Out&UglyToo

Apologies - not trolling this computer is this computer is getting messed up. First the yahoo account went crazy and things are now getting o I tried to make a new account and now{taking too lonOK - I'm getting hacked or a virus

Thanks, I was away from baseball for 14 or 15 years due to an injury, but I'm starting to recall it. Dead ball in FED (so "No pitch" is the ruling), delayed DB in OBR and many others.

That is why bases loaded or 2 runners on (any base) with one out is a time play. The PU has to stay home, BU has all the bases. On a break-down play that ends up an inning-ending double play, R2 may be a close one. That run may determine the game. We, as umpires, should try very hard to get this concept right. The appeal 3rd out, or in the rare 4th out case, erases runs scored AFTER that runner, not runners AHEAD of the successfully appealed runner.

My mistake - I thought I comprehended his initial stupidity. He's a coach. Duh!

Maven - what if the batter misinterprets this and swings at the ball? Also, what if he does disengage and the batter swings at the ball?

Is there an app for a .500 S&W for my iPhone yet? I think a cell phone is rather intimidating when the coach realizes that I have recorded the conversation and videorecorded him doing the "Funky Chicken" dance or kicking dirt on my shoes while arguing a judgement call. I can leave him in the game after he thinks I can blackmail him like that - unless he's stupid beyond comprehension, he should behave himself after that. Maybe I'll actually start carrying a phone...it just seems like that would be so much fun! Ahh, back to baseball.

Agree. Little League Baseball (2016) rule to cite is Rule 4.19 (g) "Minor League. Local leagues can adopt a rule that protests must be resolved before the next pitch or play." Anyone, please post any other rules from other books. Thank you.

Thank you for the video clip, Rich. That was very unfortunate for the Texas club. Shin Soo Choo had that base stolen free and clean. Fielder was out of the way before the throw. It may well have been ruled NOT interference. The catcher had ZERO chance of throwing the runner out. Definitely a candidate play to cause a review of the rule.

Defense is not being rewarded - R2 gets third base. That's an award to the offense. He only advanced home in action subsequent to dead ball, and should therefore go back. F2 should not receive a throwing error, nor should F5 be dinged with an error - that came after dead ball. Suppose F2 made the catch and stayed in live ball territory, R2 probably did not even advance to third, if he did, he took a risk and got lucky. Awarding R2 third base seems correct, and Richvee shows us that the wording in 8-3-3-d, it is the correct call.

Denny - That is a good time to protest a game. It is a ruling, not a judgement call, so you can argue about that. Make notes of: the inning; the number of outs; runners on base; name and number of the batter; the pitcher; the pitch count (if the league has limits); the ball and strike count; and the score at that point of the game, as well as the score at the previous complete inning. My guess is that you would win that protest, and the game would be restarted from that point on a later date.

This particular play should indeed be brought before the Rules Committee. That is an issue worth resolving.

WWWKS? What would William Klem say?

No offense intended - just for the record, his name is Matt Cowen. The story line is from a geographical area called Allen Park, but we are none the less inspired by his determination and success. Great job. Matt!

Zebra - could you post it again for 2016? Thank you.

Read all about it in Wikipedia. It quotes the newspaper reports the next day after the game.

My mistake - I'd heard something of it. My buddy (a manager and an umpire) said it was not rule to his knowledge, he just taught his pitchers to step off the rubber so they could not balk when requesting time. I thought he was still talking about rule changes - he'd changed the subject.

Thank you , Elk Oil, I agree, after they change the rule. But until then, it's judgement, and we lose ground as skilled judges and our hands are forced by the new rule. No big deal in this case, but the trend eventually removes the need for umpires, doesn't it? Zebra - I did not set a precedent as a push-over. I guarantee that nobody thinks that of me. I set it as a guy who is secure and in control of himself, and conducted a great game. Both coaches said, "Good game, Blue" when it was over. If you are not that secure in yourself, don't let it show. The John McGraws of the game will eat you alive. Ricka - I don't think that your Pig Latin is appropriate for an umpire to say in any situation. It sounds confrontational, like escalation. We take a stance of neutrality and never light a fire under a coaches gluteus maximus, but if he continues to take the wrong track, we do eject his gluteus maximus along with the rest of him. Maybe you ought to consider some other occupation, or better yet, get control of the language and keep on making great calls and wearing the uniform. Do that, and I'll take a game with you any time, brother. Sprink - There's no stinking way I projected a push-over. It did not set any kind of negative precedent that anybody picked up on as such at that game. I don't really recall being sure it was a violent act at first. I am hard-of-hearing and thought he was likely trying to get my attention. I warned him that it was a bump and he responded in the only way that he could have to get out of an ejection, which reinforced my feeling that he was only trying to get me to see him. Had I thought it was violent, he would have been gone. The way it went, ejecting him would have been the wrong thing to do. Getting back to the topic, I have always considered that the umpire is not the show, the players are. We call balls, strikes, fair or foul balls, safe or out, and sometimes we do discipline coaches and players at the level appropriate to most benefit the game. The. only time we should be noticed is when there is a close play. We ALWAYS have something to think about, to react to, to hustle into position for, etc. The mechanics of perfect umpire form are almost non-stop during a game. I've always felt that I owe the boys the very best game I can give them, and that as an umpire, perfect is almost good enough in baseball. So I'm hard on myself to be the best possible so that the players can be the show.

For there to be a hit, the batter must contact a pitched ball with his bat legally, the ball has to land in fair territory past the base lines, come to a stop or be touched by a defender in fair territory before reaching the base or baselines, or go over the fence beyond fair territory (a home run), and the batter/runner must reach at least first base before being put out. Walks are not hits. Being hit by a pitch may or may not result in an award of first base, which is not a hit, nor is reaching first base after a dropped third strike a hit. In 1938, Johnny Van Der Meer threw two consecutive no-hitters. He walked 3 in the first one at Crosley Field in Cincinnatti, then he walked 8 in the second one at Ebbets Field 4 days later. His second no-hitter was saved by some great defensive plays on balls that could easily have fallen in for hits.

I like the wording that AL Stripes brings up - it answers a question I used to wonder about. If a batter pulls the trigger early and then pulls the bat back before the pitch arrives in the area of the plate, is it a strike? That answers it. Yes.

The video from above and behind sure makes it look like she was out of the batters' box, 4 feet or not. Without the lines drawn, I doubt I would call it. I strongly prefer to line the field properly, so I can call somebody out for stepping out. I like to line in the running lane from half way up the first base line to 3 feet outside first base. There are rules involving that, and I prefer to have the line than to not call a running lane violation when the line is not chalked. I like to line the coaches boxes. It ain't interference if he's in the box, it's then on the defense to clear him. Good lines make good rules.

In your judgement, did he start his pitch, or did his front foot cross the back of the pitcher's plate? If so, he balked. If you think he went to third, that's what happened. Not a balk. The hesitation might have made me think that he started toward the plate, then changed his mind => balk! But I was not there, you were, and you saw it. A pitcher engages the pitcher's plate, pitching rules go into effect. He MUST do one of 5 things: 1) disengage the rubber; 2) deliver a pitch to the hitter; 3) attempt a pick off throw to first, second or third base; 4) he may feint a pick off to second or to third base, or 5) request "time". These 5 things are all he's allowed, anything else is a balk. Some rules could require disengaging the plate to request time, check the rules of the league you are in. If he chooses options 1,3, or 4, he must re-engage the pitcher's plate (if he has broken contact with it) and come set before delivering a pitch to the hitter.

I would certainly not call a balk! Haha. Illegal pitch call just slows the game down - telling the catcher to handle it should work while you brush the plate.

A perfect game is a special case of a no-hitter where nobody safely reaches first base by a hit, error, or dropped third strike, nor is awarded first base on a walk, nor being hit by a pitched ball. A perfect game with 27 batters being retired on 81 consecutive strikes has never been recorded (though a few pitchers have had no-hitters on extremely low pitch counts), but will need a new name - perhaps a "superfect" game? There is rumor that a girl pitched 6 innings with 18 strikeouts on 54 pitches in fast-pitch softball. I'm looking in to that. A few foul balls may have gone for strikes, but I do not yet know for sure. On May 2nd, 1917, James "Hippo" Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs won a game that went 9 innings with no hits at all - he and Fred Toney of the Cincinnatti Reds were both throwing no-hitters until in the top of the 10th, Larry Knopf singled and was driven home on a hit by Jim Thorpe. Hippo held on with a hitless bottom of the 10th to win it. Baseball's first and only, so far, "double no-hittter". Hippo Vaughn is credited with a no-hitter, Fred Toney is credited with a 2-hitter, even though he threw 9 innings of no-hit ball.

Now you are reaching. Rules are on my side. It's my judgement. You weren't there. Shall we drop it or act like internet trolls?