Kevin Kiermaier Avoids DJ LeMahieu's tag in New York - Reviewing Alan Porter's Base Path Safe Call

When 1B Umpire Alan Porter signaled "safe" after Rays batter-runner Kevin Kiermaier ran to his right to avoid Yankees first baseman DJ LeMahieu's tag, manager Aaron Boone campaigned for an out call. Article: https://www.closecallsports.com/2021/06/new-york-misinformation-base-path-is.html So too did the YES broadcast team, throwing out words such as baseline and lane to drive their point home. Unfortunately for anyone within earshot of the TV broadcast, the runner's lane does not apply to a tag play. Official Baseball Rule 5.09(b)(1) is the relevant rule and states, "any runner is out when they run more than three feet away from their base path to avoid being tagged unless their action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner’s base path is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base they are attempting to reach safely." Official Baseball Rule 5.09(a)(11) is the only provision that refers to the runner's lane and specifies that a runner is out when failing to run within the lane "interferes with the fielder taking the throw at first base." With no throw and no fielder taking the throw, there can be no runner's lane interference. Because this is the only rule that references the runner's lane in the rulebook, if this rule does not apply, the runner's lane is similarly inapplicable. This is an out of the base path play—did Kiermaier run more than three feet away from his base path to avoid being tagged? Note that the batter-runner begins in foul territory at the moment of the tag attempt, meaning the line becomes somewhat of a misnomer: we can USE the line and the runner's lane itself as reference points to determine what three feet actually looks like (the lane is three-feet wide), but the line and lane are irrelevant for an out of the base path play. There is no such rule as "out of the baseline."