 Ask the Ump
"Hey, Blue, what’s the call?!?”
At a time when practically everyone, from loyal follower of youth baseball to adult weekend warrior, has an opinion about the men in blue, County Baseball introduces an interactive service that allows you, the spectator, and them, the arbiters of the game, to have the last word – or at least the next best thing, a place to register your dispute and obtain the correct answer.
“Ask the Ump” provides a long needed forum for discussing and clarifying some of the most vexing and frequently occurring game situations that leave baseball fans young and old scratching their heads – not to mention other popular forms of expression. Where you, the coach, player, parent, and league official want answers, County Baseball is now here to provide them.
Simply convey your question, observation, or knotty problem to County Baseball through our Contact Us page. We will respond quickly with the explanation you seek, along with our rules’ sources of information. To get you started, here are three of County Baseball's favorites:
Submit your play or situation to County Baseball
Play: The center fielder, playing deep, runs far to his right to track down a hard-hit line drive in the gap, which is over his head. While still running, he gloves the ball with an acrobatic, backhanded catch. Still in the act of running, he takes five more strides, loses his balance, stumbles forward, and falls to the ground. The fall jars the ball loose. Should this be ruled a legal catch?
 Ruling: No. This is not a legal catch!
Most rule books, at all levels of baseball, rely on the major league rule book’s definition of a ‘catch.’ First, the fielder must secure possession of the ball; second, the fielder must hold the ball long enough to prove that release of the ball is voluntary and intentional. In the above play, the center fielder does not have complete control of the ball and therefore does not complete the catch.
The fielder must satisfy both criteria in order for a catch to be legal - gain possession of the ball AND demonstrate release of the ball through a voluntary act.
Although the center fielder in the above play deserves a round of applause for his effort, he fails to complete a legal catch, by definition.
Source: Major League Rule 2.00 - Definition of a Catch
 Play: The batter tries to avoid being hit by an inside pitch, but the ball strikes his hand which is holding the bat. The pitched ball is not in the strike zone and the batter does not swing the bat. Is this ruled a hit batter, or a foul ball?
Ruling: This is a hit batter, by definition.
The batter is entitled to first base when he or his clothing is touched by a pitched ball which he is not attempting to hit. The ball is dead immediately and runners may advance only if forced by the batter’s entitlement to first base.
Variations on this play occur frequently, and coaches and spectators should be aware of them. For example, If the batter is hit by a pitch, that he does not try to hit, but he is hit by the pitch IN THE STRIKE ZONE, it is ruled a strike and the batter does not advance to first base. The ball is dead immediately and runners may not advance.
Another common occurrence is the batter being hit by a pitch that is not a strike, and the batter MAKES NO ATTEMPT TO AVOID BEING HIT by the ball. In this case, the pitch is ruled a ball, and the batter is not entitled to first base. Again, the ball dead immediately and runners may not advance.
Sources: Major League Rule 6.08; National Federation Rule 8.1.1d and Case 8.1.1 - Situation D
Play: With two strikes on the batter, the pitcher delivers a curve ball that drops into the dirt as it crosses home plate, and the catcher catches the ball on a short hop. The batter does not swing at the ball. The umpire calls the batter out, looking at a called third strike. How is this possible, since the ball bounced in the dirt?
 Ruling: A pitched ball is a strike when it passes through any part of the strike zone. The fact that a pitched ball may bounce in the dirt has no bearing on this aspect of the definition of a strike. If any part of the pitched ball PASSES THROUGH THE BATTER’S STRIKE ZONE, it is a strike, whether the ball is caught by the catcher in flight or on a bounce.
The popular belief that a pitched ball which bounces in the dirt cannot be a strike pertains to a pitched ball that bounces in the dirt BEFORE it crosses home plate. In order for a pitched ball to be a called strike, it must pass through the batter’s strike zone IN FLIGHT. Clearly, a sharply thrown curve ball may in fact cross over home plate, pass through the strike zone in flight, and drop into the dirt before it reaches the catcher’s mitt. This is the case in the above play, and it is a distinction that coaches, players, and spectators should keep in mind.
Sources: Major League Rule 2.00 - Definition of a Strike; National Federation Rule 2.25 and Case 2.35.1
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