Heads up baserunning...

[Umpire in Chief]

This is not my EJ, but a story I was told I wanted to pass along. My friend was the PU.

HS game R1, 3-2 count, 2outs.

The runner is breaking on the pitch. Batter hits a ground ball to F6 who bobbles the catch then double clutches his throw. Banger at first, but called safe. DC comes out to argue w/o calling time. He argues with BU, but R1 who had stopped at third then strolls in to home. F3 noticed the runner just before he makes it to the plate but is still safe.

DC goes nuts then starts hollering at the PU who tosses him for cussing at him. BR breaks for 2nd F2 wants to make a play but nobody was covering. The catcher then asked for time.

This sounded like some of the most heads up base running I've heard of in a while. It apparently took 5 minuets or so to get the coach off the field.

[LMSANS]

Definitely not heads-up coaching.

[Old Nr 24]

Players....coaches...and rules. When will they ever learn? This quick story is actually the direct opposite of heads up baserunning.

Working a 12-13 community league game early one spring with no outs, a runner on first and a 2-1 count on the hitter. As the next pitch is delivered the runner breaks for second and the hitter swings at the pitch. Classic situation, classic hit-and-run, right? Okay, at this level it was probably all classic only by accident, but there it was.

The batter swings, the runner is moving, and everyone within a quarter mile of the field heard that distinctive "clang" of horsehide on aluminum as the ball is fouled directly into the catcher's mitt, and miracle of miracles, he holds onto it! I raise my right hand and say, "Strike." The catcher returns the ball to the pitcher.

It's about that time I become aware of the first base coach yelling at his runner on second, telling him he has to return to first since it was a foul ball. The kid on second is looking dejected that he did not get credit for a stolen base, and begins ambling slowly back to first. Then it hit the pitcher what was going on. He calmly came off the mound and WALKED toward the runner returning to first, touched him with the ball, and I called him out! It did not come to an ejection, but the next five minutes were taken up by me explaining that a "foul tip" is NOT a "foul ball," and the ball remains live.

[mstaylor]

I've had the runner out returning on a foul tip and it's usually the coach's fault.

I was working a Pony game years ago, I was the BU, the PU was a college kid that I had umpired from LL through college. The R1 was a catcher and was moving on the pitch. Foul tip caught but no throw to second. The PU comes out and tells the R1 he has to go back. He looks at me with the:WTF look. I call the PU out to meet me between the platte and mound. I quietly ask him was it a foul tip straight back to the catcher and caught? He says yes, so I explain it's a live ball and the runner stays. His only question was, Really? Now he was a catcher all of his carreerso he should know this. We go back to put the ball back in play when the DM looks up from his book and realizes the runner stayed at second. He asked for time and asked the PU what gives. The PU grabs the bull by the horn and answers, "I don't know, Mike made the call, ask him."

I thewn explained the rule to both of them. I later told them both if they had paid better attention in the rules clinic they would have known that.