aaluck

It is to prevent a double/triple play. Think IFF. R1, strike three, catcher drops ball and throws to second, then ball thrown to first.

What "issue" has been caused by the batter leaving the box in the OP? Did it cause the pitcher to delay or hesitate? No, so 6-4-2(d) does not apply. Did it delay the game in any way? No, so 7-3-1 does not apply. Did it cause a balk? No, again 6-4-2(d) does not apply. Did it interfere with the catcher's ability to make a play on the runner? No, so no interference rule applies. So why are we applying rules that address these situations, when none of these situations arose during the pitch/play? I'm with @beerguy55on this one (right or wrong) and I'm not saying @JHumbert15 and @The Man in Blue are wrong. I have a walk here as the pitch was called ball four. How many of us have done a JV game where the kid bails out of the box on a curve ball or a ball that's about to hit him? Have any of you called 2 strikes? If not, I guess we need to start if we are going to apply 6-4-2(d).

Please explain why you think 6-2-4(d) is applicable in this situation. There is no mention in the OP of the pitcher "stoping or hesitating" his delivery as a result of the batters actions. If a batter vacates the box after delivery I'm calling it either a ball or strike (probably a strike if its anywhere close). I don't see how they called the batter out here.

I agree with everything above. We have always been told that we allow substitutions in HS baseball. I actually had this come up Tuesday. The coach came to me in the 3rd and said he forgot to put a kid on the lineup card. I told him, no problem he can play. I just added him to the card when I was doing the substitution.

I'm very big on getting them back in the box. Especially if we have what's going on in the OP. It has become terrible. 3-0 count and we have 1) the coach find one of probably 10 take combos on his band/chart, 2) yell a number combo and 3) the players read a chart to know to take the pitch? I'm saying "in the box" and he is frantically trying to read the chart, with his bat between his legs to get to the wrist band. Its a sh+t show!!! I'm curious @beerguy55what happened to a key and the sign? Why these wristbands? Are high school coaches actually stealing signs, are they that smart (no offense but I haven't come across any)? I'm even seeing the "number/wristband" on pitches now, instead of the crazy face touching signals, which take two seconds.

I have a bit of a different take. I do not see this as obstruction. Exactly what did he obstruct the runner from doing? I have nothing here, like you did.

I move more over the catchers head and up. May not be the 'proper' way but I want to see the pitch and this works for me.

All levels?

That is a great question. Is there an actual rule that would prevent what happened above?

Glad to have you back. Need all the help we can get.

That's one problem we do not have here in Alabama. Do you guys set your own prices or are they dictated by the HSAA?. Here the AHSAA sets the rates for all sports, all levels. I do not like that because we could definitely do better setting our own prices BUT it removes the 'competitive' bidding for contracts.

Truer words have never been spoken. The problem is our healthcare system. A friend's daughter struggled with substance abuse and ended up in ICU for almost a month. Insurance paid over $300,000.00 to "fix" her organs. Same insurance only covers $1,000.00 for her mental health. The brain is an organ and should be treated the same as any other.

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm happy that umpiring helps you. Its a win/win, you get to get out there and have fun and they get a good umpire/guy.

Great post! The problem (at least around here) is that there are about 50% of the guys that DO need the money. They just need money regardless of how much, so they will work these games. So long as they have a warm body out there, these TD couldn't care less of the quality. A couple of years ago had a local high school age tournament and it got very, very, testy--almost came to blows. The TD was desperate for umpires so the day before and the days of the three day event he had increased the pay, but only to the guys that were last additions, not the guys previously committed. It was played at 5 different college/HS fields around the city. Word got out (as you knew it would) that some of the umpires were making between $10-$35 more per game. The guys that were making $50 were not pleased to hear that the other guy on the field was making $80. When it came time to pay there was a huge confrontation to the point police had to be called. The TD's position remained that "hey, you guys agreed to $50, they didn't". To your point. If everyone stands together these issues will resolve themselves.

Central Alabama baseball, 86 officials listed. Probably 50 or so active.

I'm glad they included US baseball. I blame most of this bad behavior on these organizations. You KNOW that this was not the first warning they had about this coach. Coaches don't just behave normal and then on day punch you. They knew this guy was a problem and gladly took his money. You reap what you sow.

I Is this HS baseball or some fall ball thing?

7/7. A couple were pretty close to going either way.

I think anything you do to address this is a positive. I recently stumbled on some youtube videos. Ive seen (and agree with) umps simply calling the game. Worth watching the entire 6 minutes.

For the high school level only... We are having a big debate in our association. Some of our current contracts require our umpires to travel between 1.5 to 2 hours, each way. Several of us believe that this is absurd. I do not believe that anyone should spend 4 total hours driving to do a high school event (I understand that college is a different story). I suggested that we use a 45-60 mile radius which is roughly an hour maximum each way. What is the average total travel time you guys experience? What is the furthest distance your associations contract to call games? Thanks for any input.

Nice find. But I'm not sure this covers this situation, or maybe it does. This is my issue. If there was NO call, or a fair signal I would agree with review and the result. I have no issue with that. But here we have a clear call of foul. At that point the play is OVER, done nothing more can happen...but it did.

Id like to see that rule.

According to the rule above the foul call is irrevocable. I posted the definition above--cannot be changed. I don't understand how they thought this was the 'solution' to the problem. Instead of a shot down third, lets say it was a chop into the front of the box with R3 and HP thinks it hit the kid in the foot (whether it did not not) and throws up his hands and calls it foul. Would we let R3 score? Other than an out of the park homer, no one can score during a dead ball.

Great find but how would 9.04(c) change the above. Irrevocably means cannot be changed. /ˌi(r)ˈrevəkəblē/ Learn to pronounce adverb in a way that cannot be changed, reversed, or recovered. "my life changed irrevocably in an instant"

I agree and understand all of the above but I am still confused on how you make a foul ball fair. Good, bad, or ugly call, its foul and remains foul. How do we have folks advancing and scoring on a dead ball? Can someone explain that?