UmpTime

Ducking or bending as the pitch is in flight should not change your zone based on the players natural stance. That being said, there is a 12u team in my area that I have called games for numerous times. They have a very small player who hits leadoff for them. When he comes up to bat he squats down very low and leans over to make a vertical strike zone about 4" tall. Even though he starts out with this as his "normal" stance, I do not use that as my reference for the top and bottom of the zone. Once he gets 2 strikes, he will stand up into a "normal" stance. The picture below is not him, but gives you an idea of the stance.

I happen to be a spectator at a high school game over the weekend. Played under FED rules. It was the 2nd or 3rd inning and I hadn't noticed any fan comments directed at the umpire to that point. On a pitch that appeared pretty far inside the umpire called strike 3. Many fans started yelling things like "The was a ball" and "Come on Blue", and "That was a terrible call". I didn't hear any profanity, and thought to myself, that did look like a bad call, but figured it would die down as soon as the next pitch was thrown. All of a sudden the umpire turns to the crowd and says "Your out of here". Everyone just set there for a moment and then one fan says who are you talking to, to which the umpire of course says "you". Then another fan says you don't even know who said anything. The umpire then says "your out of here too". A school official came and made them leave the field. My question is, what do you guys that have a lot of experience, use as a criteria for throwing out a fan, and does the FED rule book or case book give guidance on this?

I agree catsbackr, and that is what brought up this question to start with. From my experience, it seems that umpires in general give more leniency around HP then in a general baseline. Thanks for the input.

In FED baseball rules, R3a break for home plate on a hit to F6. The catcher receives the ball slightly before the runner gets home. The runner then dives around the catcher to avoid the tag and misses home plate as well. Then he makes several "jukes" and runs around the palte to try to find a way to get a hand on home before he is tagged. How far out of the baseline can the runner go to avoid a tag? I have seen many umpires allow a "goose chase" to ensue around home plate as the runner tries to avoid the tag. Does the 3' base path not apply at home?