[greymule]

There's nothing illegal about either play in ASA. There is a Fed rule (I think) about yelling "I got it" if it's an obvious decoy, so maybe you saw some umps who do Fed calling it in ASA.

On a related subject, when I played baseball, players didn't like it when a shortstop faked a tag to make the runner go down for no reason, such as on a foul ball. However, on a hit behind the runner that went through to right field, a fake tag was not considered a dirty play, since if the runner slid, he would be delayed and might not get to 3B. Because there was a strategic reason for the fake tag, we felt it was OK. It was the runner's job to pay attention or watch the coach to find out what's going on. But in fact, I never saw a single runner fooled by a fake tag.

Fed and ASA prohibit the fake tag under any circumstances. According to BRD, NCAA and OBR have no provisions. However, I suspect that players would not appreciate a purely malicious fake tag, one with no strategic purpose.

I think prohibiting "verbal obstruction" is opening a can of worms. Can you imagine a Major League player complaining to the umpire that an outfielder yelled "I got it" when he couldn't have caught it? What's next, no fake handoffs in football?

Incidentally, in the play you described, you yelled, "I got it." Who says that necessarily implies "on the fly"? And you say you short-hopped the ball. If you were close enough to short-hop it, how could that ump have been sure it was a decoy, anyway?