2025 NCAA Rules Test Thread

[grayhawk]

I'm only about 15 questions in and there appear to already be a couple of "trick" questions. Post your questions here without explicitly just asking for answers. My first question:

Can a coach physically assist a runner when the ball is dead? 3-3e states:

A base coach may not physically assist a runner in returning to or leaving the base.

8-5f states a runner is out when:

A coach, by touching or holding a runner, physically assists the runner in returning to or leaving a base (see 3-3-e);

I cannot find anything that indicates that this is only the case when the ball is live.

[grayhawk]

Second question, and this one pisses me off because when the rules change was put in, the wording of this question is exactly why I felt it was vague:

During a steal or squeeze, when a catcher steps "on, or in front of any part of home base without possession of the ball" then it's catcher's interference, etc. But what happens when the catcher steps to the left or right of the plate? Is there an imaginary line at the point of the plate extending outward and stepping over that line is a violation, or does it only encompass the width of the plate?

[JSam21]

32 minutes ago, grayhawk said:

I'm only about 15 questions in and there appear to already be a couple of "trick" questions. Post your questions here without explicitly just asking for answers. My first question:

Can a coach physically assist a runner when the ball is dead? 3-3e states:

A base coach may not physically assist a runner in returning to or leaving the base.

8-5f states a runner is out when:

A coach, by touching or holding a runner, physically assists the runner in returning to or leaving a base (see 3-3-e);

I cannot find anything that indicates that this is only the case when the ball is live.

The penalty gives you the answer.

Penalty for e. and f.- A delayed dead ball shall be called. At the conclusion of play, the runner shall be declared out. 

Deductive reasoning, the ball has to be live for there to be a delayed dead ball called. Also a coach helping an injured runner up from the ground during a dead ball would then fall under this rule, and we all know that isn't the case.

[grayhawk]

1 minute ago, JSam21 said:

The penalty gives you the answer.

Penalty for e. and f.- A delayed dead ball shall be called. At the conclusion of play, the runner shall be declared out. 

Deductive reasoning, the ball has to be live for there to be a delayed dead ball called. Also a coach helping an injured runner up from the ground during a dead ball would then fall under this rule, and we all know that isn't the case.

I saw that I thought that might be the case, but should we have to use deductive reasoning to enforce a rule, especially on one that could be cleared up so easily?

[grayhawk]

Got 57/60. I marked the questionable ones, but no clue which 3 I missed.

[BigBlue4u]

4 hours ago, grayhawk said:

I'm only about 15 questions in and there appear to already be a couple of "trick" questions. Post your questions here without explicitly just asking for answers. My first question:

Can a coach physically assist a runner when the ball is dead? 3-3e states:

A base coach may not physically assist a runner in returning to or leaving the base.

8-5f states a runner is out when:

A coach, by touching or holding a runner, physically assists the runner in returning to or leaving a base (see 3-3-e);

I cannot find anything that indicates that this is only the case when the ball is live.

It would seem to be common-sense that there is no reason to indicate this is only for a live ball since it's highly unlikely an advantage would be gained while the ball was dead.

[BigBlue4u]

4 hours ago, grayhawk said:

Second question, and this one pisses me off because when the rules change was put in, the wording of this question is exactly why I felt it was vague:

During a steal or squeeze, when a catcher steps "on, or in front of any part of home base without possession of the ball" then it's catcher's interference, etc. But what happens when the catcher steps to the left or right of the plate? Is there an imaginary line at the point of the plate extending outward and stepping over that line is a violation, or does it only encompass the width of the plate?

The rule is poorly written.  It should be worded, when a catcher steps "on or in front of any part of home base without possession of the ball and interferes with the batter, it's catcher's interference."

FYI, I have written dozens of rules tests over the years, and I absolutely avoided any question that could even remotely be construed as a "trick" question.  Do that just one time, and the people taking the test will be primarily looking for a different angle to the question rather than its basic premise.

[scubabob34]

5 hours ago, grayhawk said:

Second question, and this one pisses me off because when the rules change was put in, the wording of this question is exactly why I felt it was vague:

During a steal or squeeze, when a catcher steps "on, or in front of any part of home base without possession of the ball" then it's catcher's interference, etc. But what happens when the catcher steps to the left or right of the plate? Is there an imaginary line at the point of the plate extending outward and stepping over that line is a violation, or does it only encompass the width of the plate?

I think the Memo Bruns put out helps clarify the step...

"“In front of any part of home plate” is defined as a step toward the pitcher and any part
of the catcher’s foot on the ground beyond the back point of home plate."

Based on this, I had balk and int for this question

[jimurrayalterego]

5 hours ago, grayhawk said:

I saw that I thought that might be the case, but should we have to use deductive reasoning to enforce a rule, especially on one that could be cleared up so easily?

Did you ever get an answer to whether a teammate can assist a runner?

[grayhawk]

1 minute ago, jimurrayalterego said:

Did you ever get an answer to whether a teammate can assist a runner?

No. I'm hoping it's in the first "Ask Randy a Question" response.

[grayhawk]

15 minutes ago, scubabob34 said:

I think the Memo Bruns put out helps clarify the step...

"“In front of any part of home plate” is defined as a step toward the pitcher and any part
of the catcher’s foot on the ground beyond the back point of home plate."

Based on this, I had balk and int for this question

That's how I answered it. I don't remember reading that, but based on what you posted, balk and int is certainly the correct answer.

I think one of the ones I got wrong was the penalty for the catcher applying a foreign substance. I answered the catcher and head coach. I answered that way even though I can't find that penalty specifically in the rules, I can't imagine why we wouldn't EJ the catcher. The correct answer must be the pitcher and head coach are ejected.

[grayhawk]

1 hour ago, BigBlue4u said:

The rule is poorly written.  It should be worded, when a catcher steps "on or in front of any part of home base without possession of the ball and interferes with the batter, it's catcher's interference."

FYI, I have written dozens of rules tests over the years, and I absolutely avoided any question that could even remotely be construed as a "trick" question.  Do that just one time, and the people taking the test will be primarily looking for a different angle to the question rather than its basic premise.

I've done the same. Questions and answers should be straight forward, with the goal of furthering the test-taker's knowledge. Make the questions challenging enough to get the in the book, but reward them for getting there and finding the answer.

[scubabob34]

12 minutes ago, grayhawk said:

That's how I answered it. I don't remember reading that, but based on what you posted, balk and int is certainly the correct answer.

I think one of the ones I got wrong was the penalty for the catcher applying a foreign substance. I answered the catcher and head coach. I answered that way even though I can't find that penalty specifically in the rules, I can't imagine why we wouldn't EJ the catcher. The correct answer must be the pitcher and head coach are ejected.

Yes, it is the pitcher and HC, although I agree, seems bizarre that you wouldn't eject the offender.  Penalty specifically says pitcher and HC.  I think a "gotcha" question

[grayhawk]

1 minute ago, scubabob34 said:

Yes, it is the pitcher and HC, although I agree, seems bizarre that you wouldn't eject the offender.  Penalty specifically says pitcher and HC.  I think a "gotcha" question

They "got me." The correct penalty should be F2, F1 and HC all ejected. Both F1 and F2 were cheating, and now they want the head honcho to get it too.

[BigBlue4u]

15 minutes ago, grayhawk said:

I've done the same. Questions and answers should be straight forward, with the goal of furthering the test-taker's knowledge. Make the questions challenging enough to get the in the book, but reward them for getting there and finding the answer.

👍

[Richvee]

As for the catcher interference question, it was either in the clinic, or a recent rules interpretation video where they quickly show a little diagram with a line at the point of the plate parallel to the front of the plate. I remember thinking that little diagram should have been put in the rulebook. 

[Richvee]

3 hours ago, BigBlue4u said:

It would seem to be common-sense that there is no reason to indicate this is only for a live ball since it's highly unlikely an advantage would be gained while the ball was dead.

Out of the park home run, rounding 3b, runner misses the bag, 3B coach is a few feet down the line towards home to high five him, sees the miss, and pushes the runner back to third. Would this not be coach assistance? 

[jimurrayalterego]

4 hours ago, BigBlue4u said:

It would seem to be common-sense that there is no reason to indicate this is only for a live ball since it's highly unlikely an advantage would be gained while the ball was dead.

Does anyone have a problem with "delayed dead ball"? While NCAA espouses commonality with OBR, OBR calls it right away. Do you want the defense playing on an already out player? What signal does the umpire give that indicates coach assist and lets the defense know that that runner is already out?

[Replacematt]

8 hours ago, grayhawk said:

Second question, and this one pisses me off because when the rules change was put in, the wording of this question is exactly why I felt it was vague:

During a steal or squeeze, when a catcher steps "on, or in front of any part of home base without possession of the ball" then it's catcher's interference, etc. But what happens when the catcher steps to the left or right of the plate? Is there an imaginary line at the point of the plate extending outward and stepping over that line is a violation, or does it only encompass the width of the plate?

Yes. This has been covered in one of the offseason vids. Draw an imaginary line at the point of the plate, and crossing that line is a violation.

[Replacematt]

7 minutes ago, jimurrayalterego said:

Does anyone have a problem with "delayed dead ball"? While NCAA espouses commonality with OBR, OBR calls it right away. Do you want the defense playing on an already out player? What signal does the umpire give that indicates coach assist and lets the defense know that that runner is already out?

What is the difference between NCAA and OBR in this regard?

[Richvee]

2 hours ago, grayhawk said:

They "got me." The correct penalty should be F2, F1 and HC all ejected. Both F1 and F2 were cheating, and now they want the head honcho to get it too.

Plus, rule 9-2e actually says “The pitcher or defensive player shall not…..”

yet the penalty only says pitcher and HC🤷‍♂️

[jimurrayalterego]

12 minutes ago, Replacematt said:

What is the difference between NCAA and OBR in this regard?

NFHS and OBR call it right away. There is no delayed dead ball. The defense knows that runner is out. Probably not an issue most of the time but given the right circumstances in NCAA you could have the defense choosing to play on a runner that was already out as opposed to a live runner.

[grayhawk]

4 minutes ago, Richvee said:

Plus, rule 9-2e actually says “The pitcher or defensive player shall not…..”

yet the penalty only says pitcher and HC🤷‍♂️

Right. It's a total clusterf*ck. Did they write the test to show how poorly they wrote the rule?

[Replacematt]

25 minutes ago, jimurrayalterego said:

NFHS and OBR call it right away. There is no delayed dead ball.

Would you like to check that and get back to us?

Edit: I get what you are saying now--I'm focusing on the wrong part of your statement.

I have an idea on why, but I think it's probably more coincidental than intentional...it is conceivable that an offense could avoid a forced third out on a play with a run scoring by having coach assistance on the runner that would be forced out. By waiting until the end of the play to call this runner out, the defense could play on them to get the force and nullify the run.

[JSam21]

4 hours ago, grayhawk said:

That's how I answered it. I don't remember reading that, but based on what you posted, balk and int is certainly the correct answer.

I think one of the ones I got wrong was the penalty for the catcher applying a foreign substance. I answered the catcher and head coach. I answered that way even though I can't find that penalty specifically in the rules, I can't imagine why we wouldn't EJ the catcher. The correct answer must be the pitcher and head coach are ejected.

It’s the pitcher and HC