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Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve
Proper mechanic I have been taught is that you do not give the offense (pitcher if she is looking, catcher if the pitcher is not) a replacement ball after a home run until all offensive players have completed whatever advances they intend. Your giving the defense a ball implies they can NOW initiate an appeal.
If a base is missed, you look to see if the offense attempts to return; if the missed base is home, you wait until either 1) a following runner has touched, or 2) the runner that missed enters dead ball territory, before you give the defense a ball. I was taught that mechanic after the USA team missed home after home run in Olympic play, and the (foreign) umpire honored the appeal earlier than it should have been (USA player missed home, but made no attempt to return, best as I recall).
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Completely agree. This is how I was taught way back in the '60's, never offer a replacement ball until the entire play in front of you has been completed.
Forget the morons who stand there waving the glove (obviously, more in SP than FP) demanding another ball. Watch the runner touch the plate and leave the area and then reach into your bag and hand another ball to the catcher.
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If you put a ball back into play, you should honor an appeal. So don't give it to the defense until the offense is done running bases. Just like allowing awarded bases to be touched after a ball is thrown out of play before awarding bases.
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But I do not agree with this if based on the perceived implication noted above. The ball, no matter where it is or who is holding it, is not in play until the umpire says it is in play.
Yes, it is a good piece of umpiring if you do not give the defense the opportunity to make a stupid mistake, but when the ball is dead the offense must be allowed the opportunity to complete their running assignments and even return to a missed base or base left too soon.
And I do not believe you can ignore that simply because you handed the defense a ball before you should have done so. Yeah, you are going to take some crap, but that is your issue, not the offense's