FPSB LBR

Question
HItter receives BB, and catcher throws ball back to pitcher in circle before hitter reaches first. How far can hitter-runner round first before she is commited to second?

Runner on third (r3), no outs, hitter receives BB.  Catcher throws ball back to pitcher before hitter reaches first.   R3 stops at lead-off, and slowly returns to 3rd.  Hitter-runner rounds 1st and pitcher turns to watch.  Meanwhile r3 reverses path to home plate.  Is r3 out on LBR?

How long can a runner stop and wait before commiting to a base when the pitcher has the ball in the circle, and is there a required pace of the commitment (e.g. can runner just walk slowly back)?

Answer
Hi David,

The b-r is allowed to round 1st, stop once and then immediately advance or retreat.  Some very, very senior (as in CWWS umpires) FP umpires have stated to me if she goes past 1/2 way to 2nd in their opinion she is committed to 2nd.

if the pitcher had control of the ball in the circle, the b-r had touched 1st and R1 had stopped and was moving back toward 3rd, she would be out on the LBR if she reversed her motion back toward home as long as the pitcher was not making a play.

Here's part of our RS on the LBR, you saw the actual play of R1, just apply the rule to what she did.

If a runner is moving toward a base, other than first base, when the
pitcher receives the ball in the circle, that runner may stop once then immediately advance to the next base or return to the previous base.
A runner failing to advance to the next base or return to the previous
base should be called out. Making an attempt or fake justifies the runner being called out. If, after the pitcher has the ball in the circle, the runner starts back to their original base or forward to another base and then stops or reverses direction, the runner is out unless the pitcher makes a play on them or another runner. When a play is made on any runner, other runners may also stop or reverse their direction.

The rules says stop and immediately advance or retreat, some umpires use 1001, 1002 but that's not in the rulebook.

no rule on how fast a runner must move.

mark