r/Umpire

Let me preface this by saying I got back into umpiring again last year after my son was done playing and didn’t have this problem

So far I’ve been umpiring strictly Little League and with it comes the gamut of catchers from really good to not moving their glove

I have gotten hit multiple times this year to where I’ve gotten to the point with even the good catchers I am flinching at pitches I think may hit me

I need to get out of this bad habit and fast as it’s not fair to the kids.

I’ll also be moving up to older age groups as the summer goes on

Give me some advice on how to stop

I was working a middle school boys game by myself and yesterday and had this happen:

Pitch comes, batter swings and misses, catcher tries to throw out runner going to 3rd and hits the batter pretty hard.

Is this interference? The batter didn’t move at all; do they need to try to move? It’s also interference if they move though, right?

The kid was hurt pretty bad so I called time and had the coach check up on him. In the end, the runner got to stay at 3rd and the game continued. What do the NFHS rules say about this? This is only my 2nd game behind the plate but I’m trying to improve.

Batter hits a ball to third baseman who air mails it to first. There is incidental contact between BR and first baseman at the bag as the first baseman was going for the ball. This causes batter runner to slightly miss the bag and he then proceeds to second base. The ball is gathered up and thrown to the pitcher. Everyone on the field thinks BR touched the bag except the ump. Play is about to resume normally with the next batter but the umpire is standing in the field looking at the pitcher who has the ball and pointing to first base. The coach then tells the kid to throw to first and now the batter runner is out.

My understanding is that in this situation the defensive coach should call time to contest the batter runner touching the base and then have the pitcher throw to the base before the next pitch. At that point if the umpire agrees that he missed the bag the runner would be out. What is actually supposed to happen in this situation?

Edit: these are paid travel ball umpires.

Relatively new, 2 50/70 bases, 5 behind the mound, 3 junior minor plate games. I have never had an issue w a coach over base calls but usally at the plate I hear it from both teams. I just try to stay in my slot, do 2 balls everyway for the younger guys but I’ve heard many complaints my zone is way too low. Is there a way to actively train this or does it come with time!

Little League Minors. Runner on 1st, no outs. Runner takes an aggressive lead after the pitch. Catcher throws to 1st baseman. Runner slides back to 1st (feet first), over-sides over the top of the bag and runs into fielder (attempting to catch the throw from Catcher). Runner ends up tripping/sweeping 1st baseman off his feet. Ball is not caught and runner then steals 2nd.

Does the over-side contact constitute Runner Interference?

Still learning as a relatively new ump…

OBR, 13U A ball (lowest/most recreational level in Manitoba)
Batted ball is a grounder to SS. R2 is running a direct line from 2nd to 3rd. SS is stationary one step behind the runner’s path waiting for the ball.
R2 passes in front of SS as the ball arrives - does not touch the ball but is definitely in the SS sightline. SS misses the ball.

I didn’t call interference, but I think I should have?

I've had a few situations in which the batter mistakenly thinks an uncaught pitch is an uncaught third strike (ex. uncaught second strike or uncaught ball). As a result, they go running down to first base, oftentimes with the catcher then attempting to throw them out at first.

The question I am struggling with is whether this act by the batter constitutes Interference?

According to NFHS Rule 8-4-2, the definition for Interference is: Any act by the team at bat (physical or verbal) that hinders, impedes, or confuses a fielder attempting to make a play. It seems to me that at minimum, the batter's act is confusing to the defensive team.

If you have thoughts, please weigh in - thanks!

Situation-

Kid runs for the ball making a sliding catch. Ball hits his glove and pops out, rolls down the kids stomach onto his untucked shirt which is on the grass, but the ball does not touch the grass until the players barehand goes to pick it up. Kid laid there like that for a good 6 seconds (we thought he was hurt) before he picks up the ball.

Is it a catch?

I saw this play in a HS tournament game yesterday.

R1, sacrifice bunt. Batter runner stays in the running lane. Pitcher fields the ball, flips to F4 who is covering the bag, the ball arrived and passed through the fielder and on into right field. The ball was not thrown into the path of the runner; rather the pitcher was too close and threw it too hard. A split second later there was a collision where the batter runner tripped over F4. He picked himself up and was tagged out on a close play at 2nd base. Runner from 1st scored.

Now Consider this Case Play:

>F6 fields a ground ball and and throws to F3 in attempt to retire B1 at first. The ball is thrown wide. As F3 lunges towards the ball, F3 collides with B1 knocking B1 to the ground prior to possessing the ball (a) while B1 is short of first base or (b) after B1 has contacted first base. Ruling (a) Obstruction; (b) legal. (8.3.2. Situation K)

So my question is:

When you see a collision, what rulebook criteria do you use to justify that the collision is a "nothing?" Do you go by instinct, severity of impact, intent, etc.?

It seems to me that the case play suggests that the only time we have a "nothing" is when the fielder possesses a ball in which the throw took him into the basepath at the last moment. So in any case where the ball is not possessed, even briefly, we have to have either OBS or INT?

Also, do you just think the HS case play is dumb and no one enforces it that way?

I have only done 5 games behind the plate wirh balls and strikes. I recently did a 12u AAA game and called most curve balls as balls. Anyone got any tips on how to call them better? (I got the same team again tomorrow)

Thanks in advance as I can't find this in the rulebook. Little League minors AA: Situation is very beginning of the game, umpire calls the batter into the box, defense is ready, and the pitcher throws a pitch. (Not sure if the outcome matters) Batter singles up the middle. After kid is on 1b the umpire calls him back because he never called the ball into play. Should the play stand or not? I'm assuming this could also apply after any dead ball. Appreciate the help!

I just started umpiring 4-6yo T-Ball and they’re using USSSA rules. If a kid is standing on top of a base or right in front of it without the ball while the runner is running, can I call obstruction?

I normally do NFHS but helped out with a USSSA/OBR game this weekend in 3 person crew. I was in field and excited to practice a 3 person crew.

Leadoff guy swung strike 3 low. Ball is picked cleanly by catcher but did hit ground. Runner makes is safely to first (action later) and coach and crowd are furious that catcher caught the ball. So we all meet with PU and confirm ball did hit ground before catcher had it. PU explains to coach it is uncaught not "dropped". He's mad again and has a new question...

The play: Before BR makes it to first he sees F3 setup and ball coming in. He does a 180 and takes step back home, ball gets past F3, runner does plant step another 180 (full spin basically) and runs to first all in full motion. PU didn't see this and we confirm with defensive coach he did spin. PU said since he did thay it was abandonment and called him out. I asked later and PU said it was because he was beyond where circle would be. (Dirt field)

Would you guys consider this enough for abandonment? This isn't in NFHS and thought it was a little cheap to call in this situation. (Given this coach called time to give his opinion on everything)

This past weekend I was working a HS varsity double header. This game was my 37th varsity game of the season and I was behind the plate. One thing I love about this game is that you will still see things you've never seen before. Well today was it.

Pitcher is on the mound, pitching out of the set position. His back foot is in contact with the rubber, however he has not come set yet. Runners are on base and while waiting for the batter to be ready, he begins flipping the ball between his glove hand and his throwing hand. Not reaching into the glove mind you, but literally flipping the ball back and forth in a game of catch with himself.

I balked him up once for it because he actually reached into the glove to retrieve the ball and pulled it out, then put it back in when he came set. Every other time I didn't rule anything and neither did my partner.

In between innings I had a quick discussion with my partner, asking what he thought. He said he also had never seen it before, so we quickly discussed the rule and decided he wasn't breaking his hands apart twice so there was no balk by reasoning of the wording of the rule.

After the game I called my state rules interpreter and asked his take. He also said he had never seen that before, but that he agreed not a balk. He stuck to the spirit of the balk rule that there was no deceptive action taking place and there was no double separation.

Curious what you all think?

What happens if a pitcher steps off but doesn’t drop the hands to the side as “When the pitcher disengages the pitcher's plate, he/she must drop the hands to the sides” states.

There is no penalty written for it just says the pitcher must. From what I know this isn’t one of the 13 ways to balk. So what’s the penalty if any?

I had a game over the weekend with a situation I have not encountered before - any help on interpreting or preventing in the future would be appreciated!

2 outs. 2 men on base. 2-2 count. Batter check-swings but not enough to be called a strike. Catcher drops the ball. Batter immediately starts running to first base, thinking it was an uncaught third strike. Fans erupt with all kinds of yelling and noise (which drowned out my call of "Ball"). Batter and base runners start to advance, and catcher throws the ball to first in time to get the batter. Defensive players all start leaving the field.

I stopped the game, announced it was a ball and sent everyone back to their original positions. It worked out ok, but I don't think this was correct. If I let things proceed, the offensive team could have continued to run the bases and scored runs. But I think if I had done this, they would have abandoned the field as well.

Thoughts? What would you have done here?

15U (Canada) but could be any age really:
Every second kid that gets on first base calls time so he can get his sliding mitt from the first-base coach, and then stands there for a bit putting it on.

Do we have to wait for this kid to be settled and ready, to call play?