If a base runner fails to slide on a close play, he is out, right?
Wrong. The first thing to remember is, slide or avoid contact. If a runner fails to slide and there is a collision, the runner is out. However, the runner may also stop short to avoid a collision, and/or step around a fielder, as long as he does not leave the baseline to avoid a tag in so doing (in which case he is out), and as long as he does not hinder or confuse (2.00 INTERFERENCE (a) ) a fielder in the act of making a play on the ball, in which case he may adjudged guilty of interference and be called out. But the idea that the runner must slide or be automatically called out is incorrect. If the runner fails to slide and there is a near collision, or if the runner fails to slide and the fielder is hindered or confused by the runners actions, the runner may be called out if the umpire rules that the runner unnecessarily created a dangerous situation that should have been avoided with a slide. When in doubt, slide!
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