Sayhey

Tag home and we have no issue. Do not ask me to bail your runner out

Umpire big and loud. You are an actor on a stage. We have no secrets. Having said that, if there is a missed tag at home and the runner also misses home your no signal and verbal is a mechanic.

Anxious to hear your viewpoint on this one. First, let me say that I see no reason to have any differences in Fed. ball rules compared to O.B.R. except for a strict force play slide rule. Here is the play. R-1 and a base hit to right. Throw and play at third on R-1. R-1 is safe at third base and the throw gets about 8 feet away from F-5. R-1, now R-3, gets up and takes two steps toward home. F-5 knocks R-3 down as he goes after the loose ball. My partner in a 2-man crew immediately signals obstruction. He puts his left arm out parallel to the ground.he works softball as well. Hasn't this mechanic been done away with? I never did it. Thought it looked weird. R-3 simply went back and stood on third and F-5 went over and picked the ball up. My partner did not cleanly award R-3 home. He came down and got together with me but asked no questions. He said," I have to award him home. I signaled obstruction. He was talking himself into making the award. He did not want to award R-3 home but he had too. Fed. rules mandate at least a 1 base award. He awarded the base and the visiting coach was out of the dugout to argue. This coach is old school and was a ball player. He argued that it was not obstruction and the runner did not deserve an award. Then he hammered my partner for not being committed to the call. The coach was correct and wrong in my opinion. I agree that R-3 did not deserve home. I disagree that it was not obstruction. It was not entanglement because entanglement has to happen immediately-Jaska/Roder. Time went by between the slide play and the scampering after the loose ball and knocking down R-3. R-3 was absolutely obstructed and O.B.R. would call this type B obstruction with no play being made on the runner. No M.L.B. umpire or summer league umpire would award home on this scenario. The Fed. rules put us in a position where we had to award home even though nobody at the yard thought R-3 deserved home. Even the home coach did not agree with the call. I have never seen this in 20 years. The head coach had a run on the board and a runner sitting in the dugout and he wanted me to overturn my partner's call and put his runner back on third and take a run away from him. He has a keen sense of fairness and he only wanted a run fair and square. No ejection but an unhappy coach. Some will say that there is no type A and type B obstruction in Fed. Ball, just obstruction. It would be better said that Fed. ball has type A and B at the same time. It's type A in that the obstructed runner gets a minimum of 1 base on any obstruction and type B in that we keep the ball live until continuous action is over or a protected runner is tagged or caught in a rundown. I have no right to rule in any way other than the Fed. rule book dictates. It's their game and their rule book. I like the F.P.S.R. but I think they have screwed the obstruction rule up. What do you think?

Do the same punch out for rt. and lft. handed batters that's acceptable.cwith left handed batter I turn toward the third base dugout by putting weight on my right foot and I weighting my left foot and spinning on the rt. foot and then I "bow and arrow a punch out. Hope that helps. Practice in a mirror

Let me restate my question. Forget about Mike Trout and this play. Imaginary game. First pitch of the game is driven to deep centerfield and flys over the centerfielder's glove and strikes face of the centerfield fence first and then is deflected off the glove or body of the centerfielder over the fence onto dead ball territory. Whaddaya got?

I have a strike if he just catches the ball. As soon as he pulls it he loses the strike. I will not pick up that end of the stick. The offensive coach can see the catcher pull the pitch in.

As a Giants fan I enjoyed Ian Kinsler's frustration when his fly ball in the 2010 World Series struck the top of the outfield fence in San Francisco, and then settled on top of the fence. What are the odds? Crew ruled a two base award. I'm guessing that this was not reviewed since no one has said they were watching the game and yes, it was reviewed. I saw highlights on M.L.B. network. As soon as I saw the highlight I questioned the 4 base award. In slow motion I thought I had conclusive evidence that the baseball struck the face of the outfield wall and then was deflected up and over the wall. When I read some of the responses it seems like some of you fine working umpires are not really reading the post because you keep mentioning the top of the wall. Lets talk about the face of the wall. Have a great weekend and I hope you have wonderful games.

Very simple. Ball hits face of wall. Ball then hits centerfielder's glove and or hand and ricochets over the wall. Ground rule double. Was this reviewed?

I watched it frame by frame and the ball appears to strike the "face" of the wall first and then it is deflected up and over the fence. I only saw M.L.B. network highlights. Was this reviewed(replay)? Only trying to stimulate discussion about the rule. This could only be seen in review. This would be the purpose of replay. Do you agree that it can not be a homer if it strikes the face of the fence first?

In slow motion the ball goes over Trout's glove untouched. The ball strikes the face of the outfield fence and then is tipped up on top of the fence and rolls over the top onto dead ball territory. When the baseball struck the face of the fence in flight it could never be a home run. It must fly over the fence in flight. Technically, a ball striking the top of the fence and going over is not in flight, but historically, it has been ruled a 4 base award. This ball did not strike the top of the wall. It struck the face of the wall and then was tipped over the wall onto dead ball territory.

Centerfielder Mike Trout tipped a ball over the fence after the ball struck the face of the outfield centerfield wall. The ball must go over the fence in flight to be a 4 base award. If a ball hits the top of the fence and goes over it is considered a h.r. This ball did not hit the top of the wall and it did not hit Trouts glove until after it hit the wall . That should be a two base award, not a home run. Was this "homer" reviewed. I only saw highlights.

R-2 is stealing third. If the catcher is doing his job he will step behind the batter and throw to third base. It is the catcher's job to clear the batter and get a throw off to third. The batter bending over has no bearing on the play. The movement of bending over actually makes it easier for the catcher to throw to third. The batters box belongs to the batter and he has zero responsibility to move out of it. It absolutely is a safe haven. If the batter intentionally interferes you have a different matter. Ducking is not unusual and is not interference. Interference in youth and low level high school ball happens when the batter steps out of the box with his left foot thinking he is getting out of the way of the catcher's throw and the catcher tries to throw straight down the line because no one trained him to step back and clear the hitter before throwing. . Usually the catcher does not clear the hitter far enough to overcome this movement by the batter and the catcher ends up throwing over the top of the hitter and his throw ends up halfway to third or in the third base dugout.this is interference and is a delayed dead ball. If the catcher's throw retires the runner let the play stand. If the initial throw does not result in an out then you call time and call the batter out for interference. Send R-2 back to third. All other runners return to T.O.P. base. If the batter strikes out on the pitch and interferes R-2 is out.

When you have low self esteem and very little self respect you are compelled to allow others to treat you like you do not matter. You can do no other. The umpire accommodations I propose are not difficult or expensive, especially if they are put in when the original building is designed and built. This umpire dressing room wood be a tiny part of the overall budget. I have grown weary of trying to convince you to respect yourself. If you do not care about getting naked in a public parking lot then how about supporting those that care not too.its all about respect. Adults that I know and respect do not address others as "dude". It's all about respect. Those of you that do not give respect will not get it and your lack of self respect is hurting those of us that would like to be respected.

Hokie Umpire, I just read what you said about expecting a brand new high school to build an umpire dressing room as being laughable. Come on man, think about what you are saying. Think about the tiny percentage of overall cost of a building for a student body of 1,500-2,000 kids. Less than 1% if you are having trouble with that. Stay in Japan. We do not need you here. You sir, are a joke, and I find you laughable.

The big deal is it sucks to dress in a parking lot and more importantly, it is disrespect. If you have very little self respect then I guess you are good to go. Big umpire and I would like to see umpires respected. We give respect topic partners, coaches, players, A.D.s, parents, ball boys, bus drivers, whatever ya got. Heaven, I was respectful to the city park employee cleaning the bathroom I was going to use. Umpires are all about respect.how about some love for blue. You, who are just fine being disrespected are part of the problem

Hokie ump, not sure what a Hokie is but it sounds as stupid as the the words you write. Yeah, that's what I just said. Big umpire has the corage to tell it like it is. You sir, are a big part of the problem. We give respect to coaches, players, and all we come into contact with from the moment we drive our car onto the game site until we drive off and if you see the team at Burger King ya still offer respect. Big umpire and I want some respect back. I dressed in a snack bar this weekend. I thought about dressing at my car but I purposely used the snack bar because the assistant coach offered it and it was the best he had to offer. If I do not use it nothing better will ever be built because they figure you are already good to go The snack bar was not being used. We had air since it was 91 degrees. We had water and an outlet to charge my I-Phone. We had towels and a place to set a chair. We were steps away from the bathroom and the field. When it is 91 in April even 5 extra minutes of rest between games is helpful. I am not sure what a "Norma Jean" is, but I am sure you meant it as disrespect. You didrespected me and Big Ump, and my guess is you have very little self respect. It's all about respect.

Balk is one of the 10 original rules written by Bill Cartwright. It always has and always will be a pain in the ass. Ejections and arguements are part of the balk decisions. I do not like trick plays. Make a pitch and get the batter out. The U.I.C. is not set. This makes it harder to see a small infraction. We are not watching the game in slow motion. We can not see tiny body movements that may be a technical infraction. I have no commitment to pitch and a legal move to second base and an out. I also think it is horseSH*# and you should challenge the batter. Also, there is no requirement to make a jab step with your pivot foot before spinning and feinting to second as Balkhawk would suggest. By the way sir, when Bob Davidson is called "balking Bob", it is not a compliment. If you see a balk, call it, but do not hunt for them. Call it early in the game if you see it to establish a definition of what a balk will be in the game.

Running out if the running lane in itself is not illegal.you must interfere with the 1st baseman's attempt to "field" a throw. If the throw is rattling around the right field bullpen because the catcher threw poorly you do not have interference. You must interfere with a field able throw.

My guess is the catcher is going to say he moved over to give the runner room to touch home .he has his hands up and there is no play. Why would the catcher risk injury if there is no play. Do we know if the uic had a legal slide? The catcher is ejected for attacking someone from behind. The runner is also ejected for pushing the umpire in the back while trying to get to the catcher. I gave the bat toss a 3. I will never put my hands on a player unless he has a bat in his hands and is about to hit someone. You gotta give me a pay raise to break up fights. The coaches can break up the fight. 20 years after the fight it makes a good bar story.

Pacific Northwest. Disrespect may be to strong a word. Sometimes conditions are the way they are out of ignorance. Directors may not think a hellava lot about umpire safety, comfort, and convenience. They are trying to make money and keep parents happy so they will bring little Casey back next month to the next tournament. We tried 1 man without complaining for 1 season. No umpires made a big deal about it, but the director quickly realized that traveling teams expect not only 2 umpires, but 2 strong umpires on every game. They are highly motivated to win and they do not want to lose a trophy because of poor officiating. They are willing to pay the extra money to have a good experience it also made good sense to have happy umpires. We did not bitch but no one likes working alone. . As for high school games being worked by 1 man, that should never happen. If a school district can not afford 2 umpires for a short high school season it's time to shut the baseball program down. Umpires are a tiny part of a high school budget, and quit handing me 2 baseballs to start a game to save money. If we do not have money for the actual baseballs to have a smooth game without a delay because no one ordered enough baseballs and they are valued like gems then we need to take a look at priorities.if you can not afford 2 umpires for your ball games you do not have a baseball program. As for dressing rooms. A brand new high school was built in my area with a brand new ball field. It's a poor facility from day 1 without a real outfield fence with no hitter's eye and guess what? No umpire dressing room. I doubt that anyone, including the coach gave 1 thought to building a dressing room for the umpires. You just spent millions of taxpayer dollars on a new building and ya can't show a little love to the umpires? Here is what a crew needs. A secure room or small building with a lockable door. Air conditioning as needed. Heat of some source as needed. A bathroom with a mirror. A couch, or some chairs. Refrigerator. A place to hang your shirts and pants up. Water. I usually dress in a tool shed and once I hung my garment bag up on a nail and my bag came crashing down. No big deal to pick my bag up but I forgot to pack my hammer in my Jim Evans equipment bag. It's all disrespect. Hot, crowded parking lots to dress in and ," hey, you are your own partner. Maybe if you do a great job your partner will buy you a beer",

What do you think about carrying an electronic copy of the N.C.A. A. D.H. rule. I have a zippered pouch on the inside of my ball bag.

Thanks for the good info. I was going to say I would not ask U.I.C. for help because he is straight lined. Then your comments made me think I was considering asking the wrong question I knew I had a tag so I do not need that info, but I can ask about batter-runner foot on bag before tag. I want to get this myself without asking for help. I was 15 feet from bag. Maybe too close. I was in a standing set after an adjustment step on the poor throw.

Ground ball to F-5. Errant throw takes 1st baseman toward home and up in the air. 1st baseman tags batter-runner in back. Question- Did the tag occur before the batter-runner touched 1st base? Problem: how do you look high for the tag and Low for the foot on the bag at the same time. What I did: I read poor throw from f-5 I took an adjustment step to my left I watched f-3 tag batter-runner in back I pointed with my left arm and said, " yes, he got em on the back." I called the batter/runner out Not sure I got the call right. My distance from 1st base was around 15 feet and I did make 1 "adjustment" Step to my left. Got any suggestions?

We refused to work 1 man at our park and rec tournaments. When the director saw that we were serious he scheduled 2 umpires on every game at every age level.it worked for us and will work for you. I was the spearhead like a union leader.stop letting directors treat you with little respect. Demand fair wages and 2 man crews minimum. Every time you dress in a parking lot you are being disrespected.Be mature and professional, but speak out and stand up for yourselves.

What about eye contact?