maven

One factor to consider: this is not runner INT, but retired runner INT, which has a lower bar. The runner has a job to do, but the retired runner needs to get the heck out of the way. The retired runner hindered the defense. That's INT, and I'll take the out!

No call is fool-proof: the best you can hope for is fool-resistant.

Is that having a foot down outside the box necessary for a batter NOT to be in legal position according to 6.03?

"Good way ta break a fingah." Gotta love Bean Town.

The rule is quoted above (6.05). It's a foul ball only if the batter is in legal position when the batted ball hits him, defined as both feet on the ground inside the batter's box. PU ruled that he had "left" the box, that is, that he no longer had a legal position in the box. Contacting a fair ball in that case is INT, the BR is out, and if it hadn't ended the inning/game, other runners would have had to return. I don't see intent to interfere here. JMHO.

Balk. Free foot steps toward home before the spin. The move can be done legally, since a feint to 2B is legal.

We have a similar thread going for a similar play. Here it is: http://umpire-empire.com/index.php/topic/52840-out-at-home-part-ii/#entry164269

I ignore "the hand" until Meat looks at me (for not acknowledging his hand). Then I'll say, "Go ahead and get set, he (the pitcher) has to wait for you."

I agree that this is BU's call. The only advantage PU has is distance: with greater distance you CAN see both the tag and the foot in one glance. So, if you've got a tag (not a swipe and miss), make your best call. If a coach asks you to get help, ask PU (privately) if he has anything. That should be a very brief conversation: "Did he beat the tag?" "No." Signal the out. As usual, ask your partner a yes/no question, not "what did you see?" If you're setting up the recommended 18-21 feet from 1B, you should have a pretty good look. The closer you are, the worse the look.

Others have offered good advice. I'll add only that every umpire, at every level, can have a bad plate game. It's OK, and doesn't mean you're a bad umpire. If you're doing something wrong, you need to address that. If not, and it was just concentration, or fatigue, or life intervening — well, put it behind you and do better next time!

Many newer umpires get caught up in what F1 MAY NOT do, and they get a little lost. When we teach new umpires, I start with what a properly engaged F1 MAY do from either the windup or set: Pitch to the batter Legally disengage Step and throw/feint to a base The last requires more qualification, of course, and FED prohibits pickoffs from the windup. But it makes understanding the balk provisions a little easier if we clarify what's permitted first.

Depends on the attitude. As most have said, the coach is often aiming to show up the umpire. Buh-bye. Sometimes, the coach will approach you first, ask a rules question, then ask to help him find it in the rule book. I had a coach tell me he had spent 2 hours looking for a provision (INT with a batted ball) and couldn't find it. I'll help with that. I'll respond to douchery as needed, but I won't initiate it. :)

As you know, the DH and player he bats for share a spot in the lineup. The DH plays offense, the other player defense. When either one plays the other's role, you lose the role of the DH, and only one player may be in the game at a time. But you may not have both players on defense at the same time, as the OP seems to have had. And by rule (2-36-3c), if that happens it's the (former) DH who is the illegal player, must leave the game, and is restricted to the dugout. If the DH comes out to play defense and the other player stays on the bench, you are correct, that's a quasi-substitution ("quasi" because both players are starters and have re-entry privileges).

With respect: you're barking up the wrong tree. If it's not prohibited, it's legal. The question is always locating a prohibition, not a permission.

For FED, the DH is the illegal player. 2-36-3c Prevent this if you can. If discovered, the illegal player is removed from the game and restricted to the dugout for the remainder of the game. If subsequently discovered in the game, out (if on offense) and ejected. 3-1-1

The best part of that account: you called time to allow yourself a moment to replay it in your mind. Then you made your call and sold it. Good work: don't rush it, nothing else is happening! :)

That's a tough one, but it sounds as if you nailed it. Don't second guess yourself when you're in the best position possible and make the best call you can. Someone's gotta make a call — might as well be you! ;)

Your point (a) can vary by rule set. You're correct for OBR. FED has a lower standard, which allows F1 to throw to an unoccupied advance base to "put out or drive back a runner." Any credible bluff legalizes a throw to the base ahead.

A couple of points: 1. Intent is not required here: the ODB is not a runner, so like a base coach he can be liable for INT by negligently failing to get out of the way. He is allowed on the field, but must vacate any space needed by the defense. I don't go overboard looking for this: the defense has screwed up badly if the ball is in the on-deck circle. 2. As I've said, the OP is HTBT, and I would not second guess the no-call. If your BU is following the ball, he should be looking at whatever happened and have more info for you. 3. If you do call INT on this play, you cannot call R2 out or send him back to 2B. At the TOI, he has already scored. Since the BR is the only other runner, you'd have to call him out for the INT. Since he's beyond 1B when called out to end the inning, it's a time play and the run would score.

This is a judgment call that is HTBT. So I don't think we can second guess your no-call. However, I will say that if you judge INT, you must get an out. True in OBR and FED. For FED at least, you call out the runner likely to have been played on, and if in doubt, the runner closest to home. 8-4-2g

Don't be so paranoid, Rich, and recognize when someone is agreeing with you.

Rich Ives will be along to tell you that 'equipment' there refers to 'properly worn' equipment (helmet, hat, uniform, shoe). A bat lying on the ground isn't. JM can explain the agreement error in the rule. :)

Telepathic baseball. I'm with everyone else. Always verbalize. If near the line, "IFF if fair!" You don't wait to determine fair/foul to announce IFF. You've discovered why. ;)

Not that it matters much, but I think F4 made the great play. ;)

Sounds as if coach was badgered into coming out. Sounds to me as if you handled everything professionally. Brief, direct, accurate, respectful. Kudos!