Ask The Umpire

Posted 6/10/2008 Question: On an intentional walk does the catcher have to wait till the ball leaves the pitcher's hand before he can step out of the catchers box?	Answer: Yes
Posted 6/03/2008 Question: In C-ball, when does the umpire call time? Is it when the pitcher has the ball on the mound or just when the ball is back in the infield?	Answer: Officially the umpire should call time when the ball is securely in the hands of the pitcher while he is standing in the dirt area of the mound. But, if in the opinion of the umpire, all play has stopped and the defense has the ball in front of the lead runner, he is allowed to call time to speed up the game. In tournament play, the umpires normally will not call time unless the ball is in the possession of the pitcher while he is near the mound just to be safe but remember, if the umpire calls "time out"...time is out.
Posted 6/03/2008 Question: Are defensive coaches allowed outside the dugout? How many offensive coaches are allowed outside the dugout and where?	Answer: In Coach Pitch, teams are allowed to have one manager and 3 coaches in the game. While a team is on defense, they are allowed to have a coach behind the catcher and one along side the right field line beyond first base and another along side the left field line beyond third base. The remaining coach must stay in the dugout with any players not in the game. In all other levels the teams have one manager and 2 coaches and one coach must stay in the dugout at all times. No coach should be out of the dugout assisting the defense. Most umpires will allow coaches to stand in the doorway of the dugout when their team is on defense but they should never stray away from that area during play.
Posted 6/03/2008 Question: Is a player allowed to switch from the left side of the plate to the right during an at bat?	Answer: Between pitches, during an at-bat, the batter may move from one batter's box to the other but not directly across the plate when the pitcher, umpire and catcher are in a play-ball position. Movement across the plate when everyone is in their play-ball position constitutes an out. The safest move would be for the batter to ask for time, step out of the box, go around the catcher and umpire and enter the opposite box from the other side.
Posted 5/28/2008 Question: When an umpire calls the infield fly rule in effect, is the play dead from this point or can a play be made on a stray runner?	Answer: The play is not dead. Runners do not have to advance because the batter/runner is now out but if they choose to run they are in jeopardy of being put out.
Posted 5/21/2008 Question: How many innings has to be completed for junior and senior softball game to be offical?	Answer: 5 innings or 4-1/2 if home team is winning (see post from 4/30 below).
Posted 5/18/2008 Question: In softball what is the rule on a pitched ball that hits the dirt before reaching the plate and then hits the batter?	Answer: The fact that the pitched ball hit the ground before striking the batter changes nothing. If the batter did not swing at the pitch and the ball hit the batter, it is a dead ball and she gets first base.
Posted 5/18/2008 Question: If a batted ball hits the pitcher's plate and then bounds back into foul territory without passing first or third base and without touching a defensive player is it a foul ball?	Answer: Yes. The same "could" occur if the ball hits second base and bounces back across the foul line between home plate and first base without being touched by a defensive player. To be fair, the ball must pass first or third base while in fair territory, stop while in fair territory or be touched in fair territory. Update: After further review, a ball that hits second base is a fair ball. The answer to the question as stated is "foul ball."
Posted 5/15/2008 Question: Coach calls timeout, umpire grants timeout. Before coach can get to the pitcher, the pitcher crosses the baseline coming to coach. Does pitcher now have to come out of game because he crossed the line?	Answer: Pitchers are not restricted to any specified place inside the ballpark unless he is actually making a pitch. (Then he has to be on the mound) Belief that he is restricted to within some boundaries other than simply being inside the confines of the field he is playing on, is a myth. Within the time allowed by the umpire for that timeout (usually approximately one minute) he can go anywhere within the field fences, to include the dugout if necessary, without penalty.
Posted 5/15/2008 Question: In boys A-Ball; if the pitcher is on the mound and then backs off - is it a balk, or does the pitcher have to be in the "wind-up" position before backing off before it is a balk? Also, if the pitcher backs off the mound, with out winding up, and then drops the ball, does the batter get an automatic walk? I thought there was some rule about the pitcher dropping the ball.	Answer: There is no balk in Little League baseball below the Jr/Sr level and none in softball below Big League. The baseball or softball pitcher can commit an illegal pitch and thus a ball if he/she toes the pitcher's plate and then steps off the plate without making his/her first step with the pivot foot. However, in Little League, unless the umpire judges that the pitcher has started their wind up or is in some way gaining an unfair advantage as a pitcher, Little League allows the umpire much leeway in making this call. So, it would be up to the umpire's interpretation as to whether it warrants a penalty. Dropping the ball (by the pitcher) while not on the pitchers plate is no different than the second baseman dropping the ball. It is a nothing. In baseball, if the pitcher is on the pitcher's plate and there is a runner or runners on base and the pitcher drops the ball, it is an illegal pitch and a ball. In this case the ball is live and runners may advance at their own risk. The call is the same for softball except that this rule is in force even if there are no runners on base. A dropped ball is one that goes directly to the ground and does not travel toward the batter with lift and fall. This is important because in Majors and Minors, runners can leave immediately on a dropped ball but in the case of a low pitch that hits the ground before reaching the batter, runners may not leave their base until the ball reaches the batter. This can get complicated when an umpire switches from level to level or from softball to baseball. Gladly, it doesn't happen often.
Posted 5/12/2008 Question: How many coaches is one team allowed to have in the dugout or on the field of play? At all levels of play?	Answer: Jr/Sr, Majors and B Team – 1 Manager and 2 Coaches Coach Pitch – 1 Manager and 3 Coaches No Bat Boys or Girls, scorekeepers, photographers, coaches kids, etc beyond these numbers are allowed. One adult must stay in the dugout at all times. In Coach pitch, the offense is allowed to have a coach/pitcher and a 1st and 3rd base coach. The defense is allowed to have a left and right field coach and one behind the catcher.
Posted 5/8/2008 Question: This question relates to B-ball and the continuous batting order that is used in this level of competition. Please interpret the rule for substituting players in the batting order. Is a coach allowed to remove a player from hitting for health reasons, allow him to play in the field, then allow him to skip his turn at the plate again?	Answer: When using the continuous batting order, if a player is too ill to continue or is injured when his/her time to bat comes, the manager is allowed to ask that he/she be skipped in the order (removed temporarily from the game). The Umpire in Chief notifies the scorekeeper and the other manager of the removal of that player. The UIC then has the option to allow that player to come back into the game if he/she gets over the problem that caused him/her to not be able to bat in their last turn. It is entirely up to the UIC to decide. (Some tournaments will assign a medical professional to make this decision but not in regular season play.) Most umpires assume that managers and coaches of Little League teams are honorable people so few of us question the managers on this issue. But, if the manager inserts the "sick" player back into the line-up without getting the umpire's approval, whether offense or defense, that player is illegal and the opposing coach has the option to protest the game. Any manager who intentionally circumvents the rules by skipping a weak batter to help his team win is dishonest and should not be allowed to coach Little League. Suspicion of such behavior should be given in writing to the League President. If a player has an injury that prevents him/her from batting but doesn't prevent them from playing defense, that player will be listed in the batting order (if they play at all) and will be called out for failing to enter the batter's box when their turn at bat occurs but you cannot just play defense and not play offense in an on-going manner.
Posted 5/8/2008 Question: (1) Why is the height of the B-ball pitchers mound taller than the 6" height mandated in the Little League rule book? (2) Is it necessary to maintain contact with the pitching rubber until a pitch is delivered? Also, how can a pitcher maintain contact with the pitching rubber if the hole in front of the pitching rubber is too large?	Answer: (1) The rules do not allow a league to arbitrarily change the height of the pitcher's mound and any league that does so is in violation of Little League Rules and could be sanctioned by Little league International and could theoretically lose their charter. (2) Little league umpires are taught to give some leeway in calling illegal pitches in baseball for making the pitcher stay in contact with the rubber unless the pitcher is gaining unfair advantage. The hole that is created as the pitcher pushes off the rubber can cause constant contact to be very difficult so to answer your question, No unless the umpire judges that the pitcher is gaining unfair advantage by losing contact.
Posted 5/8/2008 Question: (1) If a ball hits the coach in C-ball is it dead or safe? (2) Can runners advance on an overthrow at first?	Answer: (1) In coach pitch baseball or softball, if the batted ball hits the coach/pitcher, it is a live ball UNLESS the coach pitcher touches it in an attempt to catch the ball, catches the ball, has it lodge in his clothing or touches it intentionally. In those cases the ball would be dead, no pitch, all runners return to their base, repeat that pitch. (2) In coach pitch baseball, the batter/runner can advance on an overthrow at first but he is in jeopardy to be put out if the defense chooses to make the play. However, if the defense makes no play on any runner on an overthrow at first and simply returns the ball to the pitcher on the mound, all runners are limited to two bases beyond the base where they started when the pitch was made.
Posted 5/8/2008 Question: Great responses by your Local Expert. Please explain the proper way for a Softball Pitcher to present and deliver the ball to a batter.	Answer: The rules are found in several sections so the proper method of presentation and delivery are a complicated combination of several rules. I will attempt to be as brief as possible: A. The pitcher must have the ball in either the pitching hand or the glove but not both when the pitcher steps on the pitcher's plate. If she takes the ball from one hand to the other while on the plate she has already committed an illegal pitch. B. She must toe the plate with the pivot foot and the other foot must either be on the plate or directly back of the plate but not outside the width of the plate. C. She must take the signal or appear to take the signal after toeing the plate and must hold that "presentation" position with her shoulders square to the batter for not less than one second nor more than 10 seconds before beginning her delivery. D. She must maintain contact between her pivot foot and the plate until delivery is made but may drag her foot away from the plate in her delivery so long as her foot does not leave the ground before the ball leaves her hand. (No crow hopping or leaping) E. Once she starts her motion, she can rock back and forth and move her stepping foot and can slide her pivot foot across the plate as she chooses so long as she doesn't violate the rules above. She can swing her arms back and forth more than one time if she chooses until her hands come together. F. Once she brings her hands together with the ball, she has started her delivery and when her hands come apart she must then complete her delivery without stopping her motion. G. She cannot retouch her two hands together after she has taken them apart while on the plate. H. She cannot let her pitching hand swing farther away from her body than her elbow and she cannot make more than one rotation of her pitching arm either before or after delivery.
Posted 5/5/2008 Question: If a pitcher throws over his limit of pitches and a coach does not pull him what happens?	Answer: The rules state that even if the umpire or pitch counter does not notify the Manager that his pitcher has met his limit, if the manager does not remove the pitcher, the opposing team can protest the game and if the protest committee sees fit they can award the game to the other team. Beyond that, the local board has the option to discipline the manager and the pitcher if they deem it appropriate.
Posted 5/5/2008 Question: Major softball, runners on second and third, the pitcher is behind the rubber practicing the pitch to her glove, she misses and both runners take off. Ball goes into dead ball area. What's the call?	Answer: If the ball is not dead when the action happens, each runner would advance 2 bases. If the ball was dead before the action by the pitcher, no movement by the offense is allowed.
Posted 5/5/2008 Question: Could a runner be called out if the ball touches her foot but no player was touching it, it just hit her when she was running?	Answer: If a batted ball hits a runner before it passes all infielders who have a chance to field the ball, the runner is out. If the ball hits the runner after it passes the last infielder who (in the opinion of the umpire) has a chance to field the ball, it counts as nothing and is a live ball.
Posted 5/5/2008 Question: For B-Ball Softball. Runner on third and batter is walked and rounds first going to second base. If the catcher runs into the field and reaches the mound can the runner on third advance to home?	Answer: Due to local rules in B Softball, the runner from third can only steal home (after a pitch) when the catcher throws the ball back to the pitcher and it is not caught OR a play is made on another runner. If the catcher in this case simply runs the ball back to the circle but makes no play on the batter/runner, the runner at third cannot steal home. If, however, the catcher makes any motion toward the batter/runner at first as if to prevent her from stealing second, then the runner at third is free to steal home.
Posted 5/5/2008 Question: In Major Softball, if a team wants to intentionally walk a batter, do they have to throw the pitches or do they just advance to first base?	Answer: They must throw the 4 pitches and the ball is live so the runners can steal if they choose. Only in Jr/Sr or Big Girls can the pitcher intentionally walk by declaration.
Posted 5/5/2008 Question: In Major Softball, is there a rule regarding the pitch having to be on a line, in other words is it an illegal pitch if it has an arc on it?	Answer: No. In fact it can have as much arc as a pitcher can throw and still have it travel through the strike zone.
Posted 5/2/2008 Question: Can a softball pitcher take her signals from someone other than the catcher?	Answer: The softball pitcher can take signals from any participant in the game and contrary to a common belief, does not have to take them while on the pitching plate. The rules state that she must take the signal or appear to be taking the signal while in contact with the pitcher's plate. This is to prevent the pitcher from delivering a "quick pitch" to the batter and does not prohibit her from taking her signal from her coach or another player. However, the pitcher cannot take her signal from someone outside the field of play because rule 3.09 specifically states that no player, manager or coach may mingle with spectators or sit in the stands in any game in which they are engaged. Giving signals is engaging in the game. Having a coach sit outside the fence near the backstop (for instance) who is giving signals to the pitcher gives an unfair advantage to that team and is seen as an attempt to circumvent the intention of the LL Rules. Penalty: The "coach" may be asked to leave the game and if after a warning the pitcher continues to take signals from outside the game, she can be ejected under rule 9.01C.
Posted 4/30/2008 Question: What are the time limits for each division of play at Northern?	Answer: 2 hours for Jr/Sr and Majors, 1 hr 40 minutes for B Team Girls and 1 hr and 30 minutes for Coach Pitch girls. Coach Pitch Boys are 1 hr and 45 minutes and B Team Boys are 1 hr and 50 minutes. This means that no inning can start after this time has expired but if the game is not a "complete" game or is tied, the teams are required to play on. A "complete" 6 inning game is 4 innings and 5 innings for 7 inning games (Jr/Sr). After time has expired, any inning already started must be completed to include the home team batting if they are behind in the score. There is no drop dead time limit at any age level at Northern.
Posted 4/30/2008 Question: The batter is standing in the front of the batter's box. The catcher positions him/herself just out of reach of the batter. This puts the catcher's whole body between the two batter's boxes. Is the catcher out of the catcher's box? If so, what's the penalty?	Answer: The diagram in the book isn't clear on levels below Jr/Sr but it is definite that in Jr/Sr play, the front of the catcher's box is a line between the back line of the two batter's boxes. In other words, the catcher cannot have her feet in the area between the batter's boxes. With that said, my interpretation of the Majors and Minors boxes would also limit the catcher to staying behind that same line.
Posted 4/29/2008 Question: If a violation of a rule is made, is it up to the coach to point out the violation and petition the play, or is it up to the umpire's DESCRETION whether or not to point out the violation and enforce the rule, or is it the umpire's RESPONSIBILITY to point out the violation and enforce the rule? For example, runner coming home and catcher is standing straddled across the baseline in front of the plate (blocking it) and the catcher does NOT have possession of the ball.	Answer: The rules state that a defensive player may not block any base unless he is in possession of the ball, waiting to make a tag. If the catcher is blocking the plate without the ball, the runner is not allowed to intentionally run over him (unsportsmanlike conduct) but should attempt to get to the plate by going around him. It is up to the umpire to determine if Obstruction has occurred and if he says that it has occurred, the runner is awarded home. If not, and the runner is tagged before reaching home, he is out. This is not an appeal play (like missing a base) but the coach may, after the play is over and after time has been called, question the home plate umpire and ask him to conference with the other umpire to see if they together agree that Obstruction occurred. If both umpires together did not interpret the play as Obstruction, then the play stands regardless of who is right.
Posted 4/29/2008 Question: In A-Ball, what are the age requirements for pitching?	Answer: Any pitcher on an A League (Major Baseball) roster may pitch and unlike in past years, there are no restrictions on how many 12 year olds can pitch for a team in a week.
Posted 4/28/2008 Question: A runner comes from third to home, the batter does not get out of the batter box for a play at the plate and a call of interference is made. What happens next?	Answer: If the umpire calls batter interference at the plate on a play involving a runner from third, the ball is dead, the runner from third is out and any other runners that were on base must return to the base they were on when the play started. The pitch that occurred counts as a ball or strike as the case may be. The book says that the punishment for this is what hurts the offensive team most and that is that the runner who is in scoring position is out and no other runner can advance.
Posted 4/28/2008 Question: How many runs can you score in the last inning you're the home team?	Answer: Since this issue does not come into play in most levels of play I will have to assume that we are talking about minor leagues where there is a batter limit in the final inning. The rule is simple. You can score as many runs as you are allowed batters. In Coach Pitch Baseball, they have 5 runs per inning and no max batter rule until the final inning and then they have no run rule but a 10 batter rule. They could score every runner thus getting 10 runs in the final inning. In Minor softball there is a 5 run rule and 7 batter (local) rule until the final inning where the 5 run rule is waived. However, in the last inning, they still have a 7 batter rule so the most they could score is 7.
Posted 4/23/2008 Question: A batted ball, pop-up or grounder, hits foul territory first between 1st and 3rd and rolls into fair territory without being touched. Is it fair or foul?	Answer: A batted ball becomes foul or fair depending on where it is when first touched by a player (or umpire), where it hits a fixture such as a fence or dugout or where it comes to rest (not moving). So a ball that hits in foul territory and then goes into fair territory where it stops is a fair ball.
Posted 4/23/2008 Question: Why is a pitcher allowed to go finish the batter when he or she has pitched all of their pitches?	Answer: Having not written the new baseball pitching rules myself, I can only guess why they added this part of the pitch count rule. My opinion is that they felt that it was unfair to the batter to be required by the rules to see a different pitcher in the middle of an at-bat and also that it is unfair for the rules to put a new pitcher into a situation where he already has a count against him before making the first pitch. The rule is designed to protect pitchers' arms and throwing 2 or 3 more pitches would seldom hurt the pitcher in any way.
Posted 4/21/2008 Question: Runners on base, a ball hit back to the pitcher which hurt the pitcher, an immediate time out was called. Can a play be made on the runners and batter? Are they automatically safe?	Answer: Under the rules of the game, the umpire cannot (should not) call "time out" until the play is over even though the player is down. I know that seems heartless but that is how the rules read. All runners are in jeopardy to be put out until time out is called. NOW…… IF the umpire (not the coach) called time before the play was over due to the severity of the incident, then he has to place all runners where he judges that they should be placed (probably every runner including the batter gains one base safely).
Posted 4/21/2008 Question: In C-ball (coach pitch), when does the play stop?	Answer: In coach pitch softball, when all runners stop at a base or when the pitcher or catcher has control of the ball anywhere on the infield between the pitchers mound and home plate, the play is over. If a runner is more than half way to the next unoccupied base when control of the ball is achieved by the pitcher or catcher as stated above, the runner is allowed to advance to the next base. If not, then he/she goes back. In coach pitch baseball, you can stop the play by getting the ball back to the pitcher in the circle or dirt area around the pitcher's mound as well as get ahead of the runners and make them all stop.
Posted 4/21/2008 Question: In Minor-C softball, can you get an out by catching the ball when the other person tipped it?	Answer: A tipped ball, at all levels, that is caught by the catcher is simply another strike unless the ball rises and falls after leaving the bat. In other words, if the tip goes directly into the glove of the catcher it is a strike. If it pops up (even slightly) and is caught, it is an out just as any other pop up that is caught. With any "foul tip", the ball is live and base runners can run as they could under any other live ball situation. A tipped ball that is not caught cleanly by the catcher is a foul ball and not a foul tip and thus is a dead ball.