situation, Soto was on second base when Aaron Judge hit a fly ball to right field. Soto leaves second base too early and the right fielder’s throw goes into the third base dugout. Soto is awarded home, two bases from his position on the bases when the right fielder released the ball.  If Soto reached third base before the ball went into DBT, he could still return to second base as long as he does not go home first.  If Soto went directly home when he received his two-base award, he would lose his right to return to second base, his violated base, because he would have gone one base beyond his missed or violated base (second base) after the ball was dead. The next base or base beyond refers to the position of the runner at the time the ball went out of play.
6. The base coaches must be alert in such situations. They should be sure the runner does not advance one base beyond his missed or violated base after the ball becomes dead because of the “one base beyond” rule.
7. Let’s look at some other scenarios where this rule applies:

Situation A

There’s a runner on first base, no outs, hit and run. The batter hits a line drive that is caught by the shortstop. The shortstop in an attempt to double-up the runner on first, air mails the ball into DBT. R1 is between second and third when the ball goes out of play. R1 is awarded two bases from the base he occupied at the start of play (first base) because the errant throw was the FIRST PLAY in the infield. However, because R1 never tagged-up at first base following the caught line drive, R1 must correct his no-tag up of first base. He can return to first base by retouching second base and return to first base to make a legal tag-up of first base as long as long as he doesn’t touch third base while the ball is dead. If he touched third base while the ball is dead, he would have gone “one base beyond” his violated base (first base) while the ball is dead.

If the runner reaches third base while the ball is dead, he can still retrace his steps by touching second and tagging-up at first base because the umpires cannot stop him, but he can be called out on appeal. The defensive team must be alert to this.

Situation B

The batter hits a home run and misses touching first base. If the batter-runner touches second base while the ball is in DBT, he can be called out on appeal even if he returns to touch first base, his violated base. Therefore, the first base coach must be vigilant of the batter runner’s infraction and have him return to touch first base before he reaches second base. If the batter-runner advances to second base after the ball is in DBT, the first base coach should still have the runner return to first base in case the defensive team is not knowledgeable about the rule and fails to appeal.

Situation C

The batter singles to right field and misses first while rounding the base. The right fielder throws behind the runner and the ball ends-up in the first base dugout. The batter-runner is awarded third base (two bases from his position on the bases at the time the throw was released by the outfielder.) In this play, the batter-runner may return to first base to correct his error unless he has touched second base which is one base beyond his missed base after the ball went into DBT. Again, if the batter-runner returns to first to touch his missed base after reaching second base, the umpires cannot stop him. The responsibility still lies with the defensive team to appeal the play.

Rich Marazzi

Rules consultant/analyst:  Angels, D’backs, Dodgers, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Padres, Phillies, Pirates, Red Sox, Rangers, Royals, Tigers, Twins, White Sox, Yankees, YES, and NBC Sports Chicago.