White Sox Appeal Play Gone Awry - What Happened?

Red Sox batter Jarren Duran reached on White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet's throwing error on an infield ground ball, winding up at third. Sensing that Duran may have failed to touch first base in all the commotion, Chicago prepared for an appeal, but as Crochet threw to first, Duran took off for home plate, trying to distract the White Sox. Officially a stolen base, Crochet's throw once again evaded first baseman Andrew Vaughn.

We review baseball's appeal rules to figure out if Chicago still retained the right to appeal Duran's purported missed base touch at first and if anything else may have been missed here.

Official Baseball Rule 5.09(c)(2) states that "any runner shall be called out, on appeal, when with the ball in play, while advancing or returning to a base, they fail to touch each base in order before they, or a missed base, are tagged."

Appeals can occur at any time prior to the next pitch, play, or attempted play—which can include an appeal made during the live ball associated with the continuous action featuring the alleged base-running infraction (sometimes called a "real time appeal"), or it can be made after the ball has been returned to the pitcher and the pitcher has engaged the rubber (a "standard appeal"). In a standard appeal, the umpire puts the ball in play (if the ball had been declared dead), upon which the pitcher steps off the rubber and throws (or, theoretically, runs) to the base at which the appeal is being made.

Note: NFHS / high school allows live or dead ball appeals; OBR/NCAA require live ball appeals.

The key part to this play is the "any appeal under this rule must be made before the next pitch, or any play or attempted play" part of the rule. So too is that "An appeal is not to be interpreted as a play or an attempted play."

Had Vaughn caught Crochet's throw and instead, distracted by Duran stealing home, threw home, Chicago would have lost its right to appeal at first base and whatever resulted at home plate (safe/out on the catcher's tag) would prevail. In order for this "play or attempted play" to occur, Vaughn would have to actually physically possess the baseball; even though replays indicate he may have motioned as if he were throwing home, he did not possess the baseball and, thus, this was not a play or attempted play.

The MLB Umpire Manual substantiates this: "A play or attempted play is interpreted as a legitimate effort by a defensive player who has possession of the ball to actually retire a runner."

Accordingly, even though Crochet's throw evaded Vaughn's glove, it stayed in play in foul territory near right field, and was retrieved by Vaughn, who (although video doesn't capture this) immediately returned to and tagged first base to appeal. This is important to note as well, because a ball that falls out of play here would close the appeal window: "Once the defensive team “errs” (i.e., throws the ball out of play) in its attempt to appeal at third on the runner originally on second, it loses its right to make an appeal."

1B Umpire Alan Porter called Duran "safe" at first base, ruling that Duran did not miss the base.

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol briefly discussed the play with HP Umpire Sean Barber, but ultimately Crochet returned to the mound and threw a pitch, sealing the finality of Duran's stolen base.

There was one thing Chicago failed to do was challenge 1B Umpire Porter's safe/touch call. That's it.

Video as follows:
Alternate Link: Chicago botched an appeal play but not for the reason you might suspect