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by Dave
Wednesday, August 27, 2008

1. Infield Fly Rule Overturned
   
   One reader wrote in about an instance in which a pop fly was dropped by the second baseman after the plate umpire had invoked the infield fly rule.   The umpires met and decided to overturn the infield fly rule because the ball actually went out beyond the infield dirt and fell in the outfield grass.
   
   This should never happen.   First of all, the infield fly rule occurs when, in the umpire's judgment, a fair pop-up can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, there are no or one outs, and runners are on first and second (or bases loaded).   When called, the batter is automatically out and runners advance at their own risk.   If the ball is caught, runners must tag up.   If it is dropped, they need not return to base and instead can proceed to the next base if they wish.
   
   The only circumstance which would change an initial infield fly ruling occurs when the pop-up drifts into foul ground.   If, say, an infield fly drifts into foul ground and the ball is dropped, the batter gets new life - she is not automatically out.   Because the invocation of the infield fly rule changes runners and fielders actions, it should never be overturned.
   
   
2. When To Tag up
   
   I received a question about a fly ball on which a runner tagged up.   The complexity in the question occurred because the ball was initially tipped back into the air by one fielder and then caught by another.   The runner tagged on the initial tip and proceeded to the next base.   The fielder who caught the ball proceeded to throw to the base previously occupied in an attempt to lodge an appeal that the runner had left early.   Umpires called her out because she had not tagged up after the ball was caught.
   
   I am unaware of any rulebooks which diverge from the following though that is possible.   The proper time to tag up occurs when the flyball is first touched.   That is, a circus catch involving multiple players who in turn tip the ball in the air does not impact the appropriate time at which the runner must go back to the base and tag up.   As soon as the flyball is initially touched, she can return to and then leave the base occupied.
   
   
3. Pitcher's feet
   
   Another question I get fairly frequently involves something about the pitcher's feet.   These consist of several related and some unrelated issues.   Here are the most frequent ones:
   
   (A) Leap vs. Crowhop
   
   Rather than give you the question since there are various iterations, here's my understanding of the two terms.   A leap occurs when the pitcher's pivot foot leaves the ground.   Most rulebooks have a requirement that the pivot foot remain in contact with the pitcher's plate until ball release.   This requirement is met when she drags away from the rubber and maintains contact with the ground.   Yes, that's an odd way of putting it but I believe that is the rule in almost every case.
   
   A crowhop basically consists of a leap followed by obtaining a new point of impetus for the pivot foot.   That is, the pitcher pushes off from the rubber, both feet are in the air, and she lands with the back foot before releasing the ball while also gaining a new pushoff point.   These two are obviously somewhat related but are not the same thing sonce leaping involves and airborn foot and crowhopping involves a new pushoff point.   The result, however, when called, is the same, illegal pitch.
   
   (B) Two Feet on Pitcher's Plate / Backward Step
   
   Several readers have written to inquire about whether the pitcher needs to begin with two feet on the rubber and/or whether she can take a backward step "before going into her wind-up."   The answer is, it depends!
   
   Basically, there are different pitching rules depending on the type of play.   I don;t know all the rules by sanctioning body but I do know that some organizations allow pitchers to begin with one foot on the rubber and others require both feet to be on it.
   
   High school rules can vary though I'm not entirely clear whether these vary from state to state.   I believe they do.   So any high school pitcher or coach ought to consult with their state's rulebook before proceeding.   In my state, pitchers can start with one foot on the rubber and I have never seen an umpire call a pitcher for a badckward step.
   
   Little League and Pony also permit a pitcher to start with one foot on the rubber but to my knowledge, Pony does not permit a pitcher to take any sort of backward step.   I'm not sure about Little League.
   
   Most other sanctioning bodies require a pitcher to start with both feet in contact with the rubber.   I am not aware of any of these which tolerate a backward step.   The NCAA is stricter than most, requiring half of each foot to be on the rubber.   I have never seen a college pitcher take a backward step.   I have observed many college pitchers slide their pivot foot across the rubber before striding and never seen an illegal pitch called for this.   But from what I have observed, a pitcher who drags her foot across the rubber almost never keeps half the foot in contact during the drag.
   
   (C) Walking into the pitch
   
   Several folks have, over the years, written to complain about pitchers walking into their pitch.   That would seem to be impossible when two feet are required to be on the rubber.   In those instances in which only a single foot is required to be in contact with the rubber, I believe that foot must be the pivot foot.   And I believe, walking into the pitch is usually prohibited.   Yet I have seen this done many times in Pony and other play without there ever being a warning, let alone a call.   I have seen it called in certain kinds of play but I have gone multiple tournaments with every pitcher walking in and not so much as a yawn from any umpire.
   
   (D) Taking signs off rubber
   
   Pitchers are supposed to either take a sign or mimick such an act before beginning the pitch.   On some occassions, pitchers on my team have developed the habit of taking the sign behind the rubber, then stepping onto it, and then going into their windup.   On some occassions, umpires have approached me privately and asked me to instruct our pitchers to take the sign from the rubber.   Usually this is no big deal and nothing ever comes of it.   But next game or tournament, our pitcher is again taking the sign from in back of the rubber!   I would guess that I've seen more pitchers do this than take the sign on the actual rubber.   And I've never seen an illegal pitch call due to this.
   
   (E) Illegal Pitch!!!!
   
   By far, the most frequent comment/question I receive involves someone seeing frequent bona fide illegal pitches not called.   Often the writer sees one or two such illegal pitches called but could swear that every pitch thrown was illegal.   I cannot account for this.   That's been my experience as well.   One reader noted that every pitcher on Team USA does something illegal on just about every pitch, gets called for the specific infraction on occassion, but does not repeatedly get called even though she does the same thing on every pitch.   I can;t say that I saw the specific event every time somebody writes to me but I do understand what they are talking about.   It is strange and I'm unclear what the meaning of this is.   I think we've seen games in which the first several pitches or any particular string of pitches are called illegal in succession.   I can't say that the pitcher ever changed the illegal aspect to the delivery.   But for whatever reason, umpires have never in my experience continued to repeatedly call a pitcher for illegals until she changed or was removed.   Draw your own conclusions.
   
   (F) Single Ump
   
   As a final comment about pitching rule enforcement, I am often confronted with questions about why an umpire did not call illegal pitch for some girl who was "obviously crowhopping."   Often I ask the questioner whether there were one or two umps at the game.   Most often there was one.   To me, this calls into question the judgment of the questioner.
   
   If you want to see the game from a single umpire's position, try it out.   How would you like to be back there with some kid whipping the heavy ball at speeds requiring high school baseball reaction times, perhaps at a catcher of suspect ability, while also trying to call balls and strikes, get out to see close plays in the field, fielding various complaints from both dugouts, not to mention the peanut gallery, on some 100 degree day, for several hours at a time?   Now with all that responsibility, the ump is supposed to also closely observe the pitcher's hands and feet?   And make sure the two or three runners on the bases don;t leave early?   Get real!
   
   In general, if you have two umps officiating a game, the plate ump will usually keep his eyes on the pitcher's hands.   The field ump will usually watch her feet.   Unless something happens in which the pitcher makes some sort of mistake with her hands (brings them together twice or not at all), most illegal pitch calls will come from the field ump.   Don't scream at a single plate ump even once because in your judgment the pitcher is crow hopping.   Use a little common sense.
   
   
4. Walked runner proceeds to second base?
   
   One of my most embarrassing moments coaching softball occurred when one of my batters was struck by a pitch, jogged down to first, and I told her to go to second.   We had a runner on third and when my runner took off, the catcher threw the ball to second.   I started screaming at our runner on third to go.   the umpire, barely maintaining his temper and sanity exclaimed, "coach, you can't do that on a hit batter."   He was, of course, right.   When the ball hits a batter, it's dead.   I guess I had a mental hickup or something.   I proceeded to dig a hole in the dirt and crawled into it.
   
   Many folks starting out in travel ball or rec all-star play are initially unfamiliar with something called the "continuation play."   basically, when a batter is struck with a pitch, yes, the ball is dead.   But after a walk, everything remains live.   So a walked batter can "continue" on to second base after a walk, with liability to be put out.   This is often done in lower level, young play because, if the runner proceeding to second can induce a throw from the pitcher or catcher, the offensive team may be able to score a runner from third.   I have seen this attempted at levels up to high school and 16U travel.   But as girls arms become stronger and more reliable, it is a less common occurrence.
   
   A friend once told a funny anecdote about one of the parents on a high school team.   The fellow was one of those know-it-all types.   When, during the course of a game, a batter was walked and she proceeded to second base, he began to shout, "she can't do that - the ball was already in the circle.   That's not a proper interpretation and the umpire did not call her out.   The father continued to shout until someone pulled him aside and explained the rule.   He wasn't comfortable but at least stopped shouting!
   
   Basically, when the ball is live and ends up in the circle, runners are permitted to continue to the next base without stopping or hesitation.   If, after a walk for example, the ball arrives in the circle, it is still live but you can't get to first, jump off, and then begin juking in an attempt to get the pitcher to make a play on you.   A runner can reach first base and immediately proceed to second.   If the pitcher makes a play on her, all bets are off - the ball is now live.   But if she ignores the continuation and does not make any sort of play, the runner on third cannot jump off again and begin juking.   She should be called out for leaving base early.
   
   The pitcher "making a play" includes any action which seems like she is making a play - specifically lifting the ball out of the glove into the throwing hand in a motion - that looks like she plans to make or fake a throw.   In practice, if she does anything aside from lifting the ball into throwing position, including jumping around to position her body to make the throw, you will never see an umpire interpret this as making a play.
   
   
5. Runner didn't turn to the right
   
   I remember when I first got involved with fastpitch at any level, the coaches instructed girls to overrun first on grounders and then turn to their right so they couldn't be tagged out.   That's technically wrong but really a minor error.
   
   Some coaches want girls to run through the bag and then turn towards the fence to see if the throw got away.   Many coaches want the runner to reach first and then immediately break down so as to proceed quickly to second if the ball gets away.   They don't need the runner to see the ball hitting the fence - that's what base coaches are for.   Instead, they want runners ready to advance should the opportunity arise.   That seems entirely more reasonable to me.   But that's besides the initial point.
   
   A runner does not need to turn to the right to avoid being tagged out.   No such rule exists.   The rules require a runner overrunning first only to not make a motion towards second to avoid subjecting herself to liability to be put out.   If she makes such a motion towards second, all bets are off.   She is now liable to be put out and must get herself to some base.
   
   I suppose that the misunderstanding about turning to the right or left involves some misinterpretation of a runner being put out.   She motioned to second and got caught in a pickle or was otherwise put out.   Somebody thought she had "turned the wrong way" and that's why they got her.   But that's not what happened.   What happened was she, in the umpire's judgment motioned as if going to second.   There is no right way or wrong way to turn after overrunning first.

Labels: rules

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