Quote:
Originally posted by Rich Fronheiser
My first thought is that it may not NECESSARILY be the base umpire's call in this situation -- if the ball is just past the bag, the BU may pivot in to clear the area and cede the call to the plate umpire. That would be my preference anyway.
It's clear that this isn't the direction your question was going, though, so....
I think the "verbally announces" FOUL is in there because this is the proper mechanic in this situation. ALL foul calls made should have some verbalization (whether loud, quiet or just under the umpire's breath).
So I think that it's irrelevant whether the umpire actually says foul or not. I think a signal is just as good as a verbalization here, since the runner may indeed SEE the signal being made by the BU "going out" in this situation.
Merry Christmas.
--Rich
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I agree, generally. Of course, that's the right way to put it: We've all seen umpires (perhaps we've all been one) on the bases get turned around because of pressure from defenders and POINT the wrong way. It happened in the Little World Series with one of the most experienced umpires around.
In the OBR, a ball is not foul until the umpire says: "Time!" The only thing is: In the OBR they can change that call.
The casebook play confuses what was a simple (and bad) rule change.