umpire calls

Question
Hi, The other team had a runner on 1B, batter hits a single to Rf. My outfielder fires it to third so the advancing runner that was on first stops and retreats to 2b. While she is on the bag, my third baseman misses the ball and it ends up going through the fence. The umpire awarded the runner with TWO bases essentially giving them the run. Have you heard of this rule? I thought dead ball is one base. I tried to appeal but he insisted it was a judgement call. Could you list some examples of judgement calls? Thanks

Answer
Hi Ruben,

Let me answer your second question first.  All calls an umpire makes are based on judgement.  Balls, strikes, put-outs at bases (force or tag) etc.  After we judge what happened we apply the rules to what we saw.

In your situation the rule that comes into play involves the base award on a ball that is thrown out of play by a fielder.  The rule is, the runner(s) are awarded two bases from the last base touched WHEN THE BALL IS THROWN by the fielder and subsequently goes out of play as a result of the throw.

In your situation, the umpire judgement that comes into play is the the position of the runner on the bases when the ball was thrown.  Your umpire judged that the runner had obtained second base when the ball was thrown.  That is why the runner was awarded home.

Tom