Tagging Up On A Bobbled Ball
Roger from St. Croix, US Virgin Islands asks:
Situation: Runner on 1st. He takes a lead. The batter hits a fly ball to the outfield. The ball hits off the fielders glove and he bobbles it then catches it. Question: Does the runner have to go back and tag-up before he advances or can he continue to run from his initial lead? If he doesnt have to go back what rule is it.
The runner does have to go and tag up on this situation since the fielder eventually caught the ball. However, the runner can advance (tag up) from his base as soon as the fielder touches it. So in this case, if the runner was on his base and set to take off for second on the tag up, the runner could attempt to advance as soon as the fielder touches it, even if he bobbles the ball.
Answered by: Jonathan Bravo
Keywords: Base Runners, MLB Rule 2.00 CATCH comment