DevildogUmp

Because the Fed interpretation is that a prior to obtaining 1st base, a BR cannot be considered abandoning his attempt until he enters deadball territory. 2023 Rules Interpretation Situation 11 : The batter hits a fly ball to deep right field, which the batter believes is caught and turns and heads to the dugout. Halfway to the dugout, bench personnel get the batter-runner to realize the ball is in play and the batter-runner begins to advance. The defensive head coach tells the umpires that the batter-runner should be declared out since the batter-runner “abandoned” the effort to advance. RULING: The batter-runner has not abandoned the effort and may begin to advance. As on a dropped third strike, the batter-runner is not considered to have abandoned the effort until the batter-runner enters the bench or dugout area. (8-4-1i

But the catcher can wear tinted glasses or goggles under their mask. I am not trying to be difficult here, I just don't see the logic in what is banned and what is ok (I know, welcome to FED rules).

I want to know when and where 16 happened and if there is video of the crew working that one out.

I don't know if it a safety thing in regards to the eye shield coming detached. If that was the case, why are clear eye shields installed by the manufacturer allowed? SITUATION 1: The catcher has purchased a new hockey-style catcher’s helmet. The helmet (a) was purchased with a tinted, attached eye shield, or (b) the catcher later purchased a clear eye shield and had it installed. RULING: In both (a) and (b), the helmet is not legal for use. Eye shields attached after manufacture are not permitted. Legal eye shields, attached at the time of manufacture, must be clear without the presence of any tint. (1-5-4)

So, Indiana's rules interpretation video for this year that all umpires and coaches are required to attend came out today. The powers that be in Indiana were nice enough to inform us that catchers are no longer restricted to one-piece masks, that 2-piece masks are allowed as long as both ears are protected. Has anyone actually ever seen a 2-piece (mask fully detaches from helmet) catcher's mask that meets NOCSAE standards? I don't see any in the lists provided by SEI. According to the standard, it is possible; however, the mask must have a statement "WARNING: THIS FACEGUARD DOES NOT COMPLY WITH NOCSAE REQUIREMENTS UNLESS IT IS ATTACHED TO A HELMET SPECIFICALLY LISTED BY THE MANUFACTURER AND WHICH BEARS THE NOCSAE CATCHER’S LOGO." and I don't see that fitting anywhere on a catcher's mask. I can just see a coach saying "the state said it was good as long as the helmet covers the ears" ignoring the part (because the official video doesn't cover it" that the mask and helmet must have been tested together to maintain the NOCSAE approval.

Also, under FED malicious contact is an immediate dead ball (5-1-m) so you don't have to worry about any other runners continuing to run the bases.

I would say because the timing matters: 1. Status of ball (fair/foul) is determined the instant it is touched by the fielder. 2. Catch/no catch is determined after the fielder has shown possession and voluntary release. Fly ball touched in the area of the foul line as the fielder is moving into foul ground and juggling the ball. If the ball is touched fair, you need to make the call then not a minute later when the fielder ends up dropping the ball. Plus, remember in a tag up situation, runners don't have to wait for the catch/no catch determination. They can advance on first touch. So when the umpire is calling fair/foul, he is also letting the runner(s) know he has a touch and they could advance.

I think 5.11(a)(5) only pertains if the DH is coming into the game on defense while the pitcher remains in the game. Also, only 1 person is coming into the game so the manager doesn't get an option of moving people around in the lineup. Therefore, even under OBR I believe the umpire was correct. The sub entered for the 1st baseman so he bats in the 1st baseman's spot in the lineup, the starting pitcher moved to a defensive postition, eliminating the DH and now must bat in that spot in the lineup. Matt

Yes, defensive players can always allow a ball to drop untouched to the ground. The intentionally dropped ball (like IFF), is in place to ensure that the offense is not placed into a no-win situation and allow the defense to grab a "cheap" double play. Allowing the ball to drop untouched can be a gamble, since the ball could take a weird bounce leaving the defense with no play. Additionally, the "intentionally" part is the key - we are looking for a fielder to glove the ball and control it to the ground so they can quickly pick it back up and get that double play. Matt

In regard to the Phillies/Mariners game with the BR knocking the ball out of F3's glove, if in real time you judge the BR caused the dropped ball and you are getting the out, is there a mechanic to communicate this? Would you use the "on the transfer" mechanic or are you calling him out with the ball flying off into foul territory and then having to have the conversation with the manager when he comes storming out? Matt

Your partner should have come off the line and come in towards the bag. 99.9% of the time BU holds the line in A is if he has a fair/foul call to make. For almost every other call A is the complete wrong place to take calls at 1st base. With F3 crashing on the ball, he has 3 possible plays: swipe tag, soft toss to F3 or F1, or a foot race to the bag. For all three of these BU needs to be closer to the bag and at an angle to see, not sitting on the line. With no one on, why are you moving into the working area as PU? The swipe tag you can help on is on the back or side of the B/R - best place to see that is up the line right behind the play. Additionally, from the working area, you really can't help with a pulled foot or follow-on responsibility of an overthrow. Matt

For your lefty, if all he is doing is lifting is pivot foot up and placing it back down, he is not disengaging. In order to disengage the rubber, the pitcher must step backwards off of the rubber. Balk all day, every day. If he is properly disengaging, he must separate his hands prior to reengaging the rubber. If steps back onto the rubber with his hands together, call time and tell him not to do it. For your righty, a pitcher is set once all motion has stopped. Think the toe tappers, as long as something is moving, then he can keep moving. As long as he is moving, he can rock as many times as he wants and vary the number of times he rocks. Once everything has stopped, the first rock better be the start of his delivery or a pick off move. -Matt

Ump242, You said this was little league is it an official Little League International league? The reason I ask is if it is you might want to let them know that if they are going to put out their games on social media, they probably should make sure they are not violating any of Little League International's safety rules: 1. Coach warming up a pitcher at ~1:01 mark 2. The second catcher for the purple team not wearing a dangling throat protector As the umpire you need to address this since you will not be covered by Little League if something were to happen when not following a safety rule. -Matt

So, you have a deep enough hit that B2 ended up with a triple and R1 who made it around 2nd, was obstructed, around 3rd, fell down, got back up, started to retreat to third, then went home and was only put out "on a close play (fewer than 2 steps)" and you didn't judge that without the obstruction he would have scored? The penalty for obstruction is to place runners as to nullify the act of obstruction. Obviously, it is a judgement call, but the way you describe the action, if he wasn't obstructed, I'm pretty sure he would have scored so the nullification is award him home. To answer the question, you are only protecting the obstructed runner to the base you judge the runner would have reached absent the obstruction (with the NFHS caveat that it is a minimum of 1 base beyond the last legally acquired base). This protection may change as the play develops.

Senor Azul, I think that your case play cite does not apply for the original situation. In a FPSR the runner is out for the illegal slide, there is no clause that I can find absolving the runner of an illegal slide if he/she ends up being safe at the base: NFHS 2020 rulebook: 8-4-2 (B) Any runner is out when he does not legally slide and causes illegal contact and/or illegally alters the actions of a fielder in the immediate act of making a play, or on a force play, does not slide in a direct line between the bases... PENALTY: The runner is out. Interference is called and the ball is dead immediately. On a force-play slide with less than two outs, the runner is declared out, as well as the batter-runner. In my mind, if the runner slides through the bag, then made another motion and interfered with F6 we would invoke 8.4.1. Situation D. For the original play, in my opinion, the runner is still bound by the requirements of the FPSR legal slide if he slides through the bag into F6 running at the bag because he went beyond the base and made contact with the fielder (Illegal slide 2-32-2c) as part of his forced advance to the base. Matt

So a Facebook post was discussing positioning between innings and I saw a few people post how they stand on the offensive foul line as the plate umpire so they can let the on deck batter know how many pitches are left. Is this something taught at schools? I've never given the on deck batter the number of pitches left. They know it is time to come up when the catcher throws down (at least in the games/levels I do) and if they aren't moving towards the plate on the throwdown, I'm calling for them as I go to sweep the plate. Matt

Little league game and there is yelling and swearing from a participant with the crowd? I'm stopping that game until the board member on duty (regular season) or TD (tournament) takes care of the problem. If the coach is swearing at a little league game he has just informed me that he doesn't want to be there anymore. If there are no league reps present, I'm pretty sure I can get the cooperation of the other coaches that the game will not continue until the coach and spectator leave. And yes, definitely going to be a pretty detailed report to the board about what I saw/heard. Matt

The World Baseball Softball Confederation appoints them. The WBSC was created by the merger of the International Baseball Federation (IBF) and International Softball Federation (ISF) in 2013 and headquartered in Switzerland. WBSC has 3 levels of umpires: A, B, C. 'A' umpires can work the baseball world cup, the Olympic umpires were chosen from this pool of umpires based on their evaluations over the past 3 years. Matt

Max, what is the IFF signal over the right shoulder? The only 2 IFF signals I have ever learned or seen is the arm across the chest (old and discontinued) and the brim of the hat, Matt

First there is no rule that says a umpire must get help on any rule. Umpires are encouraged to get the call right, but that is not a license for a coach to shop calls. Lots of information missing from this situation. Where was BU? If I'm in A and there is no weird action that may have blocked my view there is no way I am entertaining going to my partner 40' or more away for help. It is my call. If I am in 'B' or 'C', I might agree to go for help, but I would have to have my own doubt on whether I saw everything. Second, the coach's response is very close to the line for me. If there have been other issues during the game or the coach has already been warned, that statement might be enough for the coach to leave early. Coaches do not direct what umpires do or don't do, they can request that umpires get together, but whether or not a defensive player held the bag is a judgement call and you really don't win yourself friends arguing a judgement call. Matt

ArchAngel - LL a runner must slide or attempt to avoid contact of a fielder in possession of the ball and waiting to make a tag. The bolded sections are the ones that everyone always forgets.

Wow do any other states besides Texas have umpires in the Southwest region?

So, video on YouTube getting some argument in regards to the following play: OBR R3/2 outs - pop fly on the 3rd base line, R3 interferes catcher while the ball is still in the air for 3rd out. No problems there. The question is who leads off the next inning and does it matter if the ball was touched fair or foul after the interference. When I started digging this is what I think I found: 1. The interference rule doesn't actually place the batter-runner at first when the interference with a fielder occurs prior to him reaching 1st - "Penalty for Interference: The runner is out and the ball is dead. If the umpire declares the batter, batter-runner, or a runner out for interference, all other runners shall return to the last base that was in the judgement of the umpire legally touched at the time of interference."(page 65) - even though it is done in practice. 2. When a fair ball touches a runner prior to touching an infielder, by rule we place the batter-runner at 1st - 5.05(b)(4) 3. On an infield fly with interference, we wait for the fair/foul status to rule on whether to get 2 or put the batter back in the box (infield fly definition) So everything in my gut says the fair/foul status of this hit needs to be determined to make the correct ruling: 1. If fair, the BR completed his at-bat, because he was placed at first due to runner's interference with the catcher. 2. If foul, the BR did not complete his at-bat, because it was a foul ball and he leads off the next inning. My problem is that I can't find anything that backs up my gut. Am I looking in the wrong places or am I just wrong? Matt

I'm going with you kicking it. Think of it this way, if the catcher threw the ball down to third because he saw the runner "sauntering" before you called time, would you have disallowed the out? For your second point, there is no pause button on the baseball field, just because the pitcher has the ball runners are not required to do anything. The rule specifically states that the pitcher must be on the rubber, not "close enough to the pitchers plate" and the catcher must be in a position to receive the pitch (mask on, facing the pitcher) and at that point, it is a violation for the runner(s) to leave a base they are standing on. If a runner is moving between bases at that time he/she gets to keep going as long as they can. You posted the third one while I was typing. The case play you gave is completely different. In this case the plate umpire caused the confusion by declaring it ball four. Once that mistake was realized and corrected, an umpire is allowed and should always correct any outs or advancements that were caused by the umpires improper call. In your OP you stated that you twice gave the correct count to the field that it was only ball 3, at that point it is on the players/coaches to continue to play it out. Matt

When the umpire judges that the batter made an attempt to swing.