peterpalma

With a right handed pitcher and R1. Pitcher in the stretch has just lifted his free leg. Is going to first always a balk once the free leg has been lifted? Would it be legal to spin to the right and throw to first without stepping off the rubber? Is there any step towards first that would be legal turning to the left?

In Little League, is there a rule against pitching from the mound or taking infield before a game? We have had some umps that allow it and some that forbid it. Last night, one of the ones forbidding it said it was against Little League rules, but I haven't found it in the Little League rule book or found an online source referencing a rule about it.

I thought I'd seen a reference (not here) to a "trap" versus a "catch" and that a trap wasn't a catch, but I can't remember where I saw it. This may have been specifically about a ball thrown to a base for a force out. A search for "little league" and "trapping the ball" turned up some points. From OBR and based on what has been called in the pro's, it would be a catch. I'm still not sure it is for little league because of the definition in the little league rule book.

No, he didn't drop it. Was it a catch since he didn't drop it?

Another machine pitch little league situation with kids that just moved up from T-ball. A batter hits the ball to the fence and is rounding third when his twin brother who is the next batter up comes out of the dugout and comes to the right of the plate and sets up to hit. There was no throw and the runner scored, but if there had been a throw and the batter, who should have still been on the bench, interfered with it or confused the catcher, what would the call have been? Batter's interference and runner back to third?

I volunteer umpired a machine pitch little league game a few days ago. These are kids who just moved up from t-ball and many of them don't know the basic rules yet. There was R1 when the batter hit the ball directly to the 2nd baseman. The ball bounced off his glove and he "caught" it with a chicken-wing. R1 went to second without tagging up and BR ran to first. The offensive coaches were yelling for R1 to come back to first. The defensive coaches were yelling for the second baseman to throw the ball to first. By the time he did, BR was standing on first. Shortly after the throw arrived, R1 came back to first so now both runners are touching first. The defense never tagged either runner. All the coaches and players are looking at me to to see what the call is. I'm not making a call because I currently have "no catch" with BR safe at first and R1 out as soon as he's tagged, but no one tags him. I wait a LONG time and then I call time. Now what's the call? Am I correct that a "chicken wing" with no hands isn't a catch? Based on little league rules, where are the runners and is anyone out? I put the BR on first and R1 on second with no outs.