Judgement call ?

[WeekendRef]

Had a doozy last night in a State Quarterfinal that went against us and I am still not sure if the umpire was correct :
R1 on first , grounball to short where it is fumbled he then tosses to second baseman to start DP . R1 starts his slide straight into the bag with his arms straight up in the air . Second baseman throws the ball straight into his bicep....ump calls automatic DP because he put his hands up . Is this the correct call ? I honestly am not sure if it was correct or not but it appeared as if the home plate Ump agreed with us (Without saying it) and at one point the plate umpire asked to base umpire to confer with him alone (3 man crew) . Bottom line is the call was not changed and automatic DP called .
I just wanted to get some feedback on this....thanks !

[Gee]

Yes it was a judgment call. The umpire that called it judged that it was intentional interference by R1. B/R is called out for the actions of his team mate. Got two.

[ozzy6900]

"That's Interference, your out & your out!!"

God I love those calls!!!!!!!!!!

[PeteBooth]

Originally posted by WeekendRef
Had a doozy last night in a State Quarterfinal that went against us and I am still not sure if the umpire was correct :

R1 on first , grounball to short where it is fumbled he then tosses to second baseman to start DP . R1 starts his slide straight into the bag with his arms straight up in the air . Second baseman throws the ball straight into his bicep....ump calls automatic DP because he put his hands up . Is this the correct call ?

You said state Quarterfinal, which to me means HS final. Most High Schoold used FED rules.

FED has a FPSL (Force Play slide rule), meaning if there is a Force situation and the runner slides illegally into the base, then we have an AUTOMATIC 2.

In FED they define what a Legal vs. Illegal Slide is. Sliding into a base with one's arms striaght up in the air is an illegal slide in FED, therefore, even though a judgement call, in FED it's a rule.

OBR is different in that the Umpire must judge the act as being Willfully and Deliberate with the OBVIOUS intent of breadking up a DP.

Sounds like this game was played under FED rules which IMO woould make it a "no brainer" of a call.

Pete Booth

[Robmoz]

Originally posted by WeekendRef
...arms straight up in the air . Second baseman throws the ball straight into his bicep....

To be hit in the bicep sounds like it did not matter if the arms were straight up in the air. I might think that if the ball hit the hands there may be a case for the auto out call. Arguably, the sliding mechanics (you did say R1 slid into the bag) would seem normal to raise arms as the slide is being executed. Perhaps it is one of those HTBT situations.

In any event, it is a judgement call by BU, he called it out so it is out. I like the fact that a conference among the PU and BU took place and the call stood. That tells me that the crew communicates.

[Baseball_North]

Definitly a judgement call....

I would instruct the runner to try to take out the legs of the 2B/SS trying to roll the double play.... just go in with a clean, hard slide, right into their legs.... they will fall down or try to jump over you and be forced to make a tough play.

Just keep the spikes down and make sure you are sliding close to the base.