Checked Swing Appeal Scenario

BretMan2

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Here’s one I had last year...

Batter has two strikes. On the next pitch, she starts to swing, then tries to check her swing.

Umpire rules that she did offer at the pitch and calls strike three.

Third base coach wants home plate umpire to check with the base umpire, to see if his partner thinks it was a swing or not.

What should the plate umpire do?
 

Dale Brigger

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I would say nothing unless the catcher asks for the appeal.

*edit* I didn't read it correctly the first time. If home plate ump calls strike, there is no appeal from anywhere and the batter is out.
 
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jayflyer98

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If the plate umpire is certain the batter swung, call it and batter is out... If not 100% certain, the plate umpire should ask for help themselves without a coach or catcher asking. We don't see this enough in my opinion. Really only see that in college and pros where umpires are graded on a regular basis.
 

DanMaz

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hold your ground. If you called strike 3 - you saw strike 3 but if they ask for help it should be granted but the field ump should not over rule the plate unless plate ump positively needs help and isnt 100% sure what he saw.

man i dont think i could ever be an ump! You guys are Awesome! seriously.
Thanks for all you do!
 

Mark1951mazak

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I was always under the impression that you could ask to see if there was a swing, but not to Ask to change it to a no swing after home plate called it a swing. Might be one of the judgement call which isn’t allowed to be appealed idk
 

BretMan2

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Here’s what happened in my game...

First, the rule. Only the defense may appeal a checked swing call, and then only when the pitch was called a ball.

I called time, went to the third base coach, and as calmly and politely as possible explained the rule to him. As an offensive coach, he could not appeal the call.

He didn’t buy that. He continued to insist that I had to check with the base umpire to see if he would reverse the strike call. Again, I explained that the rules do not allow that.

So now the coach shifted gears and began arguing that his batter didn’t swing. I told him that we were not going to argue balls and strikes. I asked him to return to his position so that we could continue the game.

He stayed at the plate area and continued arguing that his player didn’t swing. Once more I asked him to return to his position. He continued arguing.

At this point the coach was ejected. I walked away to the other side of the field to get away from him. He followed me, getting inches from my head and screaming that I was “a clown that didn’t know what he was talking about, I’m cheating his team, I have to ask the base umpire”. Finally, I had to tell him that if he didn’t leave the game would be a forfeit. He finally left.

This coach got himself ejected because he didn’t know the rule and wanted to argue for something that’s not in the rules! Which kind of is the same story for most ejections I’ve had over the years.
 

mroby5172

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I had to eject a coach yesterday because he felt he knew the rules better than me....runner going from second to third ran into the shortstop that was going after a hard hit ball up the middle, the shortstop was not going to get to the ball even if the runner had not made contact with the fielder. He wanted interference, and would not drop it so he had to leave. Let the kids play the game without making a spectacle of yourself.
 

Stedman00

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I had to eject a coach yesterday because he felt he knew the rules better than me....runner going from second to third ran into the shortstop that was going after a hard hit ball up the middle, the shortstop was not going to get to the ball even if the runner had not made contact with the fielder. He wanted interference, and would not drop it so he had to leave. Let the kids play the game without making a spectacle of yourself.

What is there to argue about? runners can't run into fielders.
 

mroby5172

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What is there to argue about? runners can't run into fielders.
The ball was not playable and had no impact on the play. And actually they ran into each other as runner was advancing to third and SS was going towards a ball that she had no play on.
 

BretMan2

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The interference rule does say that a runner can’t interfere with a fielder who is in the act of fielding a batted ball. If the ball was so far away that the fielder had no chance of getting to it, then no interference would be the correct call.

I’ve had this happen in my games a handful of times. Runner on second. Line drive hit straight over the pitcher’s head. Runner takes off and shortstop takes a couple of steps toward second base. They collide.

I didn’t call interference because when the two players contacted each other the ball was about 15 feet off the ground and exiting the infield, almost directly over second base. No way was the fielder going to get that ball!

So, that wouldn’t be interference. But it wouldn’t be “nothing” either. If it’s not interference, because the fielder wasn’t going to field the ball, then it must be obstruction. Those are the only two choices.
 

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