Donny7

My apologies... My intent was to show that the official 2017 NFHS Rulebook errors were corrected in this bulletin sent out by the Texas Rules Interpreter to all members. In hindsight I should have just included #3. I do still have the question... Did any other states notify their membership? Obviously this has brought about a lot of confusion. I saw in another thread a caseplay relating to this modified rule where you (Jimurray) quoted the rules that are no longer applicable and should be struck. So it has been one of those that could bite anyone... and has.

My Bad. My son reminded me it was C.B. Buckner NOT Laz and... yes he was dressed in a different color. I have never seen it before nor since. Also he came out of the tunnel a few minutes after the other 3. VERY ODD!

And... it is a continuing violation. Doesn't go away after the next pitch or the next defensive play.

THE FOLLOWING BULLETIN WAS EMAILED TO ALL TEXAS MEMBERS TODAY - March 10, 2017 Please see #3 below... I wish ALL State Associations would do this. Do you know of any that have? From: Texas State Baseball Rules Interpreter To: TASO Baseball Umpire Membership Subject: Baseball Weekly Bulletin 17-1 The 2017 high school Baseball season is upon us. I hope that for every one of you, it will be the season you each hope it to be. Your hard work and diligent efforts over the last few months is most appreciated as you prepared for the games to begin. We have some of the best baseball played in the nation and I am glad we have the officiating to match. We started the first two weeks of the season rather quietly with little for me to pass on, but this last week did provide some material. Please remember to provide me with any issues, situations, concerns, etc. you may have. It is most helpful. Well, let’s start with bats; it has been some time since we needed to do that. 1) Easton Lock n Load. We reported to many of you back in January that the Easton Lock n Load bat, while not legal for NCAA play, was allowed for high school games. The concern was that the NCAA was not going to allow the BBCOR logo to be on the bat. So we told everyone in January, that the bat was legal for high school play despite not having a BBCOR logo on the bat. Now, after some deliberation, the NCAA has allowed, despite the bat still not legal for their games, the BBCOR logo to be placed on the barrel of the Lock n Load bat. I am not sure how many bats without the logo have been sold, but the bottom line now is with or without the BBCOR logo, the EASTON Lock n Load bat is approved for high school play. 2) Illegal bat reporting. Some concern has arisen that the incident rate for BBCOR bats being altered (rolled or shaved) is higher than previously thought. To begin to understand the true extent of this possibility, all baseball umpires in Texas are being asked to do the following upon discovery of an illegal bat: a) continue to enforce the applicable rules, rule 7-4-1a for the batter and 4-3-3b penalty for a coach, and b) complete the UIL incident report that can be found on the TASO website. This data collection will provide the ability to better determine illegal bat use. 3) 2017 Rule Change 3-2-2 and 8-4-2s. As you will remember, these rules were changed and added to show that if a coach physically assists a baserunner, it is no longer interference or a delayed dead ball. We simply have an out at the time of the infraction and play continues. Unfortunately, rule 5-1-2f and the Dead Ball Table item 10 on “After Infraction, Ball Not Dead Until Umpire Calls Time” were not deleted. Please line through those rule portions as they are no longer applicable. We will correct this omission in the next rulebook. 4) Third to first pick-off move. As a reminder, in high school rules, the third to first pick-off move, when done in compliance with the rule, is still a legal move. We have had 3 reported balks with the only reason being is it was a third to first move. 5) Play Cards. As with last year, the use of play cards on players is legal provided they are worn on the players arm. Wearing of the play card on the belt is not legal. 6) Protection of Players in an unprotected area. Rule 3-3-4 mandates that whenever players are warming up in an unprotected area within the confines of the field, another team member must be positioned between them and the batter to protect them from a batted or thrown ball. This player is required to have a glove, but it is not mandatory for him to wear a helmet. We have had two incidents in the last two weeks where one coach was restricted to the bench for not having this player wear a helmet and another where the team, having limited helmets, could not have a player on-deck warming up because the umpire required the player protecting the catcher and pitcher to wear a helmet.

Are you saying WHEN the pitcher has come set, and then rotates his shoulders? or... He is pitching from the 'Set Position'? If it is the latter, before he comes set, he may rotate his head and shoulders as much as he desires.

To ALStripes17... I found the Problem and the Solution. Please see #3 below. Hope every State does this. THE FOLLOWING BULLETIN WAS EMAILED TO ALL TEXAS MEMBERS TODAY - March 10, 2017 From: Texas State Baseball Rules Interpreter To: TASO Baseball Umpire Membership Subject: Baseball Weekly Bulletin 17-1 The 2017 high school Baseball season is upon us. I hope that for every one of you, it will be the season you each hope it to be. Your hard work and diligent efforts over the last few months is most appreciated as you prepared for the games to begin. We have some of the best baseball played in the nation and I am glad we have the officiating to match. We started the first two weeks of the season rather quietly with little for me to pass on, but this last week did provide some material. Please remember to provide me with any issues, situations, concerns, etc. you may have. It is most helpful. Well, let’s start with bats; it has been some time since we needed to do that. 1) Easton Lock n Load. We reported to many of you back in January that the Easton Lock n Load bat, while not legal for NCAA play, was allowed for high school games. The concern was that the NCAA was not going to allow the BBCOR logo to be on the bat. So we told everyone in January, that the bat was legal for high school play despite not having a BBCOR logo on the bat. Now, after some deliberation, the NCAA has allowed, despite the bat still not legal for their games, the BBCOR logo to be placed on the barrel of the Lock n Load bat. I am not sure how many bats without the logo have been sold, but the bottom line now is with or without the BBCOR logo, the EASTON Lock n Load bat is approved for high school play. 2) Illegal bat reporting. Some concern has arisen that the incident rate for BBCOR bats being altered (rolled or shaved) is higher than previously thought. To begin to understand the true extent of this possibility, all baseball umpires in Texas are being asked to do the following upon discovery of an illegal bat: a) continue to enforce the applicable rules, rule 7-4-1a for the batter and 4-3-3b penalty for a coach, and b) complete the UIL incident report that can be found on the TASO website. This data collection will provide the ability to better determine illegal bat use. 3) 2017 Rule Change 3-2-2 and 8-4-2s. As you will remember, these rules were changed and added to show that if a coach physically assists a baserunner, it is no longer interference or a delayed dead ball. We simply have an out at the time of the infraction and play continues. Unfortunately, rule 5-1-2f and the Dead Ball Table item 10 on “After Infraction, Ball Not Dead Until Umpire Calls Time” were not deleted. Please line through those rule portions as they are no longer applicable. We will correct this omission in the next rulebook. 4) Third to first pick-off move. As a reminder, in high school rules, the third to first pick-off move, when done in compliance with the rule, is still a legal move. We have had 3 reported balks with the only reason being is it was a third to first move. 5) Play Cards. As with last year, the use of play cards on players is legal provided they are worn on the players arm. Wearing of the play card on the belt is not legal. 6) Protection of Players in an unprotected area. Rule 3-3-4 mandates that whenever players are warming up in an unprotected area within the confines of the field, another team member must be positioned between them and the batter to protect them from a batted or thrown ball. This player is required to have a glove, but it is not mandatory for him to wear a helmet. We have had two incidents in the last two weeks where one coach was restricted to the bench for not having this player wear a helmet and another where the team, having limited helmets, could not have a player on-deck warming up because the umpire required the player protecting the catcher and pitcher to wear a helmet.

This is a relevant discussion to follow, no matter your interpretation of what constitutes a Balk prior to the Pitchers movement to begin his windup or set position. Maybe we should go by the way of the MLB where just about anything will pass w/o being called a balk NOTE: The cited NFHS RULING is incorrect in that (a), (b), nor (c) has anything to do with LEGS. So we begin with what appears to be, at a minimum, a misstated Ruling. Putting that aside... Our Guest that asked the question described it like this; "his throwing arm was dangling loose and while taking his signs from the catcher he would motion his hand in a circle". I will concede that this is one of those that you would need to see. How high did he elevate his arm, how small or large was the circle, etc, etc.? If the description had been he moved his index finger in a small circle, while keeping his arm straight down, we certainly couldn't accuse him of starting his motion to come set. Sorry BalksAreTheDevil. They can also be pretty subjective and a good Umpire will not over officiate. What you read above was a Situation or an example to help clarify the rule. I'm not sure from what year it came. The 2017 NFHS Rule relevant to your question reads like this: 6-2-4d Balk. Failing to pitch to the batter in a continuous motion immediately after any movement of any part of the body such as he habitually uses in his delivery; If your 8th grader was elevating his pitching arm and moving it vigorously in a circle, it could have easily been called a balk.

Same here... Muscle relief, pain management. When you get old and you still love the game you try anything to stay in it. Having watched the NY Kid Laz for years he may do it to get a rise out of a Manager . Or maybe he does so many games he just gets bored doing it the same way all of the time. I attended a game in Arlington last season where he was the PU. He came out dressed differently than the other 3 ??? I don't know, maybe his luggage got lost.

Agreed... It is a Balk and also agree with Maven's remedy at the Varsity level, mainly for one reason. When a runner is stealing on first movement, its the first movement after the pitcher comes set, not while he is taking signs. So as Maven stated it is somewhat of a technicality, usually not an attempt to deceive the runner. So asking his catcher to send him a message is very appropriate. In the case in point of the 8th grader, I bet he has seen pitchers do exactly what he was doing with his free hand. What he didn't see is that they had stepped off of the pitchers plate and then stepped back on. As an umpire I would explain to his coach his balking mechanic and if that didn't correct it, start calling balks. Its not cruel and unusual punishment, it will be a lesson learned at an early age so when he gets to a level where it really counts, he wont be making the mistakes of his youth. Please do not take this as I mean to start calling ALL balks at the youth level... Heavens No! We would be calling balks til' the cows come home. This one the Guest described is one that can be and should be easily corrected.

In Texas this season it is basically "Hands Off" for Umpires.

Strictly the umpires judgement. If he had ruled it an attempted bunt, batter is out. He ruled it was NOT an attempted bunt, its a foul ball and we still have an 0-2 count.

I understand that your question is asking about tracking individuals pitch counts from game to game but thought the readers might find this interesting. One of our 5A High Schools added a digital counter to the scoreboard so everyone at the field can see when each pitch is recorded/not recorded.

GREATEST GAME ON EARTH! You and I are definitely on the same page there. I sometimes find myself thinking with a coaches cap back on, but... as an official, I see that as more of a positive. I am old school. My youngest has been umpiring for about 7 years now. When he started I told him, "it aint like it used be son." You and your partener(s) will be the only ones on the field to uphold the integrity of the game. It is sad to have to say but most are just lookin for a W however they can get it. If that means they teach a kid to intentionally interfere... then that's what they do. The one Scrounge took the time to describe in detail didn't meet that criteria. I would NEVER try to reinvent the game I feel so passionately about, the game I love... Baseball.

You got my vote... I concur. I do believe Mavens statement about making it a 'TEACHABLE MOMENT' was the rule writers intent... but it sure leaves a lot of very subjective, gray area for us.

That is a PERFECT example of what the intent of 8-4-2c is. No Interference... the runner is out. And after he drops the ball as you will hear redundantly echoed at Wendlestat's... "HE'S OUT, HE'S OUT, HES STILL OUT!

An example would be: A runner going in standing up at 2B for the third out, making contact with the SS that is not malicious.

8-4-2c Begins with: " Any runner is out when he:" ... and then to your " Does not legally attempt... Does it make sense to you now?

You've got a vivid imagination son. I didn't post this information on here for an English, grammar or people skills lesson. Or to have the content and tone critiqued. I don't use this Forum for the purpose of being the self appointed critic or for entertainment. I posted it to help other umpires. 2017 NFHS BASEBALL RULES Rules that are no longer applicable Page 36, # 10 After Infraction Table Page 37, 5-1-2f All references of Coach Physically Assisting Base Runners defined as Interference. Now I am going to stop wasting my time responding to inconsequential, minor, trivial matters and go do something really important, like pick up my two precious granddaughters ages 5 and 7 and go play.

I don't know that there is an easy way to attempt to get as many Umpires attention as possible and let them know that some rules are not correct. I guess the short version would have read: 2017 NFHS BASEBALL RULES Rules that are no longer applicable Page 36, # 10 After Infraction Table Page 37, 5-1-2f All references of Coach Physically Assisting Base Runners defined as Interference. I don't think this would have went over very well. There would have been more questions than answers. So the original was drafted the way it was for a purpose, 1) To get the attention of as many High School Umpires as possible. 2) In the form of a question. It is "Ask The Umpire" So it begins; Did you know that... What I was hoping to hear is more feedback like what I heard from Jim, that at least ONE (1) State had attempted to inform its members. 3) Communicate what had been done to validate the facts so those reading it would know that I wasn't some wacko spinning out false information. 4) Emphasize that the rule discrepancies were serious and substantial. Not just a typo or two. The issue was not that some rules were overlooked. Mistakes happen, anyone with half a brain understands that. The issue is that after the mistakes were discovered, there appeared to be little to no effort by the States to communicate that out to the officials.

My post was not meant to be critical of anyone or any organization. Jim, you hit the nail on the head, because the Texas test does have a question that directly references this NEW RULE. After many members incorrectly answered, it obviously became a point of discussion and research. When our states rules interpreter confirmed to me, exactly what I stated in the original post, I searched for any information I could find that this information had been disseminated to those of us with 'boots on the ground' whose judgment and integrity is our lifeblood. I apologize, I did not find the caseplay nor interpretation. When I found no evidence that a mass communication had been issued, I began looking for the best quality public site for Baseball Officials. My one and only intent was to inform as many High School Umpires as possible, before the season gets in full swing, to beware of these rule book discrepancies. In researching this site, I thought I had found the right venue to share facts with my brothers that would help them be better informed. Lord knows we get enough criticism already... I didn't expect to get it here.

"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." Earl Weaver

Did you know that after this rule change, two references were overlooked and inadvertently remain in the '2017 NFHS Baseball Rule Book.' The two references that should have been removed are: - Page 36, #10 of the After Infraction Table - Page 37, 5-1-2f Both refer to "Delayed-Dead Ball" scenarios. There is NO Delayed-Dead Ball in the newly modified rule. An immediate OUT is called, without deference to any other potential base runners and the ball remains live. After confirming this with my states Rules Interpreter, I asked the State Executive Director to please put out a notice. I have seen no published material that communicates to our officials that these major rule discrepancies exist. Applying these rules as written could very well determine the outcome of a contest.