lawump

We call the runner out for leaving early (or missing a base) without an appeal AT THE END OF ALL PLAYING ACTION. So, the timing plays are usually not very close. Of course, if the runner is trying to correct his error (i.e. he knows he left early and is actively trying to return to first to correct his error), then the defensive team does have to appeal before the runner retreats and touches first.

I don't have the complete history...what I recall: When I went to the Brinkman-Froemming Umpire School in 1997, at the end of the second-to-last day (after all the tests were done, etc.) Joe talked about how he worked the plate. He famously worked the knee in Game 6 of the 1995 World Series. Joe also famously worked the knee while being wwwaaaaaayyyyyy behind the catcher. He talked about the advantages of the knee (locks the head really well and prevents movement) and of being so far behind the catcher (he felt the extra distance forced him to be slower to process the pitch and rule on it...in other words, it helped his timing). He went on to discuss, however, how he took a lot of guff in the media over his stance and his distance behind the catcher. He stated that he started to get pressure from the League Office. As one can see from his famous ejection of Mike Hargrove and Doc Gooden in the ALDS in 1998, Joe's stance had totally changed to more of a heel/toe stance and being much closer to the catcher by 1998. And, in fact, he had changed in spring training 1997. So, to summarize, the media heat that umpires were taking about working the knee (that it looked "lazy" and didn't give the umpire a good view of the strike zone) eventually caused the league offices to start pressuring the "knee umpires" to switch. You can note that even Tim McClelland(who was rated as the "best" umpire in MLB by virtually every player/coaches' poll in the 1990's and 2000's...even though he worked the knee) changed his stance at the end of his career to more of a box. Of course, by the time I went to the MiLB (then known as "UDP") Development Course in 1997, every stance was outlawed by MiLB except the heel/toe for at least your first two years. HOWEVER, the National League at that time still preferred their umpires to use the scissors. Ed Vargo, the then supervisor of NL umpires was a staunch scissors guy. If Mr. Vargo happened to come to a minor league spring training game and call you to the fence and request to see you work the scissors (which happened often)...guess what you were going to do? If he told you afterwards, that he wants you to work the scissors going forward...guess what you were going to do? Also, MiLB umpires who had, had their options purchased by the NL were working the scissors in their (usually) AAA games. As everyone knows, the umpiring staffs were eventually combined. Mr. Vargo was out of a job. Some studies indicated that the use of the scissors may lead to head/neck issues, so the MLB Office pretty much banned the scissors for all new guys; only old guys could be grandfathered in. And, of course, by the time this happened, the knee had already gone out-of-fashion for the reasons set forth above. That is my understanding. And, yes, I work the scissors.

This year, I believe.

On a foul ball off the batter...yes. On the others, no. For starters, a "foul tip" cannot be dropped (but I digress). As discussed above, I will discuss in the pre-game meeting that I may give my partner (plate umpire) what I have (caught vs. uncaught) by means of a subtle signal (open hand vs. fist), but that is just to assist him with making the call. Those are his calls. I will, however, use the voluntary strike on a check swing when appropriate as discussed in other umpire mechanics books...even though that is not mentioned in the NFHS book.

A new one for me...I ejected the PA Announcer/Player of Music in a high school game. Would not stop playing music during live balls...including twice starting to play music when the visiting team's pitcher had commenced his delivery (causing the pitcher to abruptly stop (which, of course, risks injury)). My plate umpire warned the box on multiple occasions and told the head coach to send someone up to the box to explain to him the issue and to cease and desist. Finally, on the last time, I (as crew chief) yelled at him that it was the last warning, he replied (over the microphone), "I need 15 seconds!" (apparently that's how long he thought he had a right to play music...regardless of whether the ball had been made live). And that's when I replied, "shut it down! No more announcements or music the rest of the night," while making a slashing motion across my throat. I got no arguments from anyone associated with the home team or their school. One school personnel called the PA Announcer "a clown" to us after the game. LOL

Um, they passed a rule without thinking it through. Then the umpires told it was a disaster, so they just issued opinions at the annual coach's clinic that made it clear that it applied only to missed bases and leaving too soon (when the runner was not actively trying to correct his mistake). When I write "just issued opinions" I mean verbal opinions at pre-season clinics. I really think this rule is on its last legs. There are a number of constituencies working to end it. We're getting closer.

Yes. It is in the South Carolina High School League's (SCHSL) rule book (which is called the "AD Notebook" on their website (www.schsl.org) ). It reads, simply, "Dead ball appeals will not be recognized".

Or move to South Carolina! 😳😂😳😂

Although, I have seen umpires who are so bad that coaches just stop arguing. The coaches literally give up. Those umpires are literally so bad, but think they're doing great because they have almost no arguments. They're having fun. I'm being totally serious in saying this. There was an umpire in our area of the country who was nowhere near good enough to work NCAA Division 1 baseball. But, somehow, someway, he kept getting games. In one game, he was calling strikes on pitches that were literally causing dirt clouds to form. The third base/head coach (who won a damn NCAA title in Omaha) just mumbled to U3, "I'd go argue, but what's the point. He's been horrible for ten years; ain't no amount of yelling going to change that and I don't want to get suspended." You could argue that U3 (not me) should have ejected him for calling his partner horrible. But should you really EJ when it is painfully obvious to the other umpires on the crew that the HC was not wrong??? LOL.

In a sense, I feel your pain, HumblePie. If one learned OBR through the Jaksa/Roder Manual (which I did as that was the textbook at the umpire school I attended), one would be banging their head up against the wall reading this approved ruling. J/R went to great lengths to differentiate between a pitch and throw...and took great pains to use the correct term each time...and that Manual would never used the language used in the "APPROVED RULING". (FWIW, J/R also went to great lengths to differentiate between a "catch" and merely "gloving the ball", too.) However, this is mostly semantics as the full language of the rule and MLBUM make clear how to handle a balk followed by a wild pitch.

Okay...now I'll share my actual story. I'm open to criticism. This is the only illegal substitute I've ever had in nearly 25-years of calling FED baseball. High school game I'm the plate umpire. Game is being played between region (conference) rivals; both of whom are state championship caliber programs (they've each won titles and they're contenders every year). I'm not posting that information in an attempt to impress anyone with the fact that I was umpiring such a game. Rather, it is an attempt to convey in words (which is hard to do) the atmosphere of the game. (Intense game with a large and loud crowd.) This was also a very well-played game (as one would expect) that was moving at a good pace (the game was in a "defensive flow".) Late in the game (I believe bottom of the 6th), the home team's leadoff hitter got a single. The head coach (coaching third base) started walking down the line and said, "Sully, 26 is going to courtesy run". I took out my line-up cards and started to review. FWIW, I write the courtesy runners (and charged conferences) on the back of the lineup cards. I did a quick glance and saw that 26 had not been a CR previously. So, I wrote (in shorthand), "26 CR F2, 6th". Lo and behold, two pitches later the visiting head coach comes out of the dugout and says, "Sully, can he do that?" To which I replied, "do what?" The coach said, "number 26 was used as a pinch runner back in the second inning." (Aside: the teams knew that runs would be at a premium. So, when the home team had a big, slow kid near the bottom of the batting order get on base in the second inning, they used 26 as a pinch runner.) Now, should I have remembered that 26 was used as a pinch runner in the second? Maybe. The fact is that I did not. And the reason I did not is that I was totally focused on balls & strikes and outs & safes due to the competitiveness of the game. Should I have checked the front side of lineup card to make sure that 26 had not appeared in the game previously in some other capacity other than as a CR? Maybe. But, first, I wanted to keep the flow of the game going. I just glanced at my CR notes on the back of my card and moved forward. Second, I did (and still do) expect the coaches to know that you cannot use a player who had already appeared in the game in another capacity as a CR. So there you go...there is my actual illegal substitute play. As for the resolution? The good news is that having earned the respect of most head coaches in my area over the last 20+ years (and having a good working relationship with almost all of them), the home head coach heard the visiting team's head coach's protest. When I turned around to start walking toward the home team head coach, he walked towards me and just said, "I F*#Ked up didn't I?" I said, "yes." He asked what the penalty was, and I told him, and he simply said, "I'll never make that mistake again." We've laughed about it several times since then.

The case play says "...if R1 chooses not to slide, R1 must veer away from the base if the fielder is there attempting a play." My initial thought in reading your post was that the word "veer" could mean ducking as that would be getting out of the way. However, that is not what the casebook says. It reads, "veer away from the base". I don't think ducking would be "away from the base". If anything, his head would actually be closer to the physical location of the base as a result of ducking. So the lawyer in me says that the only way one can give substance to the phrase "away from the base" is by holding that if he doesn't slide, he must avoid by physically moving away from the base. Ducking obviously doesn't move one away from the base.

Let me take these four questions in order: (1) You're not punishing the team for the umpire's screw-up. You're punishing the team for their own screw up. Teams are required to know the rules. The fact that the umpire didn't preventatively catch the team about to break a rule (even if you believe the umpire should have) does not remove the requirement that the team is not allowed to break the rules (in this case, the courtesy runner rule). (2) A player who violates the courtesy runner rule is an illegal substitute. (See Paragraph 7 of the Suggested Speed-Up Rules on Pg. 67 of the 2025 rulebook and 2-36-3 (e)). An illegal substitute, unlike batting out of order, may be discovered by either team or "by an umpire" (3-1-1). So, if the umpire catches it two pitches down the line, the CR will be called "out" and restricted to the dugout for the remainder of the game. (3) No, the plate umpire is not supposed to stay silent. See (2), supra. and 3-1-1. (4) Yes, I'd call the runner out and restrict him to dugout for the remainder of the game. I will add: In my opinion, it is not even the umpire's screw up. If the umpire can catch it and can prevent it...great. But, it is not the umpire's fault if he doesn't; umpires are not required to pro-actively prevent teams from violating rules they may not fully understand. The primary reason you make notations and records on your lineup card is not to prevent rules violations (though commendable, that's a secondary reason) it is so you have a record that you can refer to in case you are requested to adjudicate a potential rules violation. The teams are supposed to know the rules and not violate them. If a team is saved by an umpire who happens to have done a great job and caught a potential violation before it occurred...then they are lucky. But if not, they are not off the hook because an umpire didn't do the team's job for them. I will further add: With respect to your comment, "I wouldn't punish them for my mistake and I would fix it on the spot,"...then you would likely lose a protest should the other team protest. At least you would in my state.

Instead of saying who can't be the CR (there are eight players who cannot have a CR), say the two that can. (I apologize for the incorrect number when quoting you...the system did it automatically and I cannot change the "1" back to a "5".)

Not as catchy but I would replace with: "All overthrows are two bases (except by a pitcher in-contact with the rubber which is one) either from the time-of-the-pitch or the time-of-the throw." (I apologize for the incorrect number when quoting you...the system did it automatically and I cannot change the "1" back to a "10".)