The penalty for running before the ball is caught, if discovered, the runner will be called out.
I'm afraid I don't understand that. It was a low ball, so no one knew it was going to be caught. Of course the runner at first took off. But here's the situation: the ss caught the ball, putting the batter out. But this still left the runner at first on his way to second. According to the rules as I have always understood them, the ss would have had to have physically tagged the runner (since the force play should have been killed) or else thrown to first where the runner would be declared out because he was too far from the base to tag back up. Yet the play was unassisted. There was no throw to first. The shortstop caught the ball (batter is out) and then simply drug his foot across second base, at which point the runner was called out. How was the force play still active after the batter had been called out?
Very strange. Have you seen a video clip of this play anywhere online?
I gave you the answer. The rule is very specific. The ball was caught on the fly. Obviously the runner left before the ball was caught which according to THE RULE makes the runner out. It doesn’t matter that ‘no one knew’ that the ball would be caught. It was and that’s the rule. Trust this old blue. It required NO throw to first the runner was out by his actions. The play was unassisted because that is the proper way to score this play.
Look at the rule book or accept the explanation from one who has (many times)
The play-by-play says the runner was tagged out. Evidently by the SS, since it was scored unassisted.
Apparently, the SS ran across the bag and tagged the runner out where he stood in the basepath.