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Watch HPU, he calls the batter out (for INT is inferred) Which is why this catcher has been coached to do this I got asked at a d3 game once, “can you have batters INT on a pickoff throw?” And I told him “the bar is much higher than on a steal”. Otherwise any catcher can wait for a righty (to third) or lefty (to first) to step back and do what you see here in “an attempt to pickoff”

Pretty sure OP asked about umpire pregame, not plate mtg

Couple tips to remember: 1) a rule book can not list every possible thing one CAN do, that would be unending. It lists what you are prohibited from doing and what you are required to do. 2) Even though we’ve all done it, we get in more hot water making up rules than we do not knowing them. When kid did it, since you’ve never read a rule prohibiting it, your instinct might be “hmph I don’t think he can do that”. But rather than make up a rule and prohibit it, make a mental note to look it up later. It only needs addressed in the moment if there is a dispute (other coach argues) if that happens, that’s when you get with your partner (unfortunately he didn’t know either) but even with a dispute, if you don’t KNOW it’s illegal you can’t call it illegal. It’s not a safety issue, tell him you’re playing on and basically same convo happens. but better to say I can’t rule it illegal when neither of us can cite rule saying it’s illegal, if we’re wrong I’ll own it . but rules specify what you must do and what you can’t do, don’t make those up. havesame approach with balks, just bc it looks weird it isn’t a balk, ask yourself what rulebook language did he violate and if you can’t answer that, don’t call it. If coach argues ask them “what did you see that was illegal?” Prob gonna say something about being clunky or off balance or looks weird, none of which are in rule book.

I responded to this

FYI, umpires consulted and changed the call on their own, no replays, no appeals. R1 was originally put back at second and then they consulted again and sent back to third. If you have espn+ you can watch this , Villanova v FIU from sunday

B4 batters at bat ended when he became a runner. Fact that play was made on r2 (why; who knows) means nothing.

Fun fact, I worked with Brendan on his first ever game umpiring. Literally, brought him a bag of hand me down gear and clothes and he took the bases and I and others helped him learn basics and got to see him develop and then do college, and now he’s in MILB hes a good guy and wish him the best

The rule doesn’t say the pitch must hit the batter and only the batter. If it hits bat and then body/hand, foul ball. if it hits body before the bat or simultaneously, it’s a HBP. Pitch was bad and contacted the batter, don’t overthink it Edit: I always say, the rule book can not possibly list every scenario that could happen. It lists what can’t happen and what people are required to do. The HBP rule says if pitch hits the batter, and assuming batter didn’t violate any of their obligations (varies by rule set), they get first base . Rule book isn’t gonna list rule separately for every scenario of where or how it can hit the batter

I am fine with the debate about whether the Thunder balk should be called or not, but saying the pitcher stopped bc of the batter is ridiculous. To argue he was pitching through the Thunder and then stopped bc batter flinched or dropped hands is trying to fabricate a story to fit a narrative. Saying spirit of rules should mean no balk and reset situation is justifiable to at least argue and debate, saying it’s bc of the batter is not

There’s no right answer for this. That’s bc the rulebook tells us what the zone is. What parents and coaches don’t understand is it is technically the same for 10u as it is for mlb, but we know realistically that isn’t appropriate. Bc I umpire college, I am not comfortable going into chalk. In college I try to just call the plate and buffer so my misses are on the edge of River/channel. If I’m doing HS level summer ball (I don’t do hs in spring) I try to call full channel, which means my misses are prob touching chalk. I try to never ball strikes. Cant say it’s foolproof, no zone ever will be, but if you’re consistent you can feel good about it. I don’t do 10-14u ever anymore so can’t really help there, I’d prob go full chalk at that age but I’m sure the parents who want MLB zone would disagree. I also remember learning to think of edges like a pear, you can go a little further out when it’s thigh high, but don’t go so far out when it’s at very top or bottom of zone bc that’s unhittable. Side note, I’ve long said if I ever did a travel game where both sides gave me s*** about being too big, I’d give them the d1 college trackman zone rest of game and enjoy the walk fest. Never had to though. another side note, I’ve done games where I’ve been thanked for having a smaller zone, even for 16-18u. I think the channel/river is appropriate.

There is no magic way to determine this. You either judge hindrance or you don’t. As an example, let’s take a batter who tried to hit the ball to the moon and his momentum carried one of his feet entirely onto the plate. If the pitch was outside, f2 may not be hindered in the slightest. Pitch inside corner, that’s almost guaranteed to be hindrance. Oftentimes, mainly in amateur (hs and below) baseball you will hear “he stepped on the plate!” That makes him liable to interfere, it isn’t by itself INT. If you see no hindrance and f2 gets off a good throw, don’t grasp at straws and make “the easy call”. Some BI is obvious , some is iffy, some just isn’t there. Give the catcher the benefit of the doubt on the iffy ones, but don’t grab what isn’t there. Simply put, if a coach who knows the rule asks you “what did he hinder”, have an answer. If you’re only answer is he stepped on plate or leaned across, don’t call it. He interfered by making catcher double pump, or the throw had to go over batters head, or catchers foot clipper batters, etc. Edit: Also remember the bar is much higher at the professional level. Can’t really use what you see in MLB to determine what you call and don’t call in 10u-18u travel ball and HS and LL

14 year olds should not need time to stand up, or throw ball back to the pitcher. The ONLY reason I’d consider it in this case is because I’m annoyed by the defense standing there holding the tag and delaying the game moving forward, but it is NOT so the runner can stand up

I’m gonna add another thought I haven’t seen mentioned . In this specific play, we have a deep fly ball (almost zero chance of a play at home) with a diving attempt near the line in the corner. I don’t care if BU is allowed to look away at first touch to help with tag, if I’m HPU I want his eyes on the whole action in the OF. If I have a “ball in mitt, but now on ground” situation, I don’t want my BU saying “I can’t help I looked away to get the tag up “ (of the guy who can walk home safely on this kind of play) Plain and simple, this is a hole in 2 man and no “great umpire” can get the f/f, c/nc, voluntary release, and the tag up perfectly , something has to give (as said above, distance and positioning can’t get both) and my “help” should be on the trouble ball, not on the tag

First, try to get your mindset out of “what are they supposed to do” etc. Interference with a throw must be intentional for it to be INT. Where it gets dicey is with contact. For example, if he had hit r2 in the head with his throw, that’s a whole bag of nothing, unless r2 threw his head into the ball, unlikely though there was recently an mlb player who did that. But rules, and more so at younger ages, do not want to reward contact with a fielder. While some acts of intentional contact are easy to see and call, we don’t want runners “unintentionally intentionally” trying to get in the way of the thrower. If the throw was an immediate act following from fielding, I’m okay with this INT call. If he fielded it and some time passed, it gets harrier. In reality, you said “no awareness by f5” (possible since he should just throw to first), what about your R2? Was he aware? Bc collision is to try and be avoided. Was he running into f5 bc he thought f5 was gonna tag him? That’s int. If f5 steps up to throw across, r2 can’t just blow him up. Same as batter going to first, they blow up a lazy f3 or pitcher who got in their way and then say “where am I supposed to run?” Lots of caveats here, in a college or pro game, I could see that being no INT, without seeing the actual play (video always helps as explanations often are given from a biased perspective when it’s parent or coach). In youth, I’m okay with enforcing it to prevent collisions as best we can and teach kids to avoid collisions .

He literally used the words “batter was obstructed by f3” I then said, BASED ON THIS, that’s Obs and a base award (in HS) Please read entire writing and intent before singularly replying to one sentence