Three fastpitched strikes to catcher (high school)
Batter taps the first 2 pitches with a short foul ball above the catcher's head, but not above the batter's head. Catcher caught both balls with very little movement. She never got out of her catcher's stance. I called a dead ball strike both...
Never touch the equipment (bat). What are you going to do with the bat during the play? If you move the bat to another area and the play continues to where the umpire moved the bat and causes player injury, the umpire is Liable.
Makes no difference which way a runner turns after running through 1st base. Any movement (attempt) that can easily be determined that the runner is starting to go to second., has placed herself in jeopardy to be tagged out.
Behind the plate, this is an easy call. I have called this many times during my 25+ years of umpiring. While standing at shortstop, this is a harder call. If I suspect the pitcher is illegal pitching due to the ball and arm release relationship, I will move towards second for a few pitches to...
Most players, coaches, and umpires don't understand this scenario: a passed ball gets by the catcher, hits the backstop, bounces back and lands between the legs of the batter still in the batter's box. Answer: The batter must stay motionless and stay in the batter's box. If the ball is touched...
Umpire conclusion after 25 years of umpiring. No matter where the fan sits or stands along the left field or right field fence, this fan will see the play better and knows the rules better than the umpire making the call.
This play explains why umpires are trained to give and show every pitch count after 3 balls and / or 2 strikes until the completion of the bat. Everyone needs to know the proper pitch count. If there is any problem with the count, time is to be called to correct the count, prior to the next...
In order for an infield fly to be in effect with this play, must have less than 2 outs and runners on 1st, 2nd, or all three bases. Umpire always yells on an infield fly, “Batter is out if Fair” while the ball is in flight. The umpire calls interference on the BR, while colliding with the 1st...
I left out an important fact, on purpose, to see if anyone would catch this omission. The instant the umpire calls and indicates "obstruction", the umpire has made his decision of protection of the obstructed runner to a certain base. The fielding errors by the defense such as: the ball going...