JHSump

Looks like a strike to me. Certainly not a gross miss.

I had exactly this happen in a tournament game a few years ago. I was PU. I had the pitcher and batter reset. OC came out and asked about it (he wanted balk), and nearly got himself tossed after I explained it. Among other things, he said there are no do-overs. hahaha. I don't think he ever believed me when I said that was the rule, but we moved on. (Of course, saying there are no-overs was not the reason he almost got tossed.)

Umm, never mind what Pitch f/x says, that looks like a strike in the view from the side. Some part of the ball is above the hollow of the knee -- both knees. See the ESPN vid (http://m.mlb.com/video/v862869283/ladpit-mccutchen-tossed-after-strikeout-in-7th). And the plate must be somewhere between McCutchen's front knee and back knee. Or perhaps he was deep in the box (he certainly wasn't up in the front of the box; again see the ESPN vid after the call); if he was deep in the box that doesn't help his case. It's too bad he reacted that way. He must have been having a bad game/day/week/whatever. We're all human. BTW, on point (3) of @grayhawk, ("McCutchen isn't even looking at the ball, so how would he know"): at best, hitters follow the ball with their eyes up to a few feet in front of the plate (especially 96mph pitches). After that it's nearly physiologically impossible to follow the ball further as it passes you, as a batter. Even when swinging and successfully hitting the ball, their eyes are looking out front at the last spot to which they were able to track. Sure, as a batter you can swing your head around as the ball passes, but it doesn't help in seeing anything useful. Batters who do that on pitches they take (e.g., Pete Rose), are just telling everyone they are "giving it their all." They made up their minds to take the pitch earlier in its flight. It's like when a player dives after a ball they know will be completely out of their reach, even with the dive. It's easier for an umpire to track the ball, with the eyes, all the way to the glove, of course, since the ball never passes the umpire. But even then, it's not easy during those last few feet. In my experience, for fast pitches on the outside part of the plate or off the plate, that last bit of tracking is tough. For me it requires a quick snap of the eyes to the glove, missing the last foot or more of flight and instead focusing on the catch itself.

I had this occur today in a showcase tournament game, Fed rules. It happened on a single on the ground in the 3-4 hole with R1, I told F6 not to do that again. He said, quite calmly and with obvious curiosity, "But I thought only fake tags were not allowed." I told him the rules don't allow fake tags because they are unsafe, and the same holds for his fake start of a DP. I was stretching the truth a bit, perhaps. And I figured I'd look on UE to see what folks were saying about this sort of thing. I'd like to see an official interpretation.

10. One to change the light bulb, 9 to comment on whether his pants drape properly on his shoes as he reaches for the bulb.

Thanks @Tksjewelry !

Thanks @maineump My review is in line with all you advice. But you summarized it very nicely!

Thanks @RichMSN I do feel lucky! And lucky that my association gets to pick!

Thanks @HokieUmp! I'll try not to suck! The game is at Radford University, 10am. I don't know about whether VHSL will be streaming. You might be interested to know I had a conference playoff a few weeks ago on English Field at VT. Have fun at William & Mary!

Just heard from the PU. I'll be U3. It's all cool! Now the review begins... I'll try not to FIU, Michael!

I've been assigned by my association to a HS state final this Saturday! This is my 5th year in the association. Over the years I've had a number of playoff games, including 1 regional. But this was unexpected...and it's very exciting! Now I have to review 4-umpire mechanics. The regional was 4-umpire also, but that was my only experience with 4-umpire mechanics during this millennium. Suggestions?

Jack Reacher is not an umpire, of course, but in reading Lee Child's Jack Reacher Novel "Make Me" this particular quote jumped out at me --- as a umpire. "The only fights you truly win are the ones you don't have." In case you don't know who Jack Reacher is, if a fight is necessary he's all in, and the other guys(s) always come out worse than him. But, well, you can see what he says about it.

I had a 12U batter ask me on a called third strike, "Is that as low as you will go?" I was a bit surprised by the question also. This pitch cut the plate in half, and such a pitch gets more leeway for a low strike, unlike one on the corner. How does one legitimately answer such a question without going into an "essay answer"? You can't. I just didn't answer it. I shrugged. Later, same game, a batter swings and hits a ground ball for the third out. HC passes me on the way to the dugout and asks, "Was that one a strike?" Well, it was close. It might have been, if he let it go. I just answered, "I don't know, he hit it." hahaha I didn't have a better answer than than, really. It never crossed the plate. It never made it to the catcher's mitt. On the close ones I need that info! Sometimes I think coaches and players think I'm using a laser ranging, Doppler motion detecting system with instant AI feedback, taking account of changes in refractive index and ultrasonic sound speed within 5 feet of the ground as a function of temperature and humidity, and set to beep a sound in my hidden earpiece if and only if the ball "touches" the 3D prism strike zone. There can be *no* such exactitude, given the definition of a strike zone! Hey batters, with two strikes "protect the plate"! Close pitches may be called strikes (will be, in my case). Of course, some coaches catch on immediately and tell their batters exactly that: swing the bat, don't look at strike three!

There is a report at ESPN that MLB is considering raising the bottom of the strike zone from the hollow below the knee to above the knee, and eliminating the need to throw 4 pitches to intentionally walk a batter. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15633876/mlb-competition-committee-agrees-changes-strike-zone-intentional-walks Apparently reasons for the strike zone change are to speed up the game ("to produced more balls in play"), and as "a reaction to a trend by umpires to call strikes on an increasing number of pitches below the knees."

Possibly. But I couldn't do it when I tried it just now! Or, more accurately, it's natural to bend them slightly just before pushing off the ground.

Hmmm...no, I wouldn't call it in any game I do. In real time I can't see it. Even in slow mo, I wonder if this is a balk. Yes, F1 bends his front knee slightly before jumping and spinning. He also bends his back knee about the same amount, and at the same time. (I had to watch the slow mo a couple of times to see that.) If you stand up, bend you knees slightly, then try jumping and spinning, you'll see you *need* to bend both knees at the beginning of that motion to start the jump. And, if you start with straight legs you have to bend them to start the jump-spin. So, I'm saying any jump-spin --- which is considered a legal move --- will involve bending both knees at the same time. This F1's move looks legal and impossible to do in any other way. Maybe someone can find a video where neither knee bends on a jump-spin. I can't see how it would be done. But maybe some F1 does it just using his ankles. And, finally, unless something happened after the video ended, the MLB guys didn't call it either.

The OHC smiled as he passed me on his way to the dugout after the half inning, and made it clear he understood and was ok with the strike zone! haha This was a rec league 11-12 yo game, with F1 throwing too hard for F2 --- and F1 was wild to boot!

Hahaha....I have done exactly that too! Not halfway between the batter and dugout, but just the other side of the batter. I watched how the catcher caught the ball (or not). If it looked good it was a strike! Hey, if the coaches/fans can do such a good job from the side... And, I didn't get hit anymore!

I just looked at that triple by Aoki. That's not the sort of thing I am referring to. The ball and runner arrived at almost the same moment. Tag was high (on his butt, maybe I only saw the real-speed play). I'm referring to when a kid --- who should be taught better or know better --- fails to get the tag in the dirt in front of the sliding running, when the ball arrives in plenty of time. Sometimes the kid just fails to tag the runner before he reaches the base (well, worry, he's safe). Sometimes the kid makes it look much closer than it should have been or the call is not obvious (so which way do you lean in that case?).

On a tag at any base how much "benefit of the doubt" do you give the defense if the ball is clearly there in plenty of time, the fielder is balanced, waiting, and only has to tag the runner, but he doesn't get the tag down in the dirt so the sliding runner is definitively out? I see this so often at the younger age levels. They are not taught how to tag a sliding runner. Now, some times you just have to call the runner safe (he definitely slid under the tag). Other times, it's not so obvious. Which way do you lean in calling those? And why?

I was definitely asking! Thanks for the answers. And I knew you spent time in Australia. So, I figured you knew! Like I said, I know next to nothing about cricket, but I do know it's a cousin of baseball. So, the batsmen are like batter-runners!

I get it. I think. I certainly don't know much about cricket! Here's a question: Is there such a thing as an overthrow in cricket? I mean, can a throw go into "dead ball territory"? For that matter, are there "throws," in attempts to "retire" a "runner"? See, I don't know much! And, if a throw can go into DBT, what's the ruling?

Wow! I did check out that discussion on the USSSA rule, and, I am surprised! But, that's the way it is!! Thanks for pointing that out! I'm still surprised!

In softball is it "1+1"?? Sorry. I don't do softball, so I don't know. I'd be surprised to hear it's "1+1" in softball. But if that's the way it is, that's the way it is. Or are you talking kickball or cricket?