One of the reasons that I hate to do 12U or younger is that the coaches have yet to really learn the rules. They just nab tidbits of them, and run with them. Of course, this is not true of all coaches at this age level, just a bunch of them. Below are some things that I was schooled on by coaches at a tournament this past weekend.
-If any part of the batter's foot is outside the lines of the batter's box, or if their foot makes contact with with home plate, then that batter is out. No pitch has to be thrown.
-If the runner rounds first, and then stops, she must then return to first base or else she is out. She cannot continue on to second base.
-If the batter hits the ball with the bat a second time, she is automatically out. It doesn't matter if she is standing in the box at the time, or that it was accidental.
-If two players occupy the same base at the same time, both players are automatically out. There is no play required.
-If a runner on base makes any motion to leave, regardless of whether or not they maintain contact with the base, before the release of the pitch, they are out.
-There is no such thing as a dead ball strike. The only choices that we, as umpires have, is a dead ball, ball on the batter, or dead ball, advance the batter.
It was a very educational experience, so I thought that you all would like to know what you can and cannot do for future reference.
[Edited by Skahtboi on Oct 24th, 2005 at 01:20 PM]