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He is out...the base is not a safe haven for him - he is "forced" to vacate. The same concept can apply on an appeal play...eg. fly ball and you run from first to second before the catch...they can tag you while you're standing on the other base. So, a base isn't' ALWAYS safe.

I've been coaching for 21 or so years, most of those as a head coach. I've never felt the need to have a sign like this. 1.) I'm not trusting my catcher to call pitches any better than the umpire. 2.) What am I actually going to do with the information? 3.) This is just teaching excuse-making which is something I can not tolerate. 4.) At all but the highest levels of varsity baseball, we're not trying to execute a specific game plan against a specific hitter and even if we were, the chances that a 14yo pitcher and catcher could implement and execute said plan are almost zero. During the few years I coached state-ranked varsity teams, if my catcher felt we weren't getting a certain spot that we needed, we could discuss that between innings and how to adjust our game plan against certain hitters.

My NFHS 2025-26 Umpire Manual says something different about the two man crew with runners on base Page 73 - Crew of Two: Runners on Base

You didn't say if the runner was a freshman too and could be deceived by the pitcher using the 54' plate. The runner has to take some responsibility here too.

I wouldn't say a person who is 6'6" is approximately 5'0" . . . I get what you are saying though about dirt circle and the inconsistency. Plus, one of my points in this conversation is that oddly specifically unspecific language of the NFHS. In this case, the kid actually did brainfart and went there out of habit. He pitched from that spot for the previous three years. (The umpire talked to him.)

came home and looked up the bios in the 2025 media guide which said they came up in 2024. then i came here and saw your reply and the article. thank you

That is how I viewed it. 1 out. However my partner was wanted to say 2 because the R3 had to run due to force and needs to advance to the next base. By not doing so, he would also be out. His only uncertainty with that play was that he was not sure if R3 had to be tagged or not. My view is simply based on the order things happened. as you mentioned, trailing runner was out first thus removing the force. I think we got it right by ruling 1 out. Thanks!

Ask yourself this - was R3 ever tagged? Was home plate tagged? How or why would R3 be out? That should answer your question. Otherwise, I'd very interested in understanding the justification for calling R3 out, under which rule. R2 was out when F5 stepped on third base, removing the force for R3. The subsequent tag to R2 was inconsequential - he tagged a retired runner. If F5 had tagged R3 and then stepped on the base, in that exact order, then both R3 and R2 would be out.

Yes, the scissors stance causes the impact to be more immediately directed to the neck and spine, resulting in more frequent injuries and/or concussions. It's a big part of the reason they encouraged umpires to move into the slot with the "box stance". The idea is to be out of the "kill zone" over the middle of the plate, plus to stand more upright and heel-to-toe (box-like) resulting in less stress on your spine and neck (which is part of the spine of course) when impacts do happen. Due to two spinal fusions (one lumbar, one cervical) I am re-learning how to stand so not to strain my neck or back. I find being more upright helps and probably going to use HOK (hands-on-knees) this year to steady me and keep everything still. It makes my neck feel more secured and doesn't hurt, whereas even the normal box stance is causing me neck pain if I dip too low into a crouch (sitting on a chair height let's say). I'm going to start JV and do some lower-level stuff (where it's less critical if my zone needs a little cleaning up due to adjustments) before going back to Varsity so I don't mess up any games or playoff chances.

Nothing. I would treat it like it wasn't there just like we are supposed to do with the safety base once a BR runs through first base properly and tries to return. Now if you only asked about if a ball that hits the 54' pitchers plate and goes into foul territory.... how do you ignore that?