More of a thought experiment than an actual play that I saw. On a force play as long as you have control of the ball you can touch the base with any part of your body or glove and record the out. So I have a question about tagging a forced runner.
Scenario 1:
Runner on 1st no outs (or 1 or 2 really does not matter). Grounder is hit to second baseman. He runs up and catches the ball in his glove, tags the runner with the glove (ball is in the glove).
Expected outcome: runner is out.
Scenario 2:
Same as above except when the 2nd baseman tags the runner with the glove he has already transferred the ball to his throwing hand, ball is not in the glove that is touching the runner
Expected outcome: runner is not out.
But why? Why can I tag a base and get a force out but I have to tag a forced runner with the ball? Why is this treated differently? And not just an answer of "well he is a runner". The runner is forced to the next base, I can get that runner out by stepping on the bag with my foot and the ball in my glove, why do I need to touch a forced runner with the ball or with a glove with a ball in it? Why is there a difference? The ball never touched the runner with the glove tag so why does it matter where the ball is when I tag the forced runner as long as the player has control of the ball?
Any thoughts?