ValleyUmp

17U Perfect Game championship. I'm PU. Double play ball with R1/R3, 1 out. Easy out at 2B, banger at 1B, my (very experienced and savvy) BU calls the BR Safe, R3 scores. From my angle I thought BU got it right. DHC walks out of his dugout - towards me. I call time and meet him at the circle. He says, "What did you see?" I replied, "You need to ask [partner's name], it's his call." Instead of approaching BU, he does a 180 and returns directly to his dugout without saying anything else! Go figure.

This is a really interesting topic. I work 13U-18U only for a respected regional organization, and I call as close to the MLB "strike zone box" as possible, as if I could be ABS-challenged. In practice, most of my partners call a flattened oval. Coaches (and parents] are surprised when I ball the outside/inside chalk, but just as surprised that I call strikes up to the letters and down to the kneecap.

I agree with the consensus for Option A. That said, I disagree with MadMax's premise. If the players are 18 and up, yes, it's a ridiculous question. But 13U-17U is not adult baseball. The umps in the video chose A, but the commentator (an umpire trainer) strongly disagreed and said B was correct on game management grounds. The stated rationale was (paraphrasing) "this is still youth baseball; we DON'T want the defense to 'take things into their own hands' and possibly start a sequence of retaliatory HBP. Address it now so it doesn't become a s-t-show later."

Saw this online, want some thoughts. This was a 90' field so older kids. Player A is at bat. F2 habitually sets up early, before pitcher starts his motion. Middle aged woman's voice (presumably Mom) is calling out "Inside" or "Outside" every time as the pitcher begins his motion. It's loud enough for the batter to hear, which means PU is hearing it too. She's only doing this when A is batting - not for any of A's teammates. Do you: A) Do nothing, "ignore the fans" as she's not saying anything personal or profane? B) Call over offense's HC and tell him the woman needs to stop or OHC will be ejected? C) Directly address/attempt to remove the woman?

Putting it out there for the veterans: should we adjust the timing play signal (which I've been trained to give/receive only with an R2 and two outs)? Seems that non-standard time plays happen quite a bit. I've heard and read about several, then just had one Sunday. I'm PU. 14U, R1/R3, one out. Sharp one-hop ground ball to F3 (holding R1 on). F3 steps on 1B for Out #2 and throws to 2B. R1 stops and retreats JUST long enough so that R3 touches home plate a split second before R1 gets tagged midway between 1B and 2B for Out #3. I score the run. No one complains (it changed the score from 11-5 to 11-6, trailing team would lose 13-6) but I thought about how I only made the basic 1st-to-3rd rotation signal. In a close game, that run could've been hugely consequential, and my partner and I weren't thinking about the scenario pre-play. Thoughts?

Another fun one I heard about: R1, one out. Drive to the outfield fence. (It's not stated, but I'm assuming it's "in the vee" and properly BU's call.) F9 catches the ball, collides with the fence, and crumples in a heap at the base of the fence. The ball is not visible, so BU signals out. R1 (almost but not quite to 2B) retreats to 1B and is passed by BR (busting it out of the box and around 1B), but it's apparently "nothing" because BR is now a retired runner. PU calls time and jogs out to RF along with DHC to check on the injured F9. While PU is on his way, both BR and 1BC tell him, "The ball popped out and went over the fence - it's a home run." When PU gets out there, he finds F9 is not in possession of the ball, looks over the fence (which is short enough to look over) and sees the ball on the far side. As F9 is being helped off the field by DHC and F8, PU and BU get together, BU changes his call to "home run", and R1 and BR both score. DHC protested the game, saying that because BR passed R1, he should be called out and only R1's run should've counted. Thoughts?

Longtime lurker, active umpire. NFHS rules. R1/R2, 2 out. Clean, sharply hit single to the outfield. R2 rounds third. An accurate throw home beats R2 by 20 feet. R2 stops and reverses course. In the ensuing rundown between 3B and HP, R2 is obstructed. PU properly calls and signals, "That's obstruction!" but it's NFHS (delayed dead ball) so play on. Note: No one involved in the play argued the obstruction call itself; everyone agreed it was genuine. After the act of obstruction, R2 made it back to the 3B bag without being tagged out - only to find it occupied by R1. R1, knowing the trail runner is the one in jeopardy whenever two runners occupy a base, now attempted to retreat to 2B. (The batter-runner had remained at 1B.) One quick snap throw and R1 is tagged out for Out #3. Time is called. PU scores R2 on the obstruction and awards R1 third base, intending to continue play with R1/R3, 2 out. DHC comes out to argue, saying R1 should've seen/heard the obstruction call and known he could remain on 3B; moreover, since it's a timing play and the 3rd out was recorded (on R1) before R2 could be awarded home, the inning should be over with no runs scoring. DHC is not profane, but his argument is persistent and prolonged - he's adamant PU has misapplied the rule - and PU ends up ejecting DHC. Most of the umpires I've talked to say that neither one was right: R2's run award counts, then the third out applies and it's side retired. Which of the three perspectives is correct? I was not personally involved but want to know the rulebook support.