sdix00

F1 starts and pitches three innings. By the fourth inning, the Head Coach has used all of his Charged Conferences. If the Head Coach were to visit the pitcher, he would be required to replace the pitcher and the replaced pitcher would not be able to pitch again. Instead the Head Coach uses mental telepathy from the dugout, and the pitcher and first baseman swap positions. New pitcher warms up with 8 pitches in one minute. New pitcher pitches to one batter and strikes him out. Then the two players swap positions again and the original pitcher retires the side. Legal?

I found this slide at https://cbuaump.org/2018-2019-nfhs-baseball-rules-pdf page #31 I don't understand why this is illegal. Help? Edit: I meant, why is this illegal by rule? Not necessarily by rationale.

Can someone help me with this? (citation) I am at a tourney and the question came up and I can't seem to find it. Thanks!

I think the FPSR needs to be re-written to be much more clear. The language is ambiguous and spread all throughout the rule book, mixed in with regular runner interference. It is extremely difficult to understand the rule and apply it consistently without a lot of reading of the rule book, case book, mentoring, and trial and error. There are two aspects to the FP/SR: On a Force Play, the regular Slide Rule gets ONE additional requirement -sliding directly into the base. INTERFERENCE on a Force Play (not JUST slides (See CB 8.4.2W, haha)), gets two additional penalties -BR also out,and runners return to TOP (8-4-2b) (different for regular runner interference, which is TOI - (8-2-9)). I could be right, or wrong on the details above, duh, because the rule is hard to understand, duh, but this is how I enforce it, in my games, until I don't. Anyway, IMO, the most confusing rule in the NFHS rule book. The intent of the rule is simple I am sure, but they don't make it easy.

Another vote for the Honigs MLB style shirts. Soft and stretchy. Way better than the burlap sacks they made the Majestics and Smittys from.

I have it. I think it's worth the $30 I spent. I refered to it a lot when I was starting out 5 years ago. I actually copied the flash files to my phone so I could watch them more conventiently. It's more of a reference tool than an instructional source. Especially if you learn visually, or have a hard time visualizing from just text. I have spent thousands learning how to do this job and I have wasted hundreds on garbage materials such as "see a balk call a balk". This $30 was not a waste of money. If I were to prioritize my top few purchases, the virtual umpire camp would not be one of them, however. I would recommend you prioritize your purchanses and do research because I think $30 toward "Maximizing the Two Umpire System" is a much better investment than the Umpire Camp CD. Check out this thread:

I can't believe they feel they need to codify good game management. I'm reading "Rise of the Robots", a book about how technology in on pace to eliminate nearly every job, even the creative jobs. It's happening.

It is my understanding that the ice water towels applied to your core spots (chest, neck, skull, spine) facilitate the transfer of body heat to the surface, then the alcohol component in Florida Water/Spirits/Aftershave/etc evaporates quickly and radiates the heat away. Seems to really help in humid climates where the sweat simply won't evaporate, and instead creates a hot water coat. 99 degrees in Norco, CA yesterday with 42% humidity. I did four games. (I prefer to be one-and-done , but I was helping out). The Ice Towels, Florida Water, and Pickle Juice (for electrolytes) made all the difference.

I'd like to reverse the question and (other than the list above) identify legitimate holes in the 2-man system. Seems like I am discovering them as I go along, but it would be great to hear from the experienced guys about the known, legitimate issues. The reason I ask is because I was at a clinic a few weeks back and the instructor went over a couple legitimate holes in the system and I committed the unpardonable sin of not having pen and paper with me at the time.

I get that folks disagree with me on this one, and I am happy to reconsider. I can't find anything specifically addressing it. But I believe coming set off the rubber with intent to deceive should be penalized and is supported by 8.05g. Here is an older thread worth reviewing. http://www.umpire.org/vb/archive/index.php/t-10682.html Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

Coming set off the rubber is a motion associated with the pitch while not engaged. I let it go most of the game because there was no intent and I attributed it to stupid things 12 year olds do. . Once F1 "came set" and snap threw to 3B, I had intent to deceive and the technical ball became a real balk. Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

Coming set while off the rubber, of course. Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

I had something very similar to this in 12U and I just made a note of it. F1 did it the same thing all game long. Just off the rubber and would bring his hands together for a very long adjustment, then break hands and engage. Then in the 7th, SNAP THROW for a pickoff at 3rd. I balked it, because now I had intent. F1 was setting the runners up all game long. Manager thought about objecting, but when he went to stick his finger at me there was a cookie jar attached.

And yet would be so much easier to list three things the pitcher CAN do instead of 13 things he CAN'T do. :( Sent from my A1-850 using Tapatalk

You can use Google's advanced search page to build a search string that will search only Umpire-Empire.com and will also allow you to specify AND, OR, NOT terms.

The automatic out for the 9th player. Tough one. One league I work was smart and codified that the automatic can't be a third out, so it carries to the first out of the next inning. I like that. I hate it when teams try to manipulate and take advantage of the poorly thought out, but well intentioned time limits, automatic outs, balk warnings, and other nonsense. As umpires we know what the intent of the rule is and when they bastardize it, our hands are tied and we can't make it right. I suppose we can make it fair if we really wanted to , but it's just not worth the headache.

​Sounds like you have interference on a retired runner, and two outs are in order.

My pet peeves: The InternetListsIrony

How is this a double play? If you let the play go, then there is no INT on R2 and he is not out, and the BR is out on the play at 1B. If you killed it, then R2 is out and BR safe at 1B by rule. The only possibility of a DP I see here is that hypothetically if R2 was out on the tag during contact, then subsequently interfered with F6's throw to 1B.

The "no water bottles" directive I am most familiar with comes down the training line in my unit, along with wash your cap and don't use horns to signal the count. So I imagine they are referring to the big red Thermos water jug hanging on the fence. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing wrong with bringing a 16 ounce Arrowhead disposable clear bottle and sticking it the fence behind you. . Even during playoffs, when I knew we were being watched, I still brought an 8 ounce bottle and put it in my left ball bag. Same size as a baseball. As long as I didn't accidentally hand it to the catcher, no one would know. I wasn't about to risk the home team not having water for me in the dugout.

Who was the protected fielder at the time of the interference question? If your answer to the above is F6, did the contact interfere (even a little bit) with F6's ability to field the ball?

I have done this twice with good results. Once after a heated EJ and another time in the parking lot. After the EJ, the coach continued to yell at me. I told him in a calmer and much quieter tone, "Coach, everything you say from this point forward goes in my game report to the league. So far, all I have is the ejection and nothing else." He stopped immediately and didn't continue with anything of note, but if he had, i would have taken two steps away and turned 90 degrees and started writing and not responded to him again. In the parking lot, it was a little harder. The mom, of course, followed me out and belittled me. I gave her the same speech about the game report to the league , and she didn't seem to care much. She asked for my name, and I responded with "No problem, I'll trade you my name for yours so I can attach it to my report." (I already knew who's mom she was, obviously.) She trailed off at that point. I still wonder if pulling out a cell phone camera would make sense in that situation. Lately, cameras everywhere seem to be reducing the asshole problem in this country. Luckily, it happens rarely enough that I don't spend a lot of time on it. All that said, probably the best advice is getting in your car with your gear on and leaving. Smaller timeline, less opportunity for anything to go wrong, less to explain later.

My Cheat Sheet for putting the ball in play, (and catching all the things that can bite me) After calling "FOUL!", "TIME!" or otherwise calling the ball dead: F1 on the rubber, with the ball [5.11]F2 ready [4.03(a)]B2 ready [4.02], [PBUC 6.17]Eight fielders in fair territory [4.03]Runners returned to their bases (or close enough) (after a foul ball) [5.09(e)]Partner is ready [Common Sense]"THREE Balls, TWO Strikes. . . PLAY! "

Second this. Here is a slightly cheaper link. http://www.amazon.com/Champion-Sports-Umpire-Protector-13-Inch/dp/B0029W1VHS/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1426861168&sr=1-1&keywords=champion+chest+protector Amazing for high temperatures, too. Padding is extremely well-ventilated, possibly at the expense of a little protection. They are really low profile and compact and look great. But, if priorities are value at the lowest price point, comfort, and hard shell - then this one fits the bill. Both of my sons use it as their primary, and I have one for really hot days. More here: http://umpire-empire.com/index.php/topic/52670-champion-cp/?p=220887

We usually have two. This was a "feature" game at the local University.