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Old 10-10-2018, 06:41 AM
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Larry More.y
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,984
Default "What if" an Umpire's ruling was legit

As my kids have moved up in their youth baseball careers, I have seen a plethora of bad calls and explanations by youth umpires. Generally speaking, they balance out and are an expected part of the game.

One of my neighbors and I have coached a group of our kids from out neighborhood for the past few years. He spent a few seasons in AA in the Giants organization so he well versed on the nuances of baseball rules.

More so with rulings and explanations after a play, when an umpire applies the wrong ruling, we play a game we call "what if this was the rule".....


In last night's game, the other team with one out and a runner on third had a batter swing/miss at a pitch and was subsequently hit by a pitch. The ball rolled into foul territory and the umpire properly called a strike. However, the runner from third scored. We argued that the ball was dead and the runner couldn't advance. After consulting, the umps agreed it would have been a dead ball IF the batter didn't swing, but since he did swing, it was a live ball. They allowed the run, we protested he game, but won the game.

Now the fun part, the "what if this was the rule" game. All kinds of outcomes are possible with this "new" rule. First, if a batter swings/misses and is hit in the helmet and the ball bounces up in the air and the catcher catches it, the batter would be out with this rule. Another outcome, a team with a runner on third could send a batter up with arm guards wrist to shoulder and encourage their batter to swing and miss with one arm and "lean into" the pitch with the other (protected) arm and attempt to knock the ball into foul territory (where 8 of our players are not allowed to be positioned) to get the run home. If the ball was "live" in cases like this, both scenarios would be possible.

Thankfully baseball's rules have been well thought out so scenarios like this won't occur.....let's hear about some of your "what if this was the rule" outcomes.
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