Petty call by Blue

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I saw this at a high school game on Saturday.

Runner makes it to 2nd, as defense prepares for the next pitch, runner does a little kicking-the-bag/digging-her-cleats-in maneuver and momentarily lifts her foot off the base. Blue call her out for leaving the base while the pitcher has the ball in the circle.

Technically speaking, it was the correct call, but, really ? ! ?

 

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Sounds pretty hokie to me.

 

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That's a strict interpretation of the rule, which says that the runner may not lose contact with the base before the pitch is thrown.

But I have been taught that an umpire should use some discretion about making this call. The spirit and intent of the rule is to prevent a runner from leading off the bag or actually running toward the next base before the pitch is released (ie: leaving early). A momentary loss of contact as the runner shifts her feet on the base, which isn't part of any effort to advance toward the next base, should probably be ignored.

There are a lot of rules like this, where if taken verbatim as written they'll be enforced in a much more strict manner than how they are commonly interpreted or applied in actual practice.

Technically, this was the right call. From the spirt, intent and purpose of the rule it was probably being too picky. There's sometimes a fine there between being too strict and not strict enough. The art of umpiring often involves finding the right balance between the two.

I also find that the opinions on this can change dramatically depending on if the call goes for or against your team! ​

 

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That's a strict interpretation of the rule, which says that the runner may not lose contact with the base before the pitch is thrown.

But I have been taught that an umpire should use some discretion about making this call. The spirit and intent of the rule is to prevent a runner from leading off the bag or actually running toward the next base before the pitch is released (ie: leaving early). A momentary loss of contact as the runner shifts her feet on the base, which isn't part of any effort to advance toward the next base, should probably be ignored.

There are a lot of rules like this, where if taken verbatim as written they'll be enforced in a much more strict manner than how they are commonly interpreted or applied in actual practice.

Technically, this was the right call. From the spirt, intent and purpose of the rule it was probably being too picky. There's sometimes a fine there between being too strict and not strict enough. The art of umpiring often involves finding the right balance between the two.

I also find that the opinions on this can change dramatically depending on if the call goes for or against your team! ​

Probably the same ump that "Dennis" was blasting at the Colerain game early in the HS season for having a stretchy bracelet on when approaching the plate.

 

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Brett needs to be cloned....