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Situation. , Runner at 2B & Ball 4 in the dirt off the catchers chest protector that bounces towards the 1B dugout, approx 10’ foot off the plate in foul territory. Batter tosses bat towards his 3B dugout & starts walking towards 1B. The catcher obviously leaves the catcher’s box & picks the ball up in the grass and tries to throw the runner out at third attempting to steal. The runner stealing third is almost standing on the base as the catcher releases the ball. There’s no play there. Home plate umpire calls “batter interfere” because batter is close to the catchers throwing line, 10’ out of the batter’s box in the 1B line headed towards 1st Was this a correct call? i’m thinking that since the catcher has left the catchers box to retrieve the ball, he is no longer a catcher, and no longer entitled to any kind of catchers privileges, he is a fielder. The batter is no longer a batter since it is ball four and he left the batters box before the catcher was able to get to the ball that bounced off his chest protector and he is now a “runner.” The catcher took a step to his left to avoid hitting the batter in the helmet with his throw and that’s when the umpire called batter interference.

Working link for @BLWizzRanger's recommendation https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B44SWC67?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

@MadMax, it's not what it says that is important, it is what it doesn't say! "Official gear bag of MLB" does no say "official gear bag of MLB umpires." Lest I also dredge up the Official Cryptocurrency Exchange Partner?

I totally understand that there are those levels and those games. I guess my words of wisdom are "do not define the zone this way; call pitches that are hittable, wherever that is."

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B44SWC67?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 These were what I used for my arthritis during games and, while I can't say for sure how much they helped when paring these with knee candy (Advil), I do think they did. I only posted this now as I put them on today to protect my new knee when I starting working on my garage floor fixing my brakes. I wanted to keep my knee clean. I have felt a major difference in the swelling discomfort while these were on. I can't say they are better than what others have proposed. But, I can say they did help today for compression. Good luck in finding something that works for you.

@Velho pretty much nailed it. I can wear them all day and they provide comfort. I think they help ease the pain when Om on the field and running on it. (or that may be the Tylenol😁). I certainly wouldn’t call it a “brace”, but it does seem to give the knee some added support. I try to keep the muscles around my knee fairly strong to protect the MCL. The weird thing about the MCL is it may hurt more sitting on the couch or laying in bed and turning the “wrong way”. When the knee isn’t feeling its best, I can wear these sleeves overnight and they provide comfort.

NFHS use of the word "passes" generates what we call "string theory". In NFHS with fielders playing in a runner hit by a batted ball "passing" a string between fielders would not be out. They have some caseplays that confirm how they call it.

It will be funny... Coach LoseALot gets a text mid game from Parent KnowItAll that his Billie only got to bat twice last game and needs to bat more. And, tell him to keep crouching over like Pete Rose did because Pete had over 4K hits in the show. They will get what they deserve if they abuse the cell phone policy.

Nobody would or should ask that question in the OP unless it specified NFHS. Can you expand on that? How is NFHS different than other rulesets? It reads the same to me. NFHS 8-4-2-k Any runner is out when the runner: is contacted by a fair batted ball before it touches an infielder, or after it passes any infielder, except the pitcher, and the umpire is convinced that another infielder has a play. (5-1-1f, 6-1-5) OBR 5.09(b)(7) Any runner is out when: He is touched by a fair ball in fair territory before the ball has gone through, or by, an infielder and no other infielder has a chance to make a play on the ball.

Nobody would or should ask that question in the OP unless it specified NFHS.

This is a consideration for me when I do 10U and kids are 4' tall

I thought for sure – for sure – the big step was going to come from the GameChanger camp. I’m not making this up, and by divulging it, I’m certainly eschewing any chance of royalties (which is where the money is, am-I-right?), I have a proposal drafted up that outlines GameChanger broadening / modifying their App so as to output to a USB-&/or-HDMI stick (think Amazon Fire) so as to display onto any typical TV. With how inexpensive LCD/LED displays now are, the thing can housed in a plexiglass box, or hung on the chain link fence, etc. No longer are we (the participants & baseball/softball public) served and disappointed by a pitiful, ancient bulb-based board that looks like it’s straight out of a Mad Max or Fallout episode, and the controls for which are long gone to the ages, or resemble a training calculator from the 1960s. Maybe I can inspire my app-wizard colleague @cgroom. 🤔 In no way am I pickin’ on you, @boyinr, you simply were the first to mention gear bags… So… <ahem> Gentlemen colleagues, if money was no barrier, you are liars if you tell me, with a sincere face, that you’d still maintain your own gear bag. If money was no barrier, we would, as a collective whole, to a man, employ a “porter service system” ala Old Dominion & DHL. Music acts (bands, etc) know they have made it big when they stop living out of a van and busking at the corner, and instead have roadies to handle, prep, and transport all their gear. Do ya think Pete Townshend cares what particular cases hold and transport his 78 guitars to each show? No, but he needs, expects, and appreciates all 78 guitars to be there. Why do you think we tip clubbies generously if they do our laundry, and set up the umpire room for us? If such service existed (at all levels), then understandably, it would need to have modular simplicity and ruggedness. Modular travel cases – which is why I find it utterly laughable that the loathsome Wilson Gear bag is the “official gear bag of MLB”, when in reality, not one MLBU actually uses it, because they don’t fit the service travel cases. The “Golden Age” of gear for us? We’re not there, yet. We won’t achieve it until and unless the current Exclusivity is ended.

I'll poke at this. Things are good, but we are not in the golden age yet. When @DerekGDS finally threatens the other companies enough that they finally begin innovating also, then we may be there.

My question is: How many of you are actually seeing batter's boxes 6 inches off the plate regularly?! If you are, let me add a "frame of reference" . . . The batter has his toe on the inside of batter's box line. The line is 2 1/2" wide. It is 6 inches to the plate. The plate is 17" wide. It is 6" to the other batter's box. That line is 2 1/2" wide. If you are calling a strike on the opposite batter's box line, you are calling a strike almost a yard away from the batter. Kid better grab a longer bat or bring his meterstick next time.

In my cases, the coach made it known. Twice I have had a coach answer the phone in the box. Twice I have had a base coach give himself up. The first asked me what happened (his batter struck out). The second asked me the count. Both told me they were texting and not watching. I get what you are saying about being sure. However confusing GameChanger can be, it isn't so interesting that it looks the same as checking your DMs or swiping right on your dating app of choice.

We can call "Infield fly, if fair!" We cannot call "TIME! Interference if fair!" You know that we cannot determine where the ball ultimately goes and if the interference affected/changed the play. That determination has already been made the moment we do or do not call "TIME!" The moment the interference occurs, the ball is dead OR the moment the non-interference occurs and we do not kill it, we have already determined there was no play to be made (whether that is due to a foul ball or simply "no, the fielder wasn't getting there"). Nothing else exists after that moment for that call. Maybe I am missing something (and I did misread your post initially and thought you said you saw it bounce), but I don't understand why discussion of a foul ball was even introduced. Let's run with it, though. Let's say it is not a ball clearly headed foul, but rather a ball practicing drunken monkey kung fu as it heads up the line. Again, we cannot wait to see what happens. At the moment the batter-runner "causes an incident" we have to either: (A) stop it all right there and make a call based on the ball's position (fair or foul) at that moment; OR (B) adjudicate there is no interference and allow it to play out. Waiting to see and then adjudicating is not an option (even if it is prudent). The softball change brought up by @Velho was made as an effort to rectify this created conundrum on foul fly balls (why would we call the batter out when the worst thing that would have happened is a foul ball?). I will give the softball world their due: they try to fix these problems while baseball culture (read: rules writers) largely tries to pretend they will just go away. You know I 100% agree with putting an end to the antics that we contort ourselves into allowing.

Yes, well, I'll try. I am probably going to do a poor job. It is something that typically has no support in the rules, but we would dub it a "don't do that." An offending action that the umpire does not dub illegal, but is rewarding "bad" behavior. A great example would be the College Softball World Series a few years ago: runner slides safely into second base and the play is over/relaxed. As a player goes to throw the ball back in, the runner inadvertently waves her arms, and deflects the throw. The ball careens off her hand, and she advances to third. CCS even covered it with a similar thought (there is no intermediary step): I see this play in the same vein. You don't have a play, so you can't have interference, but . . . the illicit act creates an opportunity for the offender to benefit with no recourse for the aggrieved team. I feel plays like these should be like the batter-runner picking up an errant ball four while no runners are trying to advance. We are killing it and not allowing anybody to advance. If it would have been interference during a play, why are we allowing it to create a play when there wasn't one?

It will fail, at least momentarily at some point. Also, when you roll it a ball but call a strike and the board shows you ignoring it or rolling all the way around to correct it... oh boy...

Only if through or by a fielder. Getting hit by a batted ball that the runner had no reason to expect the defense to field is still an out.

I recall (but maybe imagined that) exact reference. Other than the softball above, the only thing I'm able to find is in regards to a bunted ball: 7-11-o "After hitting or bunting a foul ball, the batter-runner intentionally deflects the course of the ball that has a chance of becoming fair" Is there another cite I'm missing?

added dimension: is the strike zone a D, 🛑, or 🟦 shape

I understand your thinking. But let's look at it from another perspective. How can you be sure what the coach is doing? In this situation, the umpire is going to get the dirty end of the stick if he accuses the coach of violating the rule without positive proof. If the umpire has positive proof, then, by all means, enforce the rule as written.

1. All Star Colbolt F3 or the Adams XV with an F3 harness 2. F3 shins. 14”. Nothing else works as well for me. 3. All Star FM4000MAG or Nike Icon with TW pads. 4. All Star Scully. Just started using it but I like it. 5. All Star cast 4 dial Indicator. Also functions as self defense tool. 6. Mizuno Plate shoes. Reebok FMs were the best. Why couldn’t Simittys copied these? 7. Jordan’s if the field is clean. 8. Diamond MMA or Nutty Buddy. I switch. I trust both. 9. EBags Mother Lode. 10. Oakley Flak Jacket XLJ with the field lenses I have all of the above (and more) as I am very fortunate. Admittedly have not dipped my toe into the newest GD gear. Missed out on the last custom Kuta. Waiting for the next release. I really feel we are in the golden age of equipment. We have a lot of options that we didn’t used to have.

We can argue all day about the strike zone. The most important element is, is the umpire consistent? Batters can adjust if an umpire is consistent. If the umpire is not consistent, then it's everyone for himself.

Unless I missed it, nobody has asked the most important question: Did a fielder have a reasonable chance to field the batted ball. Yes, runner is out. No. Then the ball is live and in play.