refump10

IIRC, there's a case in the FED ruleset that has R1 touching the plate and then trucking F2 who was standing on the other side of the plate. I don't have my books with me, but I believe the run scores and R1 is EJ. Don't know about NCAA or OBR modified

Around here (Kentucky) HS is paid by voucher with a check a week to a month out depending on the school. Summer ball is all handled by an association, they send out check every two weeks. Seems to work pretty good.

Reminds me of a time I put my mask in the freezer before we went out for a game in the middle of a five-game set in July about 25 years ago. I don't even remember what kind of mask I had then, but it had cloth pads that would absorb sweat. I thought it would be great to put that mask on and it be nice and cool. Thank goodness I didn't take any shots; they didn't thaw out until the fifth inning

Noump; I was over-thinking it. Looked back at some other posts from the past, and it got me thinking way too much.

Ah, the ole stee-ball. I hate those. I had a 3-2 count on my indicator last weekend, but something told me that it was off for whatever reason. Next pitch, "ball". F2 throws back to F1, batter digs in for the next pitch. Next pitch; he hit it about nine miles.

Thanks, noump. I'm just thinking that if the ODB picked up (intentionally) then we should kill the play right then. R2 was already on the way to third, he just hadn't reached the bag yet. He was moving on the throw to the plate, and would have made third in the absence of anything else happening. Then we have the interference. Do we use our discretion in placing him or send him back to 2nd? Trying to go through the book, just haven't found it yet.

Agree. I got nothing unless he picked it up or intentionally let the ball hit him. Let's expand it a bit: let's say he picked the ball up for some reason. Would you still give the runner 3B? I'm thinking if he hadn't reached 3B, you have to send him back to 2B, because that was the base he occupied at TOI.

Scully is the best... Jon Miller is also excellent. Marty Brennaman at Cincinnati is right there with them

+1 Maven. I've never had a coach approach me like this. Probably because I hustle and try to be in position and do things the "right way", just like most of the people I ever have as a partner. That said, we have all seen umpires who lack a little in the hustle department and don't always give 110%. Coach, if you decide you can't live with it, I would think Maven's approach is probably best. It sounds like your way worked this time. Good for you, and good for the guys working to take it the way you hoped. I can only imagine the other side of the coin though...

Thanks for the clarification, guys. Good stuff.

Noumpere, just asking for clarification; is there a limitation to stopping at the mound "on the way by"? I was instructed that if he just flips the ball to F1 and has a couple of words, no problem, but if it goes beyond that we charge it. Similar to what Rich said.

Yes, I saw that, but they also allow an EH, XH, or a team to hit the whole line up, if they so choose, and mandate a courtesy runner for the pitcher and catcher with two outs. Not being argumentative (just whining a little) :crybaby2:Perfect Game's rules deviations are spelled out better, just have to piece together bits from three rule sets; FED mostly, but NCAA slide rule, OBR pitching rule. The team that was arguing for the balk got it called on them the week before at a USSSA tourney. One of the coaches told me that after the dust settled. I told him that I'm not sure, but I thought U-trip uses OBR, so that's why it might have been called. Or the umps just kicked it, not sure, but tonight it's not a balk. What really got their radar up was that I balked their pitcher two innings before for not stopping. So I guess balks were on their radar.

Kentucky. I guess my irritation stems from the lack of clarity of the exceptions/deviations of the rules. I've looked on both the organizations' websites, and Pastime spends a lot of time outlining how bracket seedings are done and the refund policy, but very little on under which set of rules they want to use.

Been doing some Perfect Game and Pastime tourneys the past few weekends. It's been pretty good baseball for the most part, but one thing that has been driving me crazy is the way the organizers "tweak" the rules. For the most part, they seem to use FED rules with a few "exceptions", such as the using the "pro" pitching rule, the NCAA FPSR, etc. We had a sitch over the weekend with R1, R3 and the pitcher does the old 31 move. Of course, the offense HC immediately starts yelling for a balk. I explained we are using FED rules and that's still legal. He says that is an exception for the tournament and asks me to go to the site director for clarification, and adds that the site director has told a couple of his parents its a balk. This is where it gets fun. I go to the site director and ask him what rule set we are playing under again. He says "high school rules, but that's a balk. They changed the rules this year." Of course a couple of the parents hear that and start braying. I told him no, that's only applicable in pro ball and that unless there is a tournament specific rule prohibiting it, then there is no balk. We get the game done, and I'm walking out when I spy the Site Director. He comes over and tells me that, yeah, he got it mixed up and that move is still legal, sorry bout that. I was so mad I didn't say a word. Just thanked him for taking care of us and see you down the road. For those that have been doing these tournaments, do you recurring problems with the rule sets? Had another situation a couple weeks ago where the TD calls me over to say there's a problem with one of the team's lineups. he says, they can't DH for the center fielder. This is after I asked him pointedly what rule set we are playing by and what exceptions there are. He says none, then 15 minutes later hits me with this one. Just venting, but it seems the games would be so much better if they'd just leave the rules alone.

Okay thanks! Did a quick search but thought I'd check. I understand with two outs but I'm seeing it with none or 1 out. Personally, I just don't feel comfortable doing it with less than two outs.

I've been working a lot of travel ball tourneys and the like with a lot of new partners who I don't know since I'm new to the area. One thing I've noticed is that with runners on 2nd and 3rd, many of my partners are setting up in B instead of C. A couple of these guys I chalked up to being relatively new and not knowing any better. But a couple of those guys are doing DIII and NAIA. Is this some new option that I missed during my long hiatus from the game?

It's been following me this week. Wednesday, top 7, tie game, I'm PU. I just get settled into the slot a F1 comes set. My partner yells "Time! Lightning!" The usual grumbles about "it's only heat lightning",etc. We pull em off, go to our cars. 10 minutes later Home skipper comes over and says both teams agree to go ahead and bang it cause they both have to travel the next day for tournaments. Last night, we are in the bottom of the second. Loud roll of thunder. "Time!" pull em off. One of the coaches hits us with its only thunder, not lightning. Sorry pal, gonna be thirty minutes. 20 minutes later somebody upstairs opened the spigot. Home in time for dinner with a full game fee.

Close one. But, the thing that really jumped out at me in the video is the work Jerry Layne did by getting the players away from the conversation between DiMuro and Washington.

Got a tournament this weekend that's using the NCAA FPSR. Can anybody give me a Readers' Digest version of the differences between NCAA and FED? I'm all over the FED rule, but not sure about NCAA.

Been reading this with some interest, since I work as an insurance agent. As Major said, essentially anybody can sue anybody for anything. Does that mean there is a good chance of winning the case? Not necessarily, but the legal bills can rack up quickly. One of the biggest values this insurance offers is the "duty to defend". That means in the case of the lawsuit, the insurance company hires the attorney to defend the client (in this case the umpire) in the event he is sued. The insurance company doesn't do this because they believe (or not) the story their client tells. They do this to avoid a larger settlement or judgment in court. In my state, part of our high school state dues pays for liability insurance. This covers us as officials as long as we are working in a sport for which we are registered with the State Association; it doesn't necessarily have to be a high school event, either. It can carry over to summer ball, house leagues, etc. I don't have the time or inclination right now to go look it up for all the details, but your friend might check this out if he is also a high school umpire. He might have some coverage through his state association. Also, your friend, if he owns his house, may have some coverage under the Personal Liability section of his homeowners' policy. Not sure about that and different states and different companies can have different coverages and exclusions. Just my .02

I'd guess this type of thing has happened to all of us. My rule of thumb on this is first do nothing: I try to read the players' reactions to the play. Often the fielders or runner(s) will tip you off. If in doubt, I call it fair. My reasoning is that if I call it foul immediately, it's foul forever. If I call it fair, I can go to my partner if need be and try to get some help, but the play is all on me as the PU. If we determine that the ball is foul, then we just return any runners and the batter back to where they were at TOP. Either way, I'm gonna have some 'splainin to do to one of the coaches. And if I do have to go to my partner, no coach is going to go talk to him. It's my play, and I'm going to take the s$!tstorm that comes with it. Also the beer is on me after the game!

Thanks Maven! I need to order the OBR, but just haven't gotten around to it. That's why I have you guys!

Working a tourney this weekend using OBR rules. I know the second visit in an inning requires replacing the pitcher. What if the manager comes out again in the same inning? Do the reliever have to be replaced, or does each pitcher get one "free" trip? Been a long time since I've done anything with OBR.

Varsity game last night. Cruising along with a pretty good game between two decent teams. Felt like my zone was good and I was tracking the ball really well. Bottom of the 5th, new pitcher for VT, throws a 55-footer and it catches me in the bicep. Ouch! But life goes on. I hear from the VT dugout: " good block Billy!" (I'm not Billy). Next batter, another 55-footer fastball, another shot, this time to my thigh that also gets the Nutty Buddy. Ouch! "Good block Billy!" (Again, I'm not Billy) We get to the bottom of the 6th, and yup, 55-footer bounces up and catches by forearm. Ouch, Hell! "good block Billy!" Billy turns to me and says "Boy, those pitches sure are bouncing funny". Yeah, sure are, Billy. Got a couple of sore places this morning.

Had it happen two weeks ago in a JV game. Pitch coming in, swing and miss, ball hits the batter's shoulder then his face! Had to listen to two howler dads behind the screen for the next three innings moan about it.