Kevin_K

Don't overthink and don't insert scenarios that aren't in the question(s). U1 starts behind F3. Batted ball passes F3. Fair batted ball hits U1. F3 grabs the ball before it hits the ground. Make your call.

It can. I have had at least one situation where a HC really really wanted to get a game in and the weather was simply not cooperating. The mound was a mess and the batters boxes had standing water in them. After inspecting the field with my partner we spoke with both head coaches and one was insisting that the field was playable and everyone else recognized the situation for what it was. In the mean time, the rain kept falling. My partner and I explained that we felt the field was unsuitable and posed a significant risk to pitchers and batters alike. I mentioned that once the game started that the umpires had sole discretion to stop play and that if he wanted the game to start it would, but then it would be terminated after the 1st pitch. He finally recognized the folly of his position. Most people are reasonable when it comes to the safety of the players. The rule is more applicable to calling games prior to the teams and umpires arriving for a game at a field that would never be playable.

I too am a volleyball official and I have found over the years that volleyball has replaced baseball in my hierarchy of sports. When I first started I did not understand the basics of the game and was simply watching the game from the sideline. I now have a far better understanding of the strategies, the nuances, and the intricacies of the game that has allowed me to become an official who is considered to be a true volleyball official rather than a converted (other sport) official who decide to switch over to volleyball because, as so many people inform me, it's easy. @SeeingEyeDog is so right in his description of the atmosphere of a volleyball match. It's worth considering that I have never been at a volleyball match where it was raining, it was so cold that I looked like Randy from A Christmas Story, and had participants who barked the entire match about a call/non-call in the very first rally. If you try it you may like it. And then you might reserve 75% of your available spring days for an inside sport that never gets rained out!.

That's on the NJ coach for not knowing the rule as well isn't it?

Perhaps I wasn't paying attention. Wouldn't be the first time. The NCAA made it clear it was looking for someone to replace George Drouches, who was leaving the post. In March the NCAA named Scott Cline as the baseball umpiring coordinator after a national search. When did the NCAA indicate that Cline withdrew from the position? Last I heard was on ESPN from the commentators that Cline wouldn't be on the field any longer and this year's Championship was his swan song. Apparently, in July Cline took the position as the AACC Supervisor of Baseball umpires. What aren't we hearing and why didn't the NCAA open up the search again (or did they) ?

Oh the irony of a shin guard with Oscar the Grouch!

I like this approach sometimes.

This may be a great example of using the rule book to create a problem rather than using it to solve a problem.

Too far up/down to be that far out

I think you may have just pwned @Richvee

At the risk of sounding like a d-bag..... @Richvee and @Replacematt are going back and forth on a hypothetical situation. One might say a unicorn of a play. It seems like a lot of time and effort on something discussed here once in 8 years and probably never in any of their games. The conversation on this thread is taking the same arc as the one from 2017. And the logic from then was once the UI occurs the other stuff doesn't matter. That hasn't changed.

I think there is some over thinking with this. If UI precedes the BI, use the remedy under UI. Using BI places the offense at a disadvantage and provides the defense a significant advantage for something neither had a part in creating Can you explain this further? If F2 is not making a play how there by interference? if F2 isn't hindered how can there be a call of either UI or BI? Or I am just being obtuse?

My thought is that if my actions started the interference that's where I start with assessing how to fix the problem. If I didn't interfere would the runner have been retired? We'll never know. Ergo, I cannot assume the runner would not have been retired because of BI. By using UI there is a rule based resolution to the runner not being retired that does not include any speculation of what could have happened.

I would probably go with the order of hinderance. If my actions started the process of interference it seems to make sense that it should be the first decision to make on how to adjudicate the results of F2's actions. This has no basis in any case play that I am aware of. I am using the common sense approach which also offers the best foundation of an explanation when some one wants to discuss the results of the play.

I think I might have seen a tag.

As our resident @maven suggests on a regular basis, interference is akin to hinderance. No hinderance means no interference.

An interesting conversation with Patrick and Bob Leader from the NFHS rules committee https://youtu.be/KlZQSgRXUMM?si=zhYeGHitEFnRr-SV

It's important to understand this is much easier done in retrospect than in real time. I know I have made the call and regretted it because in Fed there is no recourse once the words leave your mouth.

I might have a conversation between innings with their HC under the guise of looking at the lineup card and letting him know that if he does not take care of his dugout that I will.

fuhgeddaboudit!

Discussed here also:

Many moons ago I found myself teaching across the hall from a local baseball legend - coach, umpire, MLB scout - who was a career teacher. As such, he understood the unfortunate necessity of having many irons in the fire to keep the revenue stream consistent. He officiated volleyball in the off season from baseball. He suggested that I give it a whirl and put me in contact with the local VB officials association. While enrolled in the cadet class I discovered that most schools in my area have girls volleyball in the fall. I found that I really enjoyed the game and the vast majority of the people associated with the game. As an added bonus, there have been no rainouts, the gyms are never too cold to play volleyball, and most parents have little real knowledge of the game. I think I have had some success in the game. Over more then 20 years, I have had the chance to work multiple state finals, the tournament of state champions, and many other top level matches. This year my association elected me as its president and I hope to bring a lot of the same things I have learned in umpiring to volleyball that seem to be lacking - like nice looking shoes, clean shirts, and an attention to mechanics that offer everyone some credibility even if they aren't very good. Over the last 10 years or so I have mixed boys volleyball into my spring calendar. I believe this has made me better as an umpire because I don't feel burned out from the day after day of calling balls and strikes because I almost never get a base job. The boys also make me a better girls volleyball official because the boys game is so much faster than the girls. It is definitely not less mainstream around here and I think if more people watched or played volleyball they would find that it has strategies, teamwork, skill positions and competition that matches any other team sport. Find a volleyball group and join it! You will not regret it!

I have turf shoes and I have non-turf shoes. The non-turf shoes are New Balance mid-cut V3 and I clean them between every game with a vegetable brush, Dawn, and warm water. The mesh is a pain in the backside to get really clean. I then use an Armor All product (I have been sworn to secrecy) to bring an extreme shine to the shoe. Overnight it all sets up, and, voila!

🏐Volleyball! 🏐

The video for the visit/no visit is below. It seems like the offensive time out hand ended since the LSU player was in the batters box. Vitello was making his way to the mound when he was intercepted by U2. The video starts at 8:58 with the visit of Tennessee pitching coach when #50 is already in the game as F1. The Vitello visit seems like it should have been the second visit to the same pitcher. I wonder what the conversation centered on with the SEC command center to determine that a second visit should not have been charged and F1 removed.