Interference Protocol Between Partners

[Cav]

NFHS rules, losers' bracket in a double-elim tourney with two teams that are on a first name basis with each other.  The game is in a relatively new and pristinely maintained ballpark.  The concession is making money, the snow cones have three flavors and the smell of dogs and brats is wafting in the air.  There never was a more beautiful afternoon for baseball, with a moderate breeze blowing out to RF, comfortable temps and it's party cloudy. 

The crew has two, well-seasoned veterans: One behind the plate who's on the backside of his non-illustrious avocation, and a base umpire who's impeccably dressed, amazingly agile, rules savvy, friendly, courteous...you get the picture.   

We're in the second inning with the VT up 1-0 and now, with less than two out, they have R1 and R3.  R1 goes on the pitch and, being an offensive tackle in another life, his speed gives the D plenty of time to think how they want to play F2's throw.  F4 shoots across the infield while eyeing R3 and, seeing no attempt to advance, allows the throw to pass through to F6 covering 2B.  R1 goes in standing up, though decelerating like only a lineman can, with arms crossed at his chest and, while neither pushing nor shoving, knocks the 140# F6 to the ground short of the bag.  The ball is dropped, BU calls safe, R3 scrambles across to the plate.  "HE'S GOTTA SLIDE!" reverberates throughout the park so loud that it stops the breeze, darkens the clouds, extinguishes the grill and melts the ice in the snow cone machine.

This is blatant NFHS interference yet the offended team's coach let's it go, doesn't come out, just let's it go.  The base guy doesn't initiate a request for any help from his partner.     

The game goes on (and on) eventually ending after seven complete with the VT winning 11-0, waiting (some think purposely) until the top of the 7th to get 10 ahead.  The offended team never retaliated in any way.     

You're on the dish.  What woulda/shoulda/coulda you do?  What's the protocol between partners? 

 

 

 

 

   

[maven]

Any umpire who sees INT or OBS may call it. No "protocol" required: getting this is a crew-saving call.

I'd expect BU to get this, right in front of him, during his play: as an observer I'd ask him what he saw. As PU I'd call it, then discuss what he saw before enforcing it.

As described, I'd be considering MC: a runner who doesn't slide, lines up a (much smaller) fielder, and crashes him almost certainly initiated the contact deliberately and to punish (they usually whine, "I have a right to the baseline!" on their way off the field).

[blue23ll]

Point of clarification please, was F6 on or in front of the base? I would have MC most definitely, crashing into the pivot on a double play, interference.  If you see it, you call it, PU or BU. 

[Ump29]

1 hour ago, blue23ll said:

Point of clarification please, was F6 on or in front of the base? I would have MC most definitely, crashing into the pivot on a double play, interference.  If you see it, you call it, PU or BU. 

What double play ?

[blue23ll]

Misread the OP. 

[noumpere]

I would give the BU my best "Are you sure you don't want to get together to talk about this?" look (or whatever other pre-arranged signal the two of ou have) and then go back to work.  Talk about it in the post game.  I am not calling it in front of my partner.

[maven]

12 minutes ago, noumpere said:

I would give the BU my best "Are you sure you don't want to get together to talk about this?" look (or whatever other pre-arranged signal the two of ou have) and then go back to work.  Talk about it in the post game.  I am not calling it in front of my partner.

You work with consistently better trained and more reliable partners than many of us do. Your approach makes more sense with such partners, whom we'd be better off trusting to get their own calls right in front of themselves. I probably should have made my recommendation partner/level-relative.

[MadMax]

See, we've had instances like this before in my experiences, primarily at prestigious tournaments that have their own modified rulesets, especially covering contact, avoidance and slides. For example, a particular tournament uses OBR but has a strict "No Headfirst Slide at Home Plate" rule clause. The ballplayer could execute the most beautiful, contact-less, perfectly-timed torpedo shot and extend the hand just as he clears the catcher; or, he could be a showboatin' little putz and belly flop on HP on a HR, with no one standing near him – it doesn't matter, it's an Out. And in many cases, it's the BUs making that call because the PU either completely forgets the rule, isn't familiar with it in his work back home, or is so intent on seeing the ball arrive to the catcher and then come squirting out and roll across the ground, he misses processing the precursory headfirst slide by the R3, and rules the R3 "Safe!".

This is a point where a/the BU must step in. It is completely bad form to, from his position during the play, inject himself into the action of the play that would otherwise be the jurisdiction of the PU. The BU isn't overruling PU, or his role, though; he's not calling the R3 Out or Safe based on the ball tagging him at the Plate first, he's calling R3 Out on an explicit Rules Violation that any umpire can see and enforce. Thus, it is best to wait until action has ceased, call Time (someone better), and initiate an umpire conference. I don't care if it's a guy who I've never worked with before, my usual partner back home (in which case the conference is remarkably short) or the Umpire Coordinator of our MSBL, this conference is happening because we (as an umpire team) have to get this right.

So, if you've got Interference on a play 120 feet from you and your BU, 10 feet from  the action doesn't rule on it, you best get a conference a-goin' about it. You say this is NFHS rules? What if this was an actual High School game and someone from the State office was there in attendance, or an evaluator / assigner, or the AD of a member school? My point is, you're going to be noted - as a team – for failure to enforce a rule. No one is going to defend your silence because you didn't want to step on your partner's toes.

Caveat: I'm talking rules violations, not safe/out calls at base-of-responsibility. So too, I'm advocating to getting together after play action has ceased, not interjecting into action and causing it to cease.

[zoops]

In reading this I'm having hard time (probably harder than I should ) time envisioning this as INT.  It's not a requirement to slide, and if it's not judged to be MC, what's the standard for INT?  I know the rule says it's anything that interferes, etc. with a player attempting to make a play, but merely making contact when being tagged is certainly not always INT.  Think if an F3 goes into the baseline to catch a throw and subsequently gets run into by the BR and falls over and now can't make a play at another base, are you going to call INT? - unlikely.  Are you getting INT here because the contact was, in your judgement, avoidable?  I'm not trying to argue that there couldn't have been INT on this play and obviously there's some HTBT, but am more just curious what you'd be looking for to call INT on a play like this without MC.  

[Cav]

8-4-2 . . . Any runner is out when he: c. does not legally attempt to avoid a fielder in the immediate act of making a play on him;