Nafxos

I get that an extra-inning marathon "feels" different than a rain delay, but it really isn't. It's one game. Sometimes they take 1:30. And sometimes they can take 4 hours or more. Either way, if the field needs to be groomed for 2 hours to be playable, the game is over if I'm PU. And does this really come up frequently in your area? I can't imagine that things like this are the reason you're having trouble finding umpires.

There's no obscure rule. He either tagged up after the catch or he didn't. If he did, he scores. If he didn't, he's out on the appeal at 3rd.

We're paid by the game, and the game has no clock. It ends when it ends. If a game was in the 15th inning would you leave because you had something else you wanted to do? That said, I agree with UmpJeff that if the field needs 2 hours to be worked on, I'm just calling the game.

The best advice I ever got early in my career: "If they're not complaining that your zone is too big, it's too small."

One last shameless self-promoting bump. 6 days until race day, and I'm still a couple hundred dollars short of my $1,000 fundraising goal. Please consider donating. And if you can't donate, please pray for temperatures below 90 that day. Thanks.

It's funny. I was listening to this game on the radio while driving from New Jersey back to Boston, but never saw it until now. I was listening to the Yankees broadcast, and John Sterling made it sound like F2 made a terrible throw into RF. Never mentioned that it hit the runner in the helmet. He also never mentioned that the runner was out of the running lane the entire way.

I wouldn't say anything to the HC about not being sure or "giving the kid the benefit of the doubt". I'd just say "I didn't have it in the zone" or something like that. And if you thought it WAS in the zone, you should call it a strike. And be prepared for a conversation with the other HC.

Do we know if this was the first pitch of the IBB? If so, would it be considered good "preventive umpiring" to give the catcher a quiet "don't do that" instead of balking in the game-winning run, even if the balk is 100% correct by rule?

This (if you can get there). Cape League games are fantastic. And you will almost certainly see several future major leaguers.

I agree with you re: scoring the run and ejecting the runner, but I don't think you can score the run AND call R2 out as per the original post. He's either out, or safe. He can't be both.

Fenway Park, Freedom Trail, Boston Common, Duck Boat Tour, Museum of Science, New England Aquarium, Museum of Fine Arts, Cambridge/Harvard/MIT, Boston Harbor Islands, Whale Watch (if you have a full day available), John Hancock building, North End (for Italian food). And that's just off the top of my head in 30 seconds or so. When are you coming? Feel free to message me with any specific questions.

Two weeks until race day.

Was watching a 12U Cal Ripken tournament game last night and saw a play I hadn't really given much thought to before. R1 and R2 with less than 2 out, batter hits a pop fly that is obviously foul near the 1B dugout. PU calls "Infield Fly if fair". F3 catches the ball next to the dugout. No muss, no fuss. What got me thinking was the umpire's call. My first reaction was "why is he calling that when it's obvious to everyone that it's not going to be a fair ball"? But after thinking about it, I realized that in theory, F3 could miss the ball completely (especially at this age) and the ball could hit the ground and spin back into fair territory. Which would make it a fair ball, and the batter would be out on the IFF. Do people here always call (point and verbalize) IFF on balls that are coming down in foul territory by 20-30 feet or more?

Thank you! I'll definitely post pics. :)

I hope this isn't inappropriate to post here. On July 25, I will be participating in the Run to Home Base, a 5.5 mile run in Boston that finishes at home plate in Fenway Park. The event raises money for the Red Sox Foundation and the Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program, which supports veterans with "invisible" wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and brain injuries. And just to make it a little more interesting, I've decided to run the entire race in my full plate gear - mask, chest protector, shins, etc. If you would like to support this worthy cause AND help out a fellow umpire, please use the following link: http://www.runtohomebase.org/2015RunToHomeBase/sheplong I realize that nobody here knows me in "real" life, and you may be skeptical about donating to a complete stranger. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask. You can also read more about the event here: http://www.runtohomebase.org/ As of today, I am almost 1/3 of the way to my $1,000 fundraising goal. No donation is too small. Thank you in advance for your consideration and support.

Unless we're talking about a FPSR violation. I don't work Little League any more, so I don't know if it applies there, but with bases loaded that could be an illegal slide and an automatic DP.

And as a follow up question, should I have been more open to the idea of getting 2 outs here?

I had a play in Junior Legion game last night that I wish I'd handled better / differently. I'm BU. R1 and R2 with 0 outs. Slow chopper between F5 and F6. F6 charges and is bumped by R2 on his way to 3rd, but is still able to field the ball and throw to F3 for the out. I saw the contact but didn't kill it immediately, partly because I was processing what I was seeing (was F6 protected or F5, and was it interference or obstruction?), and partly because it all happened quickly and I needed to rule on the play at first. After the play F6 says "he bumped into me", which I acknowledged. I ended up calling R2 out for interference and put the BR on 1st and R1 on 2nd. DHC asked for 2 outs on the play (R2 for interference and BR on the play at first) but I said the interference ends the play and the BR gets first. I realize that I could have called the BR out too if I thought the interference prevented a DP, but given the way the ball was hit, in my judgment there was no way the defense could have turned two. Any tips for handling a play like this? Ideally, I would have killed it when R2 bumped F6, but it all happened so quickly and I felt I needed the extra time to decide what actually happened (interference or obstruction).

Maybe if you had given a stronger warning after "that's two" you never would have had to eject for "that's three". Just my $.02. Also, I don't like the idea of ejecting a coach for answering a question that we asked him. Was he out of line? Definitely. Did he need to be dealt with? Definitely. Could the whole thing have been managed better? I think so. Ignore, Acknowledge, Warn, Eject.

It's funny. I posted a similar topic a few weeks ago and the consensus was "nip it in the bud". Now it seems like if I follow that advice I'm an OOO redass. Personally, I've started enforcing it and haven't had any problems. I don't make a big deal of it. But if I see somebody straying too close to the dirt circle or crossing from their side to the other side during warmups, I ask them to go back.

HTBT, but if the ball was between F1 and F4, I probably have Type B obstruction on F6.

Had this come up in my first-ever varsity game last summer. I'm BU. Home team batting with 1 out and R1 and R3. It's late in a 1-run game, so infield is in. Batter hits a little flare into short left-center. R1 is off on contact. F6 makes a terrific over-the-shoulder catch for 2nd out and R1 is already at second base. F6 throws to F3 for the double play. Inning over and I head out into short RF. What I didn't see (because I had the catch and the appeal at first) was R3 tagging and trying to score. OHC is arguing with PU that the run should count. PU and I get together, and even though he was the varsity "veteran", he seemed unsure of the rule. I told him "If you're 100% sure that R3 scored before the appeal at first, I'm 100% sure the run counts." So we scored the run. DHC goes ballistic and says he's protesting the game. Nothing came of it (of course), but it was a little more excitement than I wanted in my first varsity game.

​Interesting. How exactly would this work from a mechanics standpoint? If I'm PU, I call time when the ball goes out of play, point at R1 and say "You, Home". Then if he's smart enough to know he has to retouch 2nd and 1st, do I say "Sorry, you only get 3rd now"? ​

Jackassery of the highest order. Thankfully, most of my games don't have a national anthem, so I don't have to worry about this nonsense trickling down.

At my first-ever high school game a few years ago, I'm BU. With 2 outs in the bottom of the first, I see there's some sort of delay but I can't tell what's going on. PU is asking for a batter, OHC can't find the batter, and nobody in the dugout seems to know what is going on. After a couple of minutes they found him behind the dugout, being questioned by the police.