Guessing the pitcher referenced is the offensive teams pitcher that is now a beater runner??Why would the pitcher be putting on a warm-up jacket when the offense is on the field?
Player Conferences
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No such rule in nfhs. Nothing in the nfhs rules restrict runners or batters to bases and not confering with their coaches during a player only timeout. Went round and round with this in Texas this year. Uil was supposed to send out notification to officials no such rule existed.
MIB said it would now be charged conference to the offensive team, which would be correct, and only restricted if it would be their second charged conference of the half inning.
If the 3rd base coach asked for time during a 2-2 count to talk to the batter and then the next batter was to come up and the coach wanted to have a conference with them, you are required by rule to disallow the conference. If they insist and still have the conference, then you enforce the penalty. Why would asking for a conference with a runner be any different? The rules don't say it only applies to batters, but to every offense or defensive personnel.
It is a charged conference by rule 3-7 Art 3 and rule 2-14.
3-7 Art 3: "When either team has a charged conference, the other team may also have a conference which is not charged, provided the non-charged conference concludes when the opposing team's charged conference concludes, thus not delaying the game."
2.14: "A charge conference is when the coach or dugout/bench personnel requests and is granted a time-out to meet with offensive or defensive personnel."
The issue here is that a player-to-player is not a charge conference by rule, therefore any action from the opposing team's coach to conference would be charged as a conference.
I am also in Texas, I have never seen a coach call their players over when a player-to-player conference is made, so it is a non-issue. TASO/Lone Star, not UIL, would send the notification to officials, UIL would send to the coaches. All my rules correspondence for all HS sports in the state have come from TASO, as that who my chapter belongs too. All I'm saying is you could be talking to the wrong people if UIL is involved.
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No it is not correct.
Yes, if an offensive coach calls time to talk to their players it is a charged conference. That is not what is being discussed. In the original post, the defensive players have called time to talk. Time is out, nothing in the NFHS rules say the offensive players must stay on their bases during a time out and cannot talk to their coach, or that the batter must remain near the batting box.
The only 2 rulesets I am aware of that have any wording of the sort are NCAA and USSSA, and they specifically address defensive time outs and offensive players being restricted. NFHS and USA have no such restrictions on the runners during a time out, they are free to confer with their coach as long as they are ready to play when the defense is finished. If they are not ready to play, then it becomes an offensive charged conference. You will find nothing in the NFHS rules, case plays or clarifications stating that runners are restricted to their bases.
As I stated, we ran into this on several occasions this year and it was discussed at length on an umpire board that has some UIL officials on it. They were supposed to send out notice to all official chapters to inform their officials this was not an NFHS rule. I dont know if that ever happened or not, but it was supposed to be done.
No one is saying they are restricted unless it is their second conference for the half inning. The rules back me up on this, while it does not specifically say they are required to stay in the vicinity of the base. A charged conference is when a coach or dugout/bench personnel talks with offensive personnel, in this case. A runner on second base or 1st base goes to the coach at 3rd base is ok during a player-to-player conference, as long as they are charged a conference. Again this is based on reading the rule book. They can do it, but it is charge to the offensive team, if they are out then they do not get to conference. Only time you do not charge a conference to the opposing team if they talk during the other team's charged conference, and they don't add any extra delay to the game. That was in the rule I posted above, what a charge conference was also posted above, it mentions nothing about player-to-player only coach and dugout/bench personnel.
So, in this case you have the defense without a charged conference. Therefore, if the coach wants to talk to all their base runners then it is a charge conference to the offense. If they already used a charged conference, then they don't get to conference per rule 3-7 Art 2, which entitles to the offense to have 1 per half inning.
Not anywhere in my post or MIB's, that I could find, mentioned the batter going to a base coach to talk, only a runner leaving the base.
Bottomline, they can meet with their coach if they have a charge conference remaining and the conference should be allowed unless the offensive has already used a time out for that half inning. I don't know USSSA, but NCAA hold true to this as well, The runners are restricted to the vicinity of their bases during a player-to-player conference, unless the offense uses a charged conference.
A player-to-player conference is not a chance for a coach to get a free conference, which is what you are suggesting. If that was the case when a batter strikes out and talks to the new batter on pitch locations (player-to-player conference) would you allow the defensive coach to go meet with the pitcher/catcher for free or would you charge them a conference? If you would charge them then what makes the offense special to use the same type of rule and not be charged? While 2 different scenarios, the rules don't say it's allowed for one and not the other.
The rules do not back you up on this. A charged conference is when a coach requests and is granted time to speak with offensive or defensive personnel. Time has been called and not by the offensive coach. Nothing in the rules gives the umpire the authority to charge them a conference if they meet or restrict the runners to their bases. NFHS even had this in a pre season handout 7-8 years ago when NCAA changed their rules. NFHS wanted to make sure it didnt mistakenly get called in NFHS.
3-7 Art 2 doesnt apply because the offensive coach DID NOT call the time out to confer with his team personnel.
MIB's first sentence in his first response.
NFHS has addressed this long ago, NOTHING in the rules makes this a charged conference. The offense DID NOT request the time out and they are free to meet as long as they are ready to play when the defense is done. And no I dont have the preseason handouts from 8 years ago. As I have already stated, this was discussed on an umpire forum with several UIL officials who all agreed it is not a charged conference and this information was supposed to be disseminated out to the Texas officials.
3-7 Art 2 doesnt apply because the offensive coach DID NOT call the time out to confer with his team personnel.
MIB's first sentence in his first response.
Do retired batters generally call time for their 3 second exchange with the next batter to tell them what pitch to watch out for? No, so why would an umpire allow a coach to come out for to talk to their personnel?
NFHS has addressed this long ago, NOTHING in the rules makes this a charged conference. The offense DID NOT request the time out and they are free to meet as long as they are ready to play when the defense is done. And no I dont have the preseason handouts from 8 years ago. As I have already stated, this was discussed on an umpire forum with several UIL officials who all agreed it is not a charged conference and this information was supposed to be disseminated out to the Texas officials.
We will have to agree to disagree. I read the rules as I have interpreted them, while an official ruling for the state of Texas might have been supposed to be disseminated to Texas officials it was not any e-mail from the state Board for TASO nor my District or Chapter boards. So, since NFHS and TASO tell me what to call during HS games then until I hear official word from them, I will continue to inform a coach that a conference is required. You mentioned that it was the discussed at length, so that tells me it is not as cut and dry as you think it is and I would bet that a lot of umpires in Texas think the same way I do.
This is another case of how an individual interprets a rule, and yes more guidance needs to come down so all are on the same page, but it would just apply to TX as LA, OK, OH or any other state could say it different unless NFHS comes up with something. What might be right here is wrong there. IA for example limits the use of eyeblack, TX does not.
Want your honest call now, who would you charge a conference to if the situation happened F1/F2 conference, 3rd base coach calls over the runners from 2nd and 1st base to conference, once the catcher gets in the circle. After seeing this and the runners reach the coach, the defensive coach joins the F1/F2 conference. Who is charged a conference in this situation? The time-out was technically called by F2 or F1, so is either team charged a conference, even though both coaches are now involved? Would you charge the defense because their coach jumped in the discussion? The offensive coach called his players first 1st, so do they get charged?
- May 13, 2023
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stop talking so much and play the game
- May 29, 2015
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A beater runner? Like, a runner who has been sitting out there on second base, waiting so long that she started to rust and runs, but not well?
- Jan 8, 2019
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Beater runner = outfielders during infield situational drills.
