Any Baseball rules questions answered here

[Bill Brown]

I will go with GOs answers except with #4 I am thinking that because the ball goes into the dugout the runner would be awarded 2nd base.

Bill

[jimv]

Jim

I won't divulge the answers just yet, but you need to go back and reread your rule book. Quickly looking you got one correct, another partially and the rest, well, I'm glad you ain't my partner on game day. 

So am I!

[LennG]

Mike

nice try, but like Jim, most are not correct.

Want to try again, or are you guys ready for the answers?

[jimv]

Bring them on, Lenny.

BTW, I just came up with an idea.   Why don't you publish a book called "Baseball Rules for Dummies?"

[LennG]

Compared to some, I am the 'dummy'.   

I consider myself better than the average umpire at the knowledge of the rules, but, like many other things, many rules are open to interpretation, as you will see in one of my answers.

I'll wait for Mike to see if he wants to take another crack at it before I'll reveal the correct rulings

[Giant Obsession]

Compared to some, I am the 'dummy'.   

I consider myself better than the average umpire at the knowledge of the rules, but, like many other things, many rules are open to interpretation, as you will see in one of my answers.

I'll wait for Mike to see if he wants to take another crack at it before I'll reveal the correct rulings

Lenn, go ahead with the answers.  You got the best of me, I actually thought each one through carefully without doing research.  Since I am 60 I actually have been trying to use my head more, sometimes to no benefit 

[Giant Obsession]

Compared to some, I am the 'dummy'.   

I consider myself better than the average umpire at the knowledge of the rules, but, like many other things, many rules are open to interpretation, as you will see in one of my answers.

I'll wait for Mike to see if he wants to take another crack at it before I'll reveal the correct rulings

[LennG]

Mike (or anyone else who wants to participate)

You seem pretty good at this. For several years here, I used to put up a baseball quiz, on the rules, before each baseball season started.

Here are a few of the questions, I'll continue with a few each week

1)  Man on 1st. Pitcher deliver's the pitch and the umpire calls a BALK on the pitch. The batter swings at the pitch and hit's a single with the runner from first going third.
What is the official call??

2)  Man on 2nd with 1 out. Batter hits an infield pop up. The shortstop, while going to try and catch the ball, runs into the base runner who is standing on 2nd base. The base runner didn't interfere with the fielder, but made no, effort to get out of the way. The ball dropped in the infield and everyone is safe.
What's the call.

3)Runner on 1st with 1 out. On a 3-2 pitch to the batter, the runner goes. Batter swings and misses and his momentum carries him over home plate and interferes with the catcher trying to throw the runner out.
What's the call??

4)  What's the call in these situations
  a-- Batted ball hit's 3rd base and caroms into the dugout.???
  b-  Batted ball hit's the pitchers rubber and caroms into the dugout???
  c-  Batted ball hits an umpire standing in the infield before passing a fielder, and caroms into the        dugout. ???

5)  Bases loaded, batter hits a soft line drive to the 2nd baseman who lets the ball hit his glove and drops it intentionally. He then proceeds to turn a double play.
Legal???????

OK guys. I wasn't trying to fool anyone with any sort of trick questions, but most people, even announcers like McCarver, when he was doing games, don't know the correct rulings on most things. They go with what they think makes the most sense. sometimes that should be correct, but with MLB the rules are the rules.

#1. When a pitcher is in the delivery of a pitch and he balks, it is what is known as a delayed dead ball. That means if the batter reaches first base and all runners move up one base then the balk is ignored. If either of those criteria are not met, then the balk is enforced, the batter remains at bat and each runner is awarded one base. This type of balk can be when the pitcher doesn't come to a complete stop before delivering the ball. The umpire will call the balk but not jump out from behind home plate. Again, a delayed dead ball.
BTW, if you guys were HS umpires, your call would be correct. In HS it is a dead ball as soon as the ump calls balk. I called this last year and the guy swung at the pitch and hit a HR. The crowd was cheering like crazy until I had to inform him that it wasn't a HR and he is still at bat.

#2. If a runner is occupying a base and a play is happening right near him, he does NOT have to move out of the way, as long as he remains on the base and is not forced to move.  As long as he doesn't interfere with the player trying to make a play on the ball, he is safe on his base. You cannot call interference if he doesn't interfere. Now he cannot move in a  way to impede the defensive players ability to make a play. Everyone is safe.

#3 Both you guys got the main gist of this correct, only there could be more and SHOULD be more. Since the batter swung and missed, strike 3, he is out, NOW he is over the plate and he interferes with the catcher trying to throw out a base runner. YES indeed it is interference, but since the guy is already out on the strike out, he again needs to be penalized for the interference. A DP should be called with the runner out on the interference by the batter. The better umpires will always call this, but you will always get an argument because coaches think like every one else, the batter is out, runner goes back, so many umpires at lower level ball just stick with this and avoid the necessary argument. It is NOT the correct call.

#4
A--Ball is dead, runner gets 2nd base. It was a fair ball that left the field of play, Like a fair ball bouncing into the stands.
B-Foul ball, just a strike on the batter. The Pitchers plate is NOT beyond the bases, so if it hits the rubber and goes into foul or dead area it is a foul ball.
C- If a batted ball hits an umpire before it passes a fielder (and that is the key), it is automatically a dead ball and batter is awarded first base. Runners move up only if forced to do so. Doesn't matter if the ball then goes into dead area. Ball is dead as soon as it hit the ump. NOW if the umpire is behind the fielder then the ball would be alive and in play and if it went into dead area, yes, 2 bases, everyone moves up said amount.

#5
This is sort of a tricky one. First of all it is NOT an infield fly. A bunt or a soft line drive  is NOT an infield fly. It has to be a regular pop up, easily fielded by an infielder (or outfielder coming in near the infield)./ Sorry Jim, I should have mentioned how many outs. So it is not in infield fly. The fielder cannot intentionally drop a ball to turn a DP. It may sound hard to do, but believe me, you can see it a mile away when a fielder sees an easy liner to him, let's it hit his glove and drops it in order to turn the DP. The ruling is an automatic out, ball is dead and nothing further can happen. Batter is out and runners can return to their respective bases. It has to be called immediately, and again, it is an easy call. As the players get older, like HS and college, they all try this. The ump has to be aware and make his call as soon as he sees the fielder drop the ball.



So there you have it. A lot more complicated than it appears to be, even some of the easy ones.

Let me know when you are ready for the next group?

[LennG]

OK baseball season is over, so there probably won't be much doing here for now. but, since you all watched that great WS, here is another question for you all

Bases loaded, 2 out. Batter hits a HR, over the wall. The defensive team thinks that the runner from 2nd, missed third. they make a legal appeal and the umpire calls him out.
How many runs scored???

[bighitterdalama]

Lenny, you have thrown several of these at me before. I have not read your answers, so I will give this a shot.

1) A balk is a no pitch; play is dead. Ergo, no hit; runner is awarded second base.

2) The runner owns second base, provided he is standing on the base prior to the fielder's attempt to play the ball. In other words, he does not interfere while returning to the base, nor, while standing on the base, he makes any type of movement that would interfere with the fielder's ability to make the play. Under these circumstances, runner is safe.

3) I believe this falls under the catcher's interference rule. The play continues until the ball is dead. The manager of the team in the field then gets the option: if the runner is thrown out, then strike out/throw out double play. If the runner is not thrown out, then the manager can demand the batter called out and the runner returned to first. An interesting scorer's question is whether the batter is scored as a strike out or an interference/put out to the catcher.

4)

a) Dead ball single. Runner gets first base; runners on base advance only by force.
b) The ball has not passed a base, the rubber is part of the field of play. Foul ball. 
c) Very interesting question. In almost any case, the umpire would be located past any base, so the carom would have to somehow hit an umpire, then pass between home and a base out of the field of play for it to be a foul ball. Otherwise, if the ball it an ump past a base, then caromed into foul territory, the ball is live. If it continues into the dug out, dead ball single. Again, very unlikely to happen in the Majors, but in a high school game or lower level, where the balls and strikes umpire is positioned behind the pitcher, it could happen. A variation might happen when, on a bunt or slow roller down the line, an umpire, following the ball, might accidentally kick the ball into foul territory. In this case, the ball is foul and dead once it enters foul territory.

5) We argued this as to whether this was a rule change since the late 1970s. I remember Dodger shortstop Dave Russell pulling this play in the World Series against the Yankees and the umpire ruling it an infield fly. I have never been able to confirm my memory or any rule change. In any case, I believe that, at least today, this a perfectly legal play.

Now I will check your answers.

Brian 

[LennG]

Lenny, you have thrown several of these at me before. I have not read your answers, so I will give this a shot.

1) A balk is a no pitch; play is dead. Ergo, no hit; runner is awarded second base.

2) The runner owns second base, provided he is standing on the base prior to the fielder's attempt to play the ball. In other words, he does not interfere while returning to the base, nor, while standing on the base, he makes any type of movement that would interfere with the fielder's ability to make the play. Under these circumstances, runner is safe.

3) I believe this falls under the catcher's interference rule. The play continues until the ball is dead. The manager of the team in the field then gets the option: if the runner is thrown out, then strike out/throw out double play. If the runner is not thrown out, then the manager can demand the batter called out and the runner returned to first. An interesting scorer's question is whether the batter is scored as a strike out or an interference/put out to the catcher.

4)

a) Dead ball single. Runner gets first base; runners on base advance only by force.
b) The ball has not passed a base, the rubber is part of the field of play. Foul ball. 
c) Very interesting question. In almost any case, the umpire would be located past any base, so the carom would have to somehow hit an umpire, then pass between home and a base out of the field of play for it to be a foul ball. Otherwise, if the ball it an ump past a base, then caromed into foul territory, the ball is live. If it continues into the dug out, dead ball single. Again, very unlikely to happen in the Majors, but in a high school game or lower level, where the balls and strikes umpire is positioned behind the pitcher, it could happen. A variation might happen when, on a bunt or slow roller down the line, an umpire, following the ball, might accidentally kick the ball into foul territory. In this case, the ball is foul and dead once it enters foul territory.

5) We argued this as to whether this was a rule change since the late 1970s. I remember Dodger shortstop Dave Russell pulling this play in the World Series against the Yankees and the umpire ruling it an infield fly. I have never been able to confirm my memory or any rule change. In any case, I believe that, at least today, this a perfectly legal play.

Now I will check your answers.

Brian

Brian

Sorry it has taken me so long to even see your post. I really don't come here when there isn't any baseball.

Since you already checked my answers you know which ones you go right and wrong.

on #3, you got your interferences mixed a bit. On catcher's INT, yes there is a choice by the offensive manager. If the batter is out, interference is called and the batter is awarded 1st base. But t offensive manager has a choice. Like if the batter flied out on the INT and a man tagged up from 3rd and scored. The offensive manager would have the option of putting the batter on 1st and bringing the man on 3rd back, or recording the out and having the tag up play count. In all my years of umpiring, I have seen ONE manager use this rule to his advantage. Most don't know and they accept whatever the umps say, usually putting the guy back and having a 1st and 3rd situation.

Any questions or discussions on this or any of the others, let me know.

[Sem]

Lenny, you have thrown several of these at me before. I have not read your answers, so I will give this a shot.

1) A balk is a no pitch; play is dead. Ergo, no hit; runner is awarded second base.

2) The runner owns second base, provided he is standing on the base prior to the fielder's attempt to play the ball. In other words, he does not interfere while returning to the base, nor, while standing on the base, he makes any type of movement that would interfere with the fielder's ability to make the play. Under these circumstances, runner is safe.

3) I believe this falls under the catcher's interference rule. The play continues until the ball is dead. The manager of the team in the field then gets the option: if the runner is thrown out, then strike out/throw out double play. If the runner is not thrown out, then the manager can demand the batter called out and the runner returned to first. An interesting scorer's question is whether the batter is scored as a strike out or an interference/put out to the catcher.

4)

a) Dead ball single. Runner gets first base; runners on base advance only by force.
b) The ball has not passed a base, the rubber is part of the field of play. Foul ball. 
c) Very interesting question. In almost any case, the umpire would be located past any base, so the carom would have to somehow hit an umpire, then pass between home and a base out of the field of play for it to be a foul ball. Otherwise, if the ball it an ump past a base, then caromed into foul territory, the ball is live. If it continues into the dug out, dead ball single. Again, very unlikely to happen in the Majors, but in a high school game or lower level, where the balls and strikes umpire is positioned behind the pitcher, it could happen. A variation might happen when, on a bunt or slow roller down the line, an umpire, following the ball, might accidentally kick the ball into foul territory. In this case, the ball is foul and dead once it enters foul territory.

5) We argued this as to whether this was a rule change since the late 1970s. I remember Dodger shortstop Dave Russell pulling this play in the World Series against the Yankees and the umpire ruling it an infield fly. I have never been able to confirm my memory or any rule change. In any case, I believe that, at least today, this a perfectly legal play.

Now I will check your answers.

Brian

Brian

Sorry it has taken me so long to even see your post. I really don't come here when there isn't any baseball.

Since you already checked my answers you know which ones you go right and wrong.

on #3, you got your interferences mixed a bit. On catcher's INT, yes there is a choice by the offensive manager. If the batter is out, interference is called and the batter is awarded 1st base. But t offensive manager has a choice. Like if the batter flied out on the INT and a man tagged up from 3rd and scored. The offensive manager would have the option of putting the batter on 1st and bringing the man on 3rd back, or recording the out and having the tag up play count. In all my years of umpiring, I have seen ONE manager use this rule to his advantage. Most don't know and they accept whatever the umps say, usually putting the guy back and having a 1st and 3rd situation.

Any questions or discussions on this or any of the others, let me know.

Do you spell out their options for them? Just curious.

[LennG]

Yes, if they come out and ask.

A smart manager would/should approach the umpire and ask what are his options on the catcher's interference. The umpire will explain his options and the manager would make that decision.

This rule only applies if the batter, who was interfered with, makes out. If he gets on base, the interference is ignored, even if he only got a single on what might have been a better hit. There is no option, or interference in that case.

[Sem]

Interesting that they have to ask what the options are, and if they don't the result falls to a default.  I've been watching baseball since the 60's and I never thought about this. Are there any other scenarios that arise where a manager would have options that could dictate different results of the same play?

[LennG]

Steve

As far as I know, NO.

Again, as I said, the situation of options is very rare, basically because the scenario that I gave is their best option, either a run scores and the out, or two (or 3) men on base and we continue to play.

In the majors, catcher's interference is rare. Those guys know where to be so as to get as close to the plate as they can and still avoid the interference. You get the interference, a lot, in lower level ball, such as summer ball programs, HS and even college.

I'll give you another interesting play, which I have seen done several times.
Man on first, batter gets a base hit. Man on 1st goers to 3rd but misses 2nd base while running. The defensive team sees this and wants to appeal. If there is time out, the pitcher has to go back on the rubber, with the ball, to put the ball back in play. Once this happens, some smart managers, will send the guy on first to second. 99 out of 100, the pitcher will throw to 2nd to get the runner. When this happens, the runner from 3rd breaks for home and will score. Since there was a play made, there can be no appeal and the manager stole a run. Instead of there being another out with only a man on 1st, he has a run, same amount of outs and no once on. You probably will never see this in a ML game, because then can throw better and there is a good chance they might get the guy at the plate. But even at that, he would be out anyway on the appeal.