I for one wouldnt want to be an umpire, especially with 18 crying babies on the field at one time, always complaining if a call doesnt go their way, whether it is a high or low strike safe or out umpires for the most part have to make their call rather quickly and do a great job, now with that being said My question is in our game at farnsworth middleschool, it was a rainy night balls where heavy and a low scoring affair, i think 6th or 7th inning Mets were up by one , runner got on base, not sure 1 out or not, BUT runner goes to steal second base, the batter swings and misses, catcher gets up to throw out runner, the batter crosses in front of home plate, contact was made with the body, the umpire immediate call was the batters momentum had his cross in front of the plate and just called a strike! his explaination was that the batters momentum from his swing made his go infront of the plate, we asked the field umpire for help , home ump asked the response was "i have nothing", now runner went to 2nd and batter i believe got a hit, runner scored , now my understanding of the rule is regardless if a throw was made or not, contact was made , either the runner or the batter would have been called out depending if there was 1 or 2 outs for interference because this was a game changing call, can someone who obviously is way smarter than me give me some kind of explaination because i believe that the umpire got this one wrong, and may be a clarifying call for future games. thank you for the information forthcoming in advance
My opinion is that if in the judgment of the umpire, the batter is not intentionally trying to block the catcher's throw, there is no obstruction and the play stands. It appears there was no intention as this umpire saw it. He may have made a mistake in judgment, but that's just the way it goes.
6.06 A batter is out for illegal action when -- (a) He hits a ball with one or both feet on the ground entirely outside the batters box. Rule 6.06(a) Comment: If a batter hits a ball fair or foul while out of the batters box, he shall be called out. Umpires should pay particular attention to the position of the batters feet if he attempts to hit the ball while he is being intentionally passed. A batter cannot jump or step out of the batters box and hit the ball. (b) He steps from one batters box to the other while the pitcher is in position ready to pitch; (c) He interferes with the catchers fielding or throwing by stepping out of the batters box or making any other movement that hinders the catchers play at home base. EXCEPTION: Batter is not out if any runner attempting to advance is put out, or if runner trying to score is called out for batters interference. Rule 6.06(c) Comment: If the batter interferes with the catcher, the plate umpire shall call interference. The batter is out and the ball dead. No player may advance on such interference (offensive interference) and all runners must return to the last base that was, in the judgment of the umpire, legally touched at the time of the interference. If, however, the catcher makes a play and the runner attempting to advance is put out, it is to be assumed there was no actual interference and that runner is outnot the batter. Any other runners on the base at the time may advance as the ruling is that there is no actual interference if a runner is retired. In that case play proceeds just as if no violation had been called. If a batter strikes at a ball and misses and swings so hard he carries the bat all the way around and, in the umpires judgment, unintentionally hits the catcher or the ball in back of him on the backswing before the catcher has securely held the ball, it shall be called a strike only (not interference). The ball will be dead, however, and no runner shall advance on the play. (d) He uses or attempts to use a bat that, in the umpires judgment, has been altered or tampered with in such a way to improve the distance factor or cause an unusual reaction on the baseball. This includes, bats that are filled, flat-surfaced, nailed, hollowed, grooved or covered with a substance such as paraffin, wax, etc. No advancement on the bases will be allowed and any out or outs made during a play shall stand. In addition to being called out, the player shall be ejected from the game and may be subject to additional penalties as determined by his League President. Rule 6.06(d) Comment: A batter shall be deemed to have used or attempted to use an illegal bat if he brings such a bat into the batters box.
I don't see any verbiage that would allow for a "judgment" - 6.06(c).
-- Edited by KegHead on Sunday 14th of June 2009 08:11:59 PM
after reading the rule I would believe that the call should have been the batter out and the runner should not have advanced , contact isnt an issue , he was in the way of the catcher making the play so the rule states batter out , both feet were outside the batters box, I know an umpire has a tough job , as i stated before i give them alot of credit, but they are being paid to perform a job, seems as in this particular case there is no gray area, its black and white, I do think the information will clear up any issues that may occur in the future, I appreciate the information and the feedback, knowledge is power and hopefully if we can get some of these inconsistencies fixed the league will benefit as a whole
Just as a note - If you have any question as to a ruling, just inform the umpires and other team that you would like to lodge a protest on the ruling, but it must be done at the time it occurred and before the next pitch. Then you have time to look up the ruling before the protest committee gets together. If you still feel you have a case, let it go to the committee vote - if not, drop the protest and save yourself $25 (the fee if you lose).
I have protested calls in the past - if done correctly, nobody takes offense to it and it helps clarify situations such as this for the future.
If a batter strikes at a ball and misses and swings so hard he carries the bat all the way around and, in the umpires judgment, unintentionally hits the catcher or the ball in back of him on the backswing before the catcher has securely held the ball, it shall be called a strike only (not interference). The ball will be dead, however, and no runner shall advance on the play.
But in your case the batter crosses home plate...was this caused by a "hard" swing...
And I always thought that a "judgement" call could not be protested...
And how long does the decision come back after a game has been protested???
Gino, you are correct that a judgement call cannot be protested, only an alleged misintertpretation of a rule. Also, you must lodge the protest immediately, before the next pitch. Make a note in the scorebook and make sure that the other manager knows, although the ump usually will inform the other team of a lodged protest. You cannot wait until the end of the game. Cos.
Cos is right - but I am not sure this is a judgement call. I think the umpire may have interpreted the rule incorrectly based on what was noted in the explanation. There is no judgement in the rule the way it is written. The umpire put his judgement IN the call, when, according to the rule, there is none. But not being there, I cannot say if it did impair the catcher.
I was that catcher during that play. no big deal, a game changer maybe. Batter swings, lunges in front of me and home plate as I throw to punch out runner attempting to steal 2nd. We make contact my glove and batters back. I managed to hold off striking him in the head possible hurting both of us. The runner gets 2nd base and batter eventually reaches. After the game the ump told me I should have hit the batter with the throw. Batter would be called for interference and runner stays on 1st. Like I said, no big deal. Its a game we are priviliged to play. I am not looking to harm anyone, just have fun with my peers and kick back a few beers. Ryan Johnson 35 Mets
