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Originally Posted by Four Seam
It might have been a good idea to put the exception into the coach's edition of the rule book so we would know what to tell our catchers and batters about bunting, especially since the rule and the POE are so clear and explicit. Well, that's why it's good to have boards like this, and I appreciate the umpires taking their time to post here.
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since I can speak from both sides of the fence:
The Team Edition of the rulebook contains the code, largely because there can and are things coaches and others involved with a team need to research during the year. Hopefully, you are amongst the few that actually read it. For some reason we keep having these pesky pickup players who coaches want to have play for their team in some championship events for which pickup players aren't eligible. Those and other issues are addressed in the code.
For the most part, umpires aren't interested in the code. That;s the administrator's part: commissioners, JO commissioners, their deputies, tournament directors and the like.
Hence, the book umpires receive have a manual that explains certain things.
If you ask your commissioner/JO commissioner, a deputy, or a player rep, they should be able to get an umpire's edition to you if you want one. They may be out of 2007 books, but you could reserve a 2008 edition.
On a side note, you might tell your commissioner you'd like to have the umpire-in-chief or their representative at your ACE classes next year (if you are in JO ball) or a league meeting. It can really help ford the chasm that some feel exists between players/coaches and umpires. It certainly works well for us here in the Seattle/Tacoma Association.