Anyone an expert in baseball rules?

[baseball fan]

Did anyone see the Yanks / O's game last night when A. Boone hit a 3 run homer in the ninth to put the Yanks ahead 5-3. The ball was originally called foul by the 3rd base ump and Boone rounded first base and tore across the diamond towards the 3B ump. Torre stopped him before he got to the ump, he turned around, went back to first base and waited for the umps to decide on the call. They eventually determined it was a fair ball and ruled it a home run. I have two ?

1. Why wasn't he called out for running outside of the baseline? Does the HR overrule the baseline rule? If so , could a runner go from first base to center field, thank the fans and then finish rounding the bases?

2. What would have happened if Boone rushed the ump and bumped into him, thus getting ejected from the game. Would his run count after it was ruled a HR?

I know baseball rules can be pretty detailed. Anyone have any ideas?

[Arlo]

I'll take a stab at these, but take this with a grain of salt since I'm not consulting a rulebook here...

1. With the ball dead, I don't think there's a call to be made if a runner leaves the basepaths. If he had touched third, it would be another story...
As far as running into center field is concerned, that might well fall into 'making a travesty of the game,' with the runner being called out.

2. If a player is ejected during a play, he only has to leave the game after the play is over (this one I'm certain of).