Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'distraction'.
Found 1 result
-
This has occurred with me behind the plate three times this year alone. I’m still not sure I handled it correctly. In both a LL (x2) and HS game, runners on 1B and 2B, less than 2 outs. The Batter gets a called strike three, which then gets by the Catcher. I clearly motion and loudly call him out, however with everyone screaming a plethora of commands (“Run, he dropped the ball!â€, “He’s out!â€, “You call that a strike?â€, etc.) the Batter-Runner takes off for first full speed and the Catcher gets the ball and throws it past the 1B. Chaos ensues: the Runners don’t know what to do, so they’re advancing (albeit hesitantly), the defensive coach is yelling that the Batter-Runner distracted his fielders by running when he was out, and the offensive coaches are yelling out contradictory commands to the base Runners (“Run!†vs. “Get back!â€). One of my Field Umpires called time and ruled it “Distraction†saying that the Batter-Runner caused the chaos in the first place, and he sent everyone back to where they were (except the Batter). Both coaches seemed pacified, yet I asked him after the game where that was in the rule book, and he just mumbled something about being fair to the spirit of the rules. What should I have done in these circumstances?
