By Dale Anzo

There is time in baseball and softball that an umpire might have to recognize a fourth out. The only time you would recognize a fourth out is prevent a run. What you have to remember about the fourth out is that it is a timing play.

Here is a play that actually happened to me:

The bases were loaded with one out. The batter hits a pop fly to left field. The left fielder catches the ball, and all runners tag up. The runner on first base does not tag properly.

So now we have two outs with the catch. The runners on second and third base tagged properly. The defense and the runner on first base realized that he did not tag properly. They throw back to first base to get him out.

In the mean time, the runner from third base had scored.  They get the appeal at first which ends the inning. I counted the run which is the right thing to do, since the runner scored before the out was recorded at first base.. It is not a force play it is a timing play.

However, if the runner on third base had also left early, and the defense appealed to third base, the runner from third would also be out—the fourth out. The fourth out would prevent a run from being scored, on the improper tag up.

To Ask Anzo e-mail info@siskiyouyouth.com