maineump

No one is making anything up or ignoring the rule here - this is not as black and white as you are making it. The entire situation needs to be looked at. There is flexibility in the rule that allows us to make a judgment. 'leaves the base path' - what is the base path the rule is referring to? Rule 5.09(b) allows (as most do) the umpire to make a judgment. We can't read the minds of runners or defenders, we have to take in the entire play. He would have go to the dugout on the 3rd base side, then it is abandonment. By him crossing the field (which really saved the runner here), he was still in play. Like it has been said above, the baseline is only a 'baseline' when a runner is being directly played on. The case you state is the runner going towards the 1B dugout after running to 1B and heads into the dugout. Now, what if the runner turns into fair play and heads towards the 3B dugout, gets to the mound area, and decides to go to 2B - he has that right, it is not abandonment until he gets out of play. I had a HS team do something similar to this to try to get the runner into a rundown to score a runner from 3B. He would get a walk and continue into RF and start towards 2B from the grass in the OF, He was trying to draw a longer throw and draw the IF out to him. It is legal as long as he takes a direct line to the base when he is played on.

According to OP, he was in front of pitchers mound, still on the field - no abandonment IMO. Score the run.

He got there for a reason - I didn't see the game. I work with some very good umpires that seem quicker than others, but that may be their style, as long as they get the calls right, then he is ok. I also work with some guys who are slow making the calls, but don't see the ball all the way to the mitt, and call it out front. If he is seeing the ball all the way to the glove, making his decision and calling the pitch - then he can be as fast or slow as he likes in his style.

Young catchers are told to get rid of the mask immediately by coaches - that means they are just flipping them off their heads (until they learn). As stated above, keep YOUR mask on until you clear the catcher, or he clears you. There is no way to warn or eject a catcher for hitting you with the mask - it is just part of the game. The coach telling you to man-up is not an excuse to eject either, unless it went beyond those words. Don't take this as 'putting you down' - make it a learning experience. There will be things that you don't like during a game (we all have them), but if there is no rule or tradition to govern it, we have to suck it up.

Camden Yards is a great stadium - watched a game there a few years ago - got tickets from a friend of mine that played there. It is still NOT Fenway however!

I like his style - he calls the play as though routine, even on the banger. He takes ZERO grief and he stands up for his crew. I have watched him in person a few times, and he still gets to where he needs to be. He seems to get good angles, and adjusts to getting older.

He was standing there in between innings staring and listening to him. Let him vent and ignore him, the pitch was top of the zone.

They should call more strikes - these 3 hour games are ridiculous. What ever happened to pace of the game that Torrey was going to improve?

You could see that coming - baited him to the mound with the long conference, then they took the same path from the mound. That usually doesn't end well for a coach.

That pitch looked like it went over the front corner of the plate - I would have that one in college too.

if the batter/runner is the guy you said got in a rundown between 1st and 2nd - yes the run scores. The batter achieved 1B, the 3rd out was after the run scored.

Our high school assn. (state wide) is ordering hats, shirts and jackets from All Sports East. They have given a group rate. I use these guys often and the service is outstanding, they usually ship the same day. They give discounts as well (like NASO membership). Frank is also an umpire and knows what we go through. I used to use Honig's, but after my card got compromised, I am done.

I am not sure why they did that. If it hit the umpire before it got to a fielder, then the batter gets 1B, and all runners advance if forced. If it hits him after going by fielders, it is a live ball.

Growing up, we had wiffle ball leagues. Ahhh, the good old days. It was great for hand-eye coordination, you really had to watch the ball hit the bat, with all of the odd stuff you can do with the ball. Every year there is a local news guy that runs a charity tournament - they use the 'real' balls, but bats can be doctored.

I think the umpire knew what he was doing in the play. If you watch him, he never kills the ball, he just keeps pointing to signal he had the interference. I think the conference was where to place the runners. Looks to me that they got it correct.

That was a shot - the glazed over eyes say it all.

I have seen guys just hold the stop sign up. It acknowledges you heard him (this time) and you have had enough. It works like a subtle warning.

depends on if he tags the man on first

I totally agree - when we used to assign WS championship rounds, U2 was the second choice, as he needs to be the 'field general' out there. This guy needs to have a great feel for the system, the game and always keep his head on a swivel. U2 is my favorite position in the 4-man, there is always something going on and you seem to always be on the move.

I think instead of having a back-up plan, you should stress communication between the umpires. Only U2 or U3 should go out, they need to communicate verbally or visually what they are doing. Then the other umpire rotates to 2B. If they both go out, then it effects U1 and PU as well. As stated above, there is the advanced mechanic to rim, but remember that U! still has plate responsibility and there needs to be even more communication between U1 and PU. Keep it simple is the best way to go. U1 watches the touch at 1B and looks for the back pick. This is usually done from the outside, and keeping the play in front of you. Either U2 or U3 covers 2B, PU rotates up and U1 slides down. If it doesn't happen, cover the play as you need to, but definitely get together between inning to fix the problem.

You can use the DH on defense in FED as well, it just ties the 2 players to the same slot in the line-up. Each player (starter) may leave and return to the line-up. If the DH enters on defense, it negates the DH role, but both players still have re-entry. The 10 spot works fine, if you have the DH for the pitcher, as you describe here. Throw in the NCAA rule where the P is also the DH in the 9-man line-up. I don't see this very often, but it is an option in the rules.

I see no reason that you can't. If it isn't correct, then erase it. It gets erased during the game, and we have to 'guestimate' where it is, so how would this be different? If there is a question for the batter, use his bat to draw it for him.

In Maine they are to put them together in the same spot, either above or below, it is easy to manage, as the substitutes are listed as numbers and not the full names. It doesn't matter to me, above or below, just as long as we know who is hitting for who. I have only used the 10 spot for college or Legion when they are using the '10 man' line-up.

Ask at the plate meeting who is the official team rep for the game - treat the rest like an assistant. Tell them, only 1 of them can be the rep. let them fight it out.

Real time is bad IMO. If he is young or new, then it could make it worse. If he is consistent, he has half the battle. A veteran or UIC perhaps could 'rein him in' a bit on the size of the zone, but that would be after the game. I agree, if the video was from behind the plate, then you may have something, but a video from the side is very hard to judge. By asking the catcher, you probably will get what the coach wants to hear from him. His positioning could be part of the problem, but maybe he was properly in the slot, but not close enough to the catcher. Lots of things that MIGHT be here, maybe experience will help.