[PeteBooth]

Originally posted by Manny A

I've never done FED so I can't speak for it, but I'm curious to know why there's such an extensive casebook for FED rules. Was there a rash of protests in high school games in the past? Did high school managers/coaches/players try everything under the sun to win games, and umpires needed specific written guidance to steer the culprits in the right direction? Why is FED so much "better" than any other organization?

Manny the FED case book is like J/R or the PBUC to OBR. The FED case book explains the rulings via case plays. I don't think it has anything to do with a rash of protests, because unlike LL basically all decisions (excluding the year end sectionals) are resolved on the field one way or another or unless a specific state has their own Protest procedures.

Let's take a typical question that we get on various Forums. B1 beats the throw to F3 but does not touch the base. What's the call?

In OBR since it is NOT clearly stated, becomes a valid question. In OBR the umpire should signal safe and the defense must appeal, however, in addition the umpire must determine whether the action is relaxed / unrelaxed. Those terms are not in the book. As mentioned above, one needs supplemental info namely J/R and the PBUC. I'll keep the JEA out of this discussion since that book is difficult to get and not everyone has a copy.

For all practical purposes, in the real world once the umpire signals safe, a team will not appeal, so whether B1 misses the base or not becomes moot.


In FED it's a no brainer. They have a case Play explaining the ruling. Now one might not like the ruling, but the point is FED explains it. In FED as long as F3 has the ball and touches the bag, B1 is out - No appeal required.

If your a first year umpire reading OBR, the book doesn't clearly tell you what to do on this play.

Another one that comes to mind is Verbal Interference / Obstruction. Again in OBR this is vague. In fact according to J/R there is no such animal as verbal interference / obstruction. In OBR, we would most likely call it in youth leagues, and use discretion for kids who shave.

In FED, not only is verbal interfernce / obstruction defined, there is also a case play to explain it.

IMO, LL should do the same in their book the "Right Call" The Right Call is accessible to everyone, therefore, LL should take the time and update it to fit their game.

The umpires manual you speak of is in a way like the JEA. It's not accessible to everyone. Also, I wouldn't call FED better than any other organization. I was talking about their rules and Case Book only.

Even for those who don't like FED, IMO they admit that FED's Case Book is unprecedented in amateur sports.

Pete Booth