Hi Lenn had trouble finding your umpire thread. I have a question im having a hard time finding. High schoool level. man on 3rd no outs. suicide squeeze. runner scores easily from 3rd. but the bunter gets called for a running lane violation. the runner scored way before the violation. does run count or back to 3rd.
Great question.
Off the top of my head,
It doesn't make any difference if the runner scored before the interference. The only time it would matter is if the runner had reached 1st base.
I would need to look this up just to be positive, but just off of what I do know,
No offense can gain anything if they commit any sort of interference. Even if there was no play on the runner scoring, the batter committed an act of offensive interference by running illegally. That fact would automatically make the batter/runner out for interference and the runner from 3rd would have to return to 3rd base.
As I said, I would double-check this with my rule book, and that will have to wait until tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure this would be the correct answer.
Ok Lenn thanks. I buried my head in the book again an for some reason it's looks like high school for some reason has it written that the runner has to go back to the last base touched at the time of interference. The base in this case would be home if he scored before the runner even gets to the running lane. I would appreciate your input if you read what I did.
What you said, in theory, is correct, except in baseball.
The position of the runners 'AT THE TIME OF THE PITCH' is the key to most base awards if the batter/runner does not reach 1st base. So, in your situation, the runner had 3rd base, so as long as the batter/runner had not reached first, techichally thats where he would go back to. This is not a time-play.
Base awards are confusing, but again, if it is the first play in the infield, the position of the runner at the time of the pitch is the key. He was not awarded home, so cannot Go back there. He was on 3rd at the time of the pitch and he would return to 3rd.
We get flap from coaches who know nothing of base awards. Runner on 1st. He runs on the pitch, batter hits a ground ball to short. The runner from 1st was standing on second base when the SS fielded the ball. He now throws wild to 1st base, into dead ball area. The batter is awarded 2 bases, to 2nd base, but the runner on 1st will only get 3rd as at the time of the pitch he occupied 1st base. Coaches complain all the time that he was on 2nd at the time of the throw and should be awarded 2 bases from that position--NOOOOOOO. Yes, he gets 2 bases, but again, he was on 1st base at the time the play started (Time of the pitch), so he gets 3rd, and they can protest all they want. I will always be right.
I have a question for you Lenn if you know softball rules.
This happened to me about 40 years ago. I was up to bat. I am strictly a right handed hitter. I drew a 3-0 count. I decided to get cute and switched to the other side of the plate to rattle the pitcher a bit and draw a walk. He threw a strike on the next pitch. I then went back to hit right handed. The umpire stopped me and made me stay hitting left handed. His reason was I was making a mockery of the game.
I then easily grounded out. I told the umpire I wasn't trying to make a mockery of the game but he had his mind made up. Is there any such rule in softball?
Thank you so much for your input. You are 100% correct as usual. High school baseball rule book says at the time of pitch. I was looking at case studies for high school girls softball as i do both. girls rule book says at the time of interference. confusing. thanks again.
Squibber from what i see that should have been allowed. if you switched sides while the pitcher is on the rubber you will be called out.
Since I know nothing about softball rules, I cannot answer. In baseball, you can switch sides of the batter's box as long as the pitcher is not on the rubber. Can you do it twice in the same at bat? I really don't know. If there is nothing specific in the rule book about it, the umpire CAN use his own discretion on it and if he felt you were doing it to be a bit too cute, he does have the authority to make you stay in the batter's box at whatever side you were on, or even call you out, yes, for making a mockery of the game. I have never seen an umpire do this, but he does have the authority.
If any of you are old enough to remember Jimmy Piersall. He was a bit of a head case and there were a few times on hitting a home run, he would run the bases running backwards. I have seen an umpire call a player out for trying this in a high school game many, many years ago. Making a mockery of the game was the reason.