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Originally Posted by JJ
Play #1 - you said the coach came out "with rule in hand, where there is a rule comment that a pitcher may throw to an unoccupied base with R1 and R3, regardless of whether the runners are in motion." Huh? Where did he find this in print, or did he print it himself after he typed it out?
Pitchers can only throw to an unoccupied base to attempt to retire an advancing runner or to make an appeal.
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This was in print, in a rule book for the league they play in. I was shocked to see it, but I couldn't rule against what was said in print in the book. I'd never ever heard of throwing to an unoccupied base NOT being a balk, but I'll be damned if this guy didn't have the rule book opened to the page by time I got to the mound to explain it to his pitcher.
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Originally Posted by mrumpire
2. You beat me to it. Mattmets...there is no reference to a "ground rule double" award in the the rule book. There are two base awards, but ground rules are not covered in the rule book. They are "grounds" rules covered at each ball park.
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We had actually discussed this at the plate meeting, which was the first time I've ever had it brought up. We said it would be two bases, unless the ball rolled under any holes in the fence, in which case I would use my judgment. This might clear up some of the confusion I caused by using "ground rule" vs "book rule".
UmpJM, thanks for the rule citations, which I wouldn't have gotten from the MLBUM and JEA. Tim, what do you use to justify saying that runners should get the extra base? I'm not trying to start a whizzing match, I'm just trying to understand where, other than two situations this year, you would get that interpretation from.