calablue

LHP or RHP doesn't matter. If he was in contact with the rubber, BALK. If he was not in contact with the rubber, it was legal.

my post was only in reference to your statement that contact is needed for the interference to be made.

According to the 2009-10 NCAA rule book.... rule 8-4-c-1 clearly states that it is interference if "the runner slides or runs out of the base line in the direction of the fielder and alters the play of a fielder ( with or without contact)." According to the same book it was still legal if contact occurred in the base line extended and also if it occurred on a popup slide.

Imagine the crap that would have been flying had the batter popped one over the fence for 3 run homer if it had been a " never came set balk" and the pitch had taken place. Wouldn't have wanted to be in your shoes in that sitch. Especially with a partner who thinks it should be a dead ball as soon as a balk is called!!!:wave:

To answer the question regarding little league.... if they are using OBR than it is a legal play.

In Fed it is a balk if the pitcher is within 5 feet of the rubber without the ball. (again...only if the ball is already in play). Rule 6-2-5. and of course this post and my previous post assume there is at least one base occupied.

I'm pretty sure that in FED he can't be within 3 or 4 feet of the rubber, something like that or it would be a balk. In NCAA rules, I'm SURE that the pitcher is not allowed to have even one foot within the 18 ft diameter circle of the pitchers mound or it is a balk. And I know that Babe Ruth rules are the same as OBR, which says that it is a balk if the pitcher stands on or astride the rubber without the ball. All the above situations are only true if the ball is in play already.

I am assuming that by R3 you mean the runner going to 3B because ther were only R1 and R2 at the start of the play. What I am wondering is where the hell was F5 if "F4...nails R3"? He must be one fast sucker to get to 3B from his position at 2B before a runner can get to 3B from 2B!!!! Derek Jeter in his younger days???:clap:

See the thread " F3or F5 foot in foul territory' ( page 3 of RULES thread)

There is no such thing as a fielders balk. Please cite the rule that says this is a fielders balk.

There are some other threads on here that deal with this. I know because I started one of them. The answer is that he is required to be in fair territory at the time of the pitch. The definition of being in fair territory varies depending on which rule set you are using. ( NCAA (and I believe H/S) also only requires one foot to be in fair on fair ground). Either way, it is not a balk. It is a situation that you leave alone unless it is brought to your attention and complained about by one of coaches, in which case it is a warning of "Don't do that." After which, if the player continues to do it you could give him his EJ slip.

I don't see how a balk could be called.....it is not a balk. BUT you could EJ him after you have already warned him not to do that.

exactly!:crazy:

The ball could hit the pinkie and the bat at the same time. To say it has to hit one or the other first is ridiculus. As far as I'm concerned, if I don't know for sure that it hit the bat first, it is a strike.:)

I know this is a HTBT situation, so I really am just curious where R3 was and what she was actually doing at the time that F1 threw to 3B. I am asking because obviously F1 knew she had dropped the ball, so she threw to 3B to get a double play she knew she didn't deserve. Was R3 close to home and do you think she would have been safe there if F1 had made a play on her there? Or had she stopped or turned back toward 3B? What she is doing headed for home on a no out popup is beyond me but that's irrelevant anyway.

If it hit both at the same time, he got hit by a pitch he was swinging at, strike three....c ya. If the ball hit both the hand and the bat at the same time, while the batter was diving for cover, wouldn't you award him first base? The only difference here is what he was doing when he got hit.

Right.....I forgot the OP said it rolled toward the plate.:clap:

It does matter whether it hit the bat or the hands because in the OP the batter had 2 strikes already. If it hit the hands while he is swinging ...Strike three ...OUT! But if it hit the bat .... FOUL BALL! Stay at the plate.:)

The only reason I need to know the score is due to the mercy rule in effect in most of the games I work. I do not keep the score myself ( not my job ) and I don't ask until the start of the 5th inning.

:ranton:I'm probably gonna get reamed by some of the guys on here for this, but oh well. I hate the " in the neighborhood" crap. Why should the offense be cheated out of a runner just so the defense doesn't have to take the time to get it right? A runner is out on a force play if the base is touched while the defender has control of the ball. I guess I'm just an ass, but in the neighborhood doesn't get an out with me. Do it right or you don't get the call.:WTF

Yeah sorry, he must have posted as I was typing.

Bikerider, Can you cite the rule that this interpretation comes from? I've never read this or seen it in print anywhere. The definition of a foul tip clearly says sharp and direct from the bat to the catchers hand or mitt, but it seems that sharp and direct can be a judgement call.

If you work on the outside you are going you're going to catch some nasty foul balls in places your gear does not protect. Bad place to be.

UIC, I know I've never seen it in OBR. NCAA has a rule that allows it. ( 9-1-a-6). B) The main point of my statement was that I think that no pitcher or manager has a legitimate argument that just because he has always done it, it is legal and it should not be called a balk. They have simply gotten away with it in the past. It is a move that is meant to deceive the runner, so why should it be allowed when any move that is meant to deceive the runner is supposed to be a balk ? B) Just wanted to put my worth in.

I know the 45 degree step is an accepted practice, but that doesn't make it a legal move. OBR 8.05c specifically states that it is a balk if the pitcher, while touching his plate, fails to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base. Please, if there is an OBR rule somewhere else that says that the pitcher may step at a 45 degree instead of directly toward the base to which he throws, cite it for me. Otherwise no pitcher or manager has a legitimate argument that just because he has always done it it is legal and it should not be called a balk. They have simply gotten away with it in the past.