Coaches Training AGENDA 1. Safety (first and foremost) 2. Before the game starts 3. Legal Bats 4. (lets be real!) 5. rule (always yelled about) 6. 7. What is a ? 8. Questioning an umpires call 9. Ejections 10. / (awards) 11. Rule interpretation vs judgment call (what coaches can question, what they can’t) 12. fly (quick) 13. Running lanes (natural base path) 14. by (what happenings if it bounces?) 15. Dropped third strike (simple) 16. Base awards (two different scenarios)

Safety (first and foremost)

• Above all else • Responsibility- the umpires role • Jewelry- none except medical bracelet that must be taped • On deck warm ups-approved warm up devices-pay attention • No batboys/batgirls – • Bat throwers- Umps will warn THEN prison- their call on severity • Helmets –Feet are on field -Youth base coaches • Lightning/thunder- 30 min rule- release teams to coach • Blood- white tissue • Injuries- umpires will suspend time/game if needed • In between – in gear- swinging bats • Umps are last word- dugout prison or eject-if they think they need to.

Before the game starts

• will call a meeting at home plate 5-10 min before scheduled start • All infield practice will stop and home team should start heading to their positions • Home team coach will bring 2 used and 2 new to UIC • Line ups will be exchanged with a copy given to the home team scorekeeper • Umpire will ask both coaches if all players are properly equipped to play. Until coach says ‘Yes” play will not start.” I think” so OR “I am not sure” will not work. • Only USSSA approved bats • No doughnuts • 12u and below need earflaps on helmet • Metal spikes for 14 u and above • Catchers need a cup (Umpires will ask) Legal Bats Strike zone (lets be real!)

1. Look at the rulebook strike zone and decide if you want this called in youth ball in all age groups (didn't think so!) 2. “Umpires Think strikes” 3. If umps believe the batter can hit it, it is a strike 4. Consistency is hard with a inconsistent

Slide rule (always yelled about)

• Whenever a tag play is evident, a runner must slide OR seek to avoid contact with the fielder and / or catcher. Attempting to jump, leap, or dive over the fielder and / or catcher is not interpreted as seeking to avoid contact. Malicious contact shall supersede all obstruction penalties.

• Penalty: The runner shall be called and may be ejected from the game at the umpire’s discretion.

• Rule Comment: When enforcing this rule, the umpire should judge the runner’s intent. If the umpire feels that the contact was unintentional, then the runner should only be declared out. If the umpire feels that the contact was intentional and / or malicious, then the runner should be declared out and ejected.

Balks

1. Did he come to a full stop ?

2. Did he come set and separate his hands ?

3. Did he rotate his shoulders ?

4. Did he step towards the base he is throwing to ?

5. is a !

6. is a balk.

“ What is a catch?”

1. A CATCH is the act of a fielder in getting secure possession in his hand or glove of a ball and firmly holding it

2. The fielder shall hold the ball long enough (must be 2 seconds is a MYTH!) to prove that he has complete control of the ball and that his release of the ball is voluntary and intentional. 3. If the fielder has made the catch and then drops the ball while in the act of making a throw following the catch, the ball shall be adjudged to have been caught.

4. It is not a catch, however, if simultaneously or immediately following his contact with the ball, he collides with a player, or with a wall, or if he falls down, and as a result of such collision or falling, drops the ball.

Questioning an umpires call (Dos and Don'ts) Don'ts 1. Boil out of the dugout like a madman. 2. Go to the umpire that DID NOT make the call. 3. Bring a rulebook on the field. 4. Stay and argue after the umpire says its over 5. Ask the one umpire to overturn the other umpires call 6. Appeal an umpires JUDGEMENT call 7. Say “show me that in the book” or YOU can’t do that”

Dos 1. Ask and be granted time calmly 2. If you think the other umpire MAY have had a better look ask the UMPIRE that made the call to check with his partner (be prepared for a no) 3. Protest if you feel the umpire has made a mistake on a RULES decision

Ejections 1. This is not pro ball 2. Umps will not let anyone, including themselves, become uncomfortable during your game 3. Heave Ho, quiet kill OR dugout prison- Umps will Say: “You are ejected” 4. Umps will walk away after an ejection 5. If a coach will not leave then Umps forfeit the game to other team. 6. Fans can be removed as well-Umps will ask coach for help

Book Ejection Rule

• 10.01 All managers, coaches, sponsors, spectators and players shall be expected to conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner at all times. Any manager, coach, sponsor, spectator or player whose conduct is unbecoming or abusive shall at a minimum be reprimanded with a warning and if warranted, the offending party shall be ejected from the game at the discretion of the Umpire(s) and / or the League / Tournament Director. • 10.02 Any manager, coach, sponsor, spectator or player leaving their position in the field, on base, on the bench or in the dugout, dugout area or grandstands to participate in a fight, brawl or altercation shall be immediately ejected from the game, the venue and shall be suspended. Local law enforcement shall be notified. • 10.03 Any manager, coach, sponsor, player or other dugout personnel shall be confined to the dugout for the remainder of a game as an alternative to an ejection at the sole discretion of the Umpire(s). • 10.04 Any manager, coach, sponsor, player or other dugout personnel ejected from a game shall immediately remove himself and all personal belongings from the vicinity of the playing field and / or grandstands to the parking area outside the venue and shall remain outside the venue for the remainder of the game ejected from plus one additional game. Under no circumstances shall an ejected individual return to the vicinity of the playing field and / or grandstands upon game completion. An ejected individual returning to the vicinity of the playing field and / or grandstands upon game completion shall be treated as a trespasser by local law enforcement. • Rule 10.04 Comment: Any manager, coach, sponsor, player or other dugout personnel ejected from a league / tournament ending game (i.e.; elimination game, championship game), shall be required to sit out the team’s first game in their next USSSA Sanctioned event. • 10.05 Any spectator ejected from a game shall immediately remove himself and all personal belongings from the vicinity of the playing field and grandstands to the parking area outside the venue and shall remain outside the venue for the remainder of the game ejected from. Under no circumstances shall an ejected individual return to the vicinity of the playing field and / or grandstands upon game completion. An ejected individual returning to the vicinity of the playing field and / or grandstands upon game completion shall be treated as a trespasser by local law enforcement. An ejected individual should only return to the vicinity of the playing field and / or grandstands at the start of the affiliated team’s next game. • 10.06 Abusive language (cursing) or tactics is unsportsmanlike and shall result in an automatic ejection. • 10.07 Throwing of equipment is unsportsmanlike and shall result in an automatic ejection. Interference/obstruction (awards)

1. Offence Interferes, Obstructs 2. On most interference calls the ball will be called dead. 3. Most common is runner getting hit by OR running into a fielder attempting to make a play. 4. Runners MUST not interfere with a player attempting to field a ball regardless of the situation! (contact is NOT required!) 5. On an obstruction umps will extend left hand and wait for the all action to cease (delayed ). 6. If they believe the runner got to the base he would have with out the obstruction don’t do anything, if not they will award him the advance you believe he would have made. 7. Young basemen camp out in the running lanes a lot! Rule interpretation vs judgment call (what you can question, what you can’t)

1. Strike, ball, out, , infield fly, are judgment calls.

2. Declared walk, courtesy runner is a rule interpretation

3. Generally a judgment calls are made with umps eyes,

interpretations are made with their heads.

4. If umps are pushed on a rule interpretation they will ask if

the coach if he wants to protest, if not “Play Ball”

Infield fly

1. THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE IS TO PROTECT THE RUNNERS AND PREVENT THE DEFENSE FROM TURNING AN EASY PLAY. If the defense cannot turn a by tricking the runners into thinking they will catch the ball and then not catching it and getting two outs, the rule does not apply. For example if there is only a runner on first base, and an easy flyball is hit in the infield, proper will dictate that the runner on first base stay put, but the batter runs hard to first base. If the ball is caught the batter is out. If it is dropped, then the runner on first will be easily out at second, but in either case the defense should not be able to get 2 outs, so the rule does not apply. 2. An infield fly applies when: there are runners on 1st and 2nd, or 1st, 2nd and 3rd and less than 2 outs. 3. Batter is automatically out when an infield fly is called on a . 4. Ball is live – runner may attempt to advance at own risk. 5. Does not apply on a , line drive, or . 6. Does not matter if the ball is caught by an or outfielder or where it ends up or even if it’s caught. Once it’s called an infield fly, the ruling is final, the batter is out. 7. If the umpire does not call it then the infield fly rule does not apply

Running lanes (natural base path)

• One of the largest misbeliefs in all of baseball is that the base line is defined as a straight line between the bases (with 3 feet allowed to either side)...and that runners are automatically out if they out of the base line...and the base line belongs to the runners and if there’s a collision with a fielder and the runner is on the line, it is obstruction and the runner is awarded the next base. All of the above are misbeliefs and are incorrect. • The realities are the base line is a straight line from the runner to the base he is going to at the time a tag attempt is made. If a runner really wants to, he can run past first base all the way to the foul pole, and then head towards second base. If a fielder then tries to tag him, the base line would be defined as a straight line between the right field foul pole and second base...and a runner is only out for running out of the base line if he is trying to avoid being tagged... and the base line belongs to the runner if the ball isn’t there but if a fielder is daydreaming on the base line and a runner runs into him, then it’s certainly obstruction...however, the runner not only should, but must get out of the base line if a fielder is trying to field a batted ball there, otherwise, the runner (not the fielder) will get called for interference and be out. • Did the fielder have to make an extra effort to tag the runner that took him away from an additional play ? Did he chase him?

Hit by pitch (what happenings if it bounces?)

1. The hand is not part of the bat. Many people think that the hand is part of the bat and that a player shouldn't be awarded first if hit in the hand. This is incorrect. As long as the batter is attempting to get out of the way and is hit in the hand, then the correct call is to award the player first base. 2. A pitched ball that hits the batter after bouncing is not a dead ball. Even if the ball hits the ground first, then the batter, ...the ball is dead, and the batter gets first base. 3. A pitched ball that touches the players clothing but not the player. As long as the uniform is properly fitting, the batter should be awarded first base. 4. A pitched ball hits a batter and then hits the bat. Once the ball hits the batter, the ball is dead and the batter should be awarded first base. 5. Coaches will cry” he did not even try to get out of the way” Dropped Third Strike

• When does it matter? • A dropped third strike only matters when first base is unoccupied OR there are two outs. If there is a runner on first base and less than two outs, then a dropped third strike doesn't matter and the batter is out. • What can the batter Do? • Once a batter either looks at strike three or swings and misses at strike three and the ball is either not caught or dropped by the catcher, the batter becomes a runner and can attempt to make it to first base before either being tagged by the catcher or thrown out at first base. • What if the pitch bounces? • 99.99% of the time it is not a legal catch and the catcher (even if he fields the bounced pitch cleanly) must the runner or throw him out at first base. Rule 6.05 specifies that a batter is out when a third strike is legally caught by the catcher and goes on to state that this must occur before the ball hits the ground. • 0.01% of the time (and no these are not official calculations) the bounced pitch that is fielded by the catcher would be considered a legal catch. This can happen if the hitter swings and fouls off the pitch into the catcher's glove after the pitch has bounced. It is considered a legal catch at that point and the batter is out. • What if the runner at first is stealing? • If there are less than two outs, it doesn't matter. Even on an attempted steal, first base is considered occupied and the batter is out. First base occupation is based on the base they possessed when the pitch occurred, so even if stealing, first base was occupied, the batter is out! • What happens when there are two outs? • When there are two outs the same rule applies with the addition that first base can be occupied. In this situation a can be created on other bases in addition to either tagging out the batter or throwing him out at first. • Example: Bases loaded, two outs. Catcher drops the third strike. A force play has now been created at all bases as all runners must try to advance. Catcher can simply step on home plate for the force at home and third out. He doesn't have to make the out on the batter. • What if a runner crosses the plate before the batter is thrown out at first or tagged? • The run does not . Example: Runner on third, two outs. Catcher drops the third strike, while he is picking it up and throwing to first, the runner from third crosses home plate. As long as the catcher throws out the runner at first, the run doesn't count. The force play at first is the same as if a ground ball was hit to another infielder. The run doesn't count.

Base Awards

Basically, the easiest way to break down the awarding of bases is two different scenarios; 1) At the time of the pitch (TOP) 2) At the time of the throw (TOT)

• Time of pitch (TOP): The award of 2 bases occurs at the time of the pitch when the first play by an infielder (after the pitch) throws a ball out of play. • Time of throw (TOT): Any other time the ball goes out of play, the award of two bases is granted to the runners at the time of the throw, NOT when the ball goes out of play. • For a pitcher, if he/she makes a pick off move to catch someone off of base and does it legally while in contact with the plate (i.e.; spin move) the award of one base will occur if said throw is thrown out of play/bounds. • HOWEVER, if the pitcher disengages first he/she becomes an infielder, then that throw would be a two base award. • For further detail of awarding bases, etc, please look through section 7.05 of the MLB rules to see all different scenarios.

There ARE more situations in which bases are awarded, but these 2 scenarios are by far the most common.

Being somewhere between a base (i.e.; first and second) has NO BEARING on the proper base award!“

Questions?