SH0102

Here is what kills me about this props rule and how much grief people (fans, coaches, announcers) give it. YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT IN THE DUGOUT! (Well, not whatever but you get my point) You can have a headdress, helmet, worlds biggest PBJ sandwich, shopping cart to give a ride, whatever, as long as it stays in the dugout. Why is this so hard? They can have their fun in the dugout , no one is saying they can’t celebrate, just do it in the dugout. Not that hard of a rule to follow

HPU should not rotate on a ball hit in the infield. This is u3 ball. hPU stays with possible pulled foot and swipe tag and overthrow responsibilities. U3, recognizing no play at second, should already be moved over to C when r1 takes off. Get best angle/distance you can without being in the way of throw coming from first. Not perfect, but even 3 man has holes

No issue with the ejection. Only thing that made my “spine tingle” was you letting them bitch at you all game while working solo. I have ZERO empathy with gripers when working solo. Shut it down fast and early. Warn early, then restrict someone; then dump someone until they get the hint. The ONLY thing I can understand griping about when working solo is professionalism (appearance, effort). NEVER a call. If you’re working and moving from plate to try and make a call, no one should say a peep

“Solo umpiring, he’s out. You’re paying for a second umpire to get that call correct”

Coach: “Mr rbi, how can you miss/make that call?” Mr RBI: “coach, the ball beat him by a mile. Calling him out would be an easy call.” Coach: “so why did you call him safe?” Mr RBI: “because it’s the correct call”

I have been taught, and it’s helped me immensely, to always say time on a difficult situation like that (as HPU). It gives you an extra beat to process what you saw/heard. Was that hand or knob? If it hit both, what did I hear first? What is everyone’s immediate reactions? Saying “foul” or “dead ball” (no) or “take your base” commits you to a call too quick. Just say time, process, then make your call. I’ve also been taught as BU to always say “time”, don’t yell “foul”. Let plate decide if it hit them in box or out, on hand or bat, etc. if you come up “time!”, everyone knows it hit something and you saw it. he can’t have nothing on this, it’s either HBP or foul, and when you go to help, it doesn’t look as bad bc everyone knows you saw it

Just curious, are you asking all this as an umpire or as a dad/coach? If you’re asking as an umpire, I’d say you really should not have any care or concern about competitive advantages, you work the rules for your association/league and that’s it. If you’re asking as a dad/coach, be thankful that you have kids that want to play, and stay with me here, by rule actually get to play. Do you want to be the coach who tells players to stay home so you can compete with that 10 player roster team? If you really want to tackle this, you could create a rotation of 10 of your 13 who are “assigned to show up” with one on reserve (for someone who gets sick for ex). You’ll still have a team of ten that isn’t your “best” ten but you’ll get to the top of your lineup faster. I had a summer coach who did this for my sons team and while originally I thought it was bad, it was nice to have a couple games “off” where we could make plans as a family bc we knew he wasn’t on the game or the “reserve” call. Everyone got to play the same number of games, and for the parents, you knew your kid was actually going to play, rather than bat a couple times and play one inning in field. Won’t fix your “best team” situation but is a way to meet in the middle

We’ve all been there, young, new, learning, I’ve misapplied rules in youth ball and such and learned from them. I don’t begrudge umpires for making a mistake, but I wish I could tell them, “if you’re unsure of a rule, always side with the less controversial ruling, then make sure you look it up as soon as you get home”. These guys made up a rule, or were “convinced” by the other coach it was an out. Again, they don’t know the rule, fine, it happens, but just tell the coach, “coach, he shouldn’t have done it but it had no impact on the play, you’re not getting a cheap out here”. If they were wrong, they’re wrong, but that’s a lot less controversial than taking away a HR and calling him out. And btw, just bc it’s NFHS rules doesn’t mean it was hs game. Could have been a 11u game where umpires “should” make mistakes bc that’s where they’re learning too

It’s a live ball, they can’t “reset” without you allowing them to do so. Point it fair, and if/when it’s obvious they have no clue it’s a live ball, you can announce “it’s a live ball guys” and let them get the out or batter try to advance. I am assuming this is a very young age. If even after announcing, no one does anything, assuming this is like 8/9 rec, you could prob get away with calling it a strike and move on, with a learning opportunity about why that’s a live fair ball

Play on, they are a part of the field. On a THROWN ball (not pitched or batted ball), you’ve got to have something intentional or out of play to kill it

@Thunderheads@mavenI believe the OP is meaning the batter hit the ball (“put in play”), not what we as umpires do. But as others noted, putting ball in play is not required to be out here, simply fouling the ball while being on the plate or outside the box would be an out as well. This is a call that, for me, is tough as HPU unless it’s a bunt and even then is iffy. I am tracking the pitch, why would I leave the pitch and stare at his feet on the slim chance he’s out of the box? this is one of the few calls (that happen at the plate) that I would want my BU to grab, and grab immediately and big, and he darn well better be 100% to make it. Similar to “can you see if the ball hit his foot?” , this can be shut down with “he’d have called it if he saw it”

In college baseball, we are told to “never tell an assignor (whether directly or through an evaluation) something you won’t tell the umpire”. In other words, don’t say “good job” and then tear them apart in evaluations. If they need to improve, be part of the solution and help them. If it’s so minor it isn’t worth mentioning to them, then don’t mention it to an assignor either. The only excuse for not saying something to partner is if you genuinely would fear for your safety, and if they’re that kind of person, they shouldn’t be umpiring kids. For example, the language one , “Hey Mike, I swear like a sailor myself, no problem with it in general, but I’d be careful what you say on the field, it makes us look unprofessional”. If he doesn’t stop; then you can let the assignor know and you aren’t a “snitch” in your words. There are two reasons for inappropriate behavior, don’t know or don’t care that it’s wrong. Help with first, deal with it when it becomes the second.

You are correct. The base coach must do something intentional to interfere with the thrown ball to call him for INT, which would result in an out, not a base award. Not sure what age you saw this in, but it’s likely a newer umpire who thinks that “everything is something”, meaning an unusual play must result in something, which is not true, but hopefully they will learn and grow and have proper mentors.

Fair enough

The 3rd to 1st move in HS is a disengagement is it not?

Grammar was bad, but unlike many, I stick to the specific situation and question. My comment was about lifting the leg. The only way to lift the leg and throw behind you is disengagement, ie, the 3rd to 1st move that is only legal in nfhs

I said “if they lift their leg”. I don’t go off on tangents and say “well what it”. My comment was about lifting the leg bc that was their scenario

When the pitcher lifts their leg, they are required to throw to the plate, to the base they are facing (first in your case) or second base. You can never throw to the base behind you (from set) without disengaging first.

do you really need to ask? Yes, 100% correct as described

There are interpretations that exist that are not written in rule. In NCAA for example, a bat flip is now an automatic warning and can be an ejection. A batter calling time is now an offensive conference whether they talk to the coach or not. Neither of these are in the rule book, but are interpretations of existing rules (unsportsmanlike action rules and pitch clock rules) that they (ncaa) want enforced. MLB has similar directives, often leading to questions such as “why do they do it like this?” Or “why do they let the smallest of balks go?” I have no proof but I surmise the equipment violation falls into this category, of an interpretation of an existing rule surrounding XYZ (unsportsmanlike acts, safety issues, expression of dissatisfaction, etc)

Slightly Off topic, I was watching my friend umpire an ncaa game, 2-man, he was bases. R1, less than two outs. Slow grounder, throw to second, hard but legal slide. He signaled out and then pointed and signaled safe (presuming he said “that’s nothing” also but no audio) Announcer was so confused, haha, he couldn’t figure out why he signaled out and safe on the same play.

Something I learned that has helped is to be more attentive during pitching changes and warm ups. Preventative umpiring is your friend here. He *likely* did this during warm ups, there is your chance to tell him and educate him in a low key situation. “Hey, I can let that go with no one on, but when runners are on base, you can not use the windup from the set position”

Happens to us all

He said bases loaded. Runner was forced to advance, so third out is a force, no run scores. As an aside, in what world does a C throw to SS in middle of Diamond instead of stepping on home or throwing to first?