Quote:
Originally Posted by shagpal
I am a noob, and wish to comment...
if players are standing around confused and the ball is still live, as an umpire, I think it would be advisable to loudly announce, "the ball is still LIVE", without any stoppage of play.
I believe the smartest player on the field would react to force a play, or yell to other players to make a play, or a coach would yell out for players to make a play.
like calling "time, or dead ball" to announce stoppage of play, simply alerting players and coaches as to the status of play neither instructs any player on how to make a play, or denies them the ability to choose their play.
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Welcome, shagpal!
I believe the bold section is the most likely scenario: someone will notice that I'm not walking (ahem... hustling) back to my pre-pitch position.
I'd advise against announcing "the ball is live" for two reasons. One, it could be perceived as coaching. If they get the out, the base coach is gonna have a cow because, "you gave the defense a heads up!" If they don't get the out, the defensive coach is gonna have a fit because, "you gave the runner a heads up!" Either way, you're screwed.
Two, anytime we say anything, we run the risk of causing players (particularly runners) to stop. That being said, see number one above.
