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Failing to Touch Home
Plate
If a runner, in scoring, fails to touch home plate and
continues on his way to the bench (making no effort to return), he may be put
out if the fielder touches home plate while holding the ball and appeals to the
umpire for a decision.
However, this rule applies only where a runner is
on his way to the bench, or has already entered the dugout.
It does not
apply to the more common play where the runner misses home plate on the first
try, then immediately makes an effort to touch the plate before being tagged.
In that case, the runner must be tagged. In such cases, base path rules still
apply to the runner (i.e., he may not run more than three feet from the
"baseline," which is considered to be a line between the runner and home
base).
On a play at the plate, should the runner miss home plate and the
fielder miss the tag on the runner, it is preferable that the umpire make no
signal on the play. As outlined in the previous paragraph, the runner must then
be tagged, if he attempts to return to the plate. If he continues on his way to
the bench, the defense may make an appeal.
A runner may no longer return
to touch any missed base - home plate or otherwise - after having entered the
dugout. However, in this case, if the defense does not appeal before another
pitch or play, there is no reference made to missing the plate, and the run
counts.
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