jimurrayalterego

Nobody has replied to my challenge to show me a sideways pitcher who you could not tell if he was going to windup or pitch from set. I found one. Mahle. But it's not a pretty story. SG - CR Saturday 7/11, T3, R3. Mahle F1 is the pitcher who even I can't tell if he is going to windup or set but his windup is a miniscule free foot stutter step to HP. He delivers like that for a swinging strike and 3B coach asks why wasn't that a balk, he didn't declare. Umps get together and balk it. Looks like a crew I don't recognize except for PU but you gotta focus on the little things a pitcher does. Calling the balk after the 3B coach asks does not look good. 3B coaches are looking for tells to send R3s and umps should be looking for those also. So score the run and let everybody know that was a no pitch. Didn't happen. PU called a second strike which had two fingers and called batter out after third strike. Somebody asked and batter went back with 2 strikes. Ejection followed. 👍 🙂 😀 💯 😄

Pitcher can turn either way to 2B. It must be continuous and there must be a step more toward 2B.

I would agree with the committee that enough amateur umps could not, or would not want put the effort in, to comprehend the OBR balk rule. I only have anecdotal evidence though. That, among other things, would be umpire forums with posters adamantly espousing OBR balks and in the same thread getting the officiating of a sample situation wrong. Or the PONY umpire assignor from a South Texas city telling me that they use coach choice because the rule is too complicated. But NFHS did float a trial balloon to address the inequity of losing a HR and the possible reading comprehension skills of some of their cohort with using "coach choice", sadly convincing me, an avid rule guy, that that would not be bad. In my neck of the woods the JV coaches agree to whatever their players skill level is. We could have DH with first game free sub, all batting, 3 outs-3 runs, balk warnings with the frosh and competitive second game with guys that will be playing 6A V next year. Are there states that don't accommodate this?

I use "at home base" as the location where a batter would be guilty of BI. Others argue that any hindrance of "a play at home base" would be BI.

Good question. We don't have BI, we have a member of the team at bat failing to vacate and hindering the pitcher. R3 out other runners return. 6.01(b)"...............................................If a member of the team at bat (other than a runner) hinders a fielder’s attempt to field a thrown ball, the ball is dead, the runner on whom the play is being made shall be declared out and all runners return to the last legally occupied base at the time of the interference."

We've had some threads before about "long sleeves under short sleeves". It used to be anathema. At upper levels I still espouse no long sleeves under short sleeves for cold weather. Use a long sleeve shirt for the plate and jacket on the base (current fashion being an untucked jacket). For our young impoverished HS umps we don't care what they use to keep warm. But any long sleeve shirt available now is not built for warm weather and probably would not look good if designed to wick and protect the arms. I believe I have posted before about the proper color that an assignor would like such as skin tone like beige but the best solution was posted if I recall by @MadMax which was the various recent MLB sidepanel shirts with a side panel color matching long sleeve. Whose assignor would not allow that?

He shouldn't "know" that if he knows that a BU coming in should not be looking at the B-R all the way down the line. It probably would be the case in this OP unless @lovejoy and @scubabob34's techniques were employed. In any case, the BU should not be on the runner all the way.

Interps regarding intentional touching of a foul ball by player or authorized persons use "chance" to determine INT or not. Nothing that I know of in rules.

Timing wise in your OP it probably wouldn't matter but I see a lot of BUs come in looking at the B-R all the way up the line. They should be reading the ball until the B-R nears 1B. Develop a feel for when to pick up the B-R. Yes, I've had coaches nod in unison when we mention visibility issues for HR/GRD at the plate meeting for a certain field.

Intentional interference with a thrown ball.

Is that the rationale the rule writers used in OBR/NCAA to penalize CI on a squeeze or steal. I thought it just was their way to advance all runners. We don't call that balk in FED for CI with a runner trying to score. We just advance runners that were stealing on the pitch.

R3 took umps off the hook by getting in. The step off occurred after F1 came set and then started arm motion to pitch which would be immediate balk. I would not have caught that start of motion myself in real time and probably would not have caught the step off. R3 being safe would have taken me off the hook also.

Regarding the "After" question we have this 2016 Interp: "SITUATION 17: A left-handed pitcher attempts to pick-off the runner at first base. Simultaneously with his throw, the pitcher picks up his pivot foot and places it behind the pitcher’s plate. The throw bounces off the first baseman’s glove and goes into dead-ball territory. The base umpire awards the runner third base, ruling that the pitcher was an infielder and the award is two bases. RULING: The award should be second base; only one base. The status of the pitcher at the time he made the attempted pick-off throw was still that of a pitcher, not an infielder. After the pitcher places his pivot foot on the ground clearly behind the pitcher’s plate, his status then changes to that of an infielder. Moving his pivot foot at the same time he attempts the pick-off does not change his status as a pitcher. (6-1-3, 8-3-3d)"

I have a jabstep/jumpturn and a balk. MLBUM: (i) It is legal for a right-handed pitcher to begin a pickoff move to first base by first moving his pivot foot in the direction of third base provided that he makes a legal step toward first base with the non-pivot foot before throwing there and provided that the move is continuous and without interruption. A pitcher who makes such a pickoff move is considered to be in contact with the rubber when he makes his throw to first base.

Wristwatches were and should be anathema but the current wrist gadgets seem acceptable and I believe I've seen stuff on MLB umps wrists. I was a fill in on an Indy League game a while ago and my crew chief kept asking me the time while we were rubbing up baseballs so I forget to take it off my Casio as we headed out. I'm plate. After the game my partner told me during the game two players asked why I was wearing a watch. He told them I had a hot date that night.