Thread: Trick play question

I was watching a travel ball game this past weekend and I seen a play that I had a question about the legality.

Runner on 1st and is stealing, no outs, catcher catches the ball and holds ball in glove. SS runs toward shallow center field where runner can see her and acts as if there was a flyball hit and she is calling the ball....I got it...I got it. Runner stops thinking there was a fly ball hit and returns to 1st base where catcher then throw the ball to 1st base to record the out.

Is there any RULE that would prevent a team from doing this?

nope....no 'rule' i've read. Borders unsportsman like IMO
"trick play'...no, bushleague yes,
oblivious base coaching yes...along with horrible base running. I've seen/heard a lot but this ones new.

seen it in 16u game last weekend and it worked like a charm....agree borderline unsportsman like but it was fun to watch.

Nothing wrong with this play. Shame on the runner and her coaches.

Bush? Maybe in some minds, but it depends. If winning the game is the priority, well, you do what you need to do, within the rules, to do so.

Trick plays like this have been around since the game was invented. Runners don't always have the best view of all the action on the field, so they have to depend on the base coaches to let them know whats going on. When base coaches don't know either, or forget their job and become spectators, things can get ugly.

This does lead to a question that I've wondered about. If there is nothing illegal with trick plays to decieve the runner, why is it against the rules for a defensive player to 'act like' they are applying a tag to a runner without the ball? ASA Points of Emphasis 20 calls 'fake tags' obstruction, but if the runner slides doesn't that mean they are stopping? With no attempt to continue, I would think it would be more 'deception' than obstruction. If decieving the runner with a fake tag is illegal then trick plays should also be illegal since their only purpose and goal is to deceive the runner. Not sure there's much difference.

I think the fake tag is a safety issue. Typically a fake tag is done to induce a slide and it usually done late which would force a late slide. I think you would end up with some broken ankles if fake tags were allowed.

Do the bats not make noise? Did the ball going into the glove not make any sound? Are the runners THAT stupid?

I've seen many type of trick plays, but one where it relies on the player not knowing that a ball has been hit makes me think the players that are falling for it are damn stupid.

It might be legal, but it reflects very badly on the fielding side. I'm not quite sure why I think this isn't OK but trick plays with fake throws are, but this just feels wrong to me.

Originally Posted by FPMark

This does lead to a question that I've wondered about. If there is nothing illegal with trick plays to decieve the runner, why is it against the rules for a defensive player to 'act like' they are applying a tag to a runner without the ball? ASA Points of Emphasis 20 calls 'fake tags' obstruction, but if the runner slides doesn't that mean they are stopping? With no attempt to continue, I would think it would be more 'deception' than obstruction. If decieving the runner with a fake tag is illegal then trick plays should also be illegal since their only purpose and goal is to deceive the runner. Not sure there's much difference.

What are you talking about? What does "no attempt" have to do with OBS?

A fake tag is only a fake tag if the runner reacts. Unnecessarily sliding is a reaction. I wonder if you understand OBS.

I'm just saying that if the runner is not attempting to advance, then how can you obstruct the runners progress? Yes a fake tag can cause the runner to stop at a base that they otherwise might not have, but trick plays can cause a runner to try to advance when they otherwise would not have.

If it's up to the runner to know what is happening during a trick play shouldn't they also be aware what is happening during the fake tag? I am just asking whats the difference between deceiving the runner to keep them from taking an extra base, and deceiving the runner to get an out? And just so you know, I am talking about deceiving without touching. I'm questioning the reasoning for deception being legal in one case, but not the other. Both include a defesive player pretending to have the ball when they don't.