FED (ll:ru): Illegal substitution mechanic

[LilLeaguer]

Originally posted by Tim C
Kyle is Elliot's right hand man in terms of FED.

No, I didn't. If I'd read the author's bio, I would have seen a hint, though.

I'm not being coy here; I really am "just" a Little League umpire. The closest I've gotten to a FED game is watching my son play for a year on a sub-junior varsity team. So I'm also not sure who Elliot is, but he must do more for the FED than advise them on rules.

As I read your situation it appears that all we have is a player trying to legally re-enter at the wrong time,

I think that is the issue . . .

But there are a couple of ways it could go and I think that is the trap that has been set:

1) A preventative umpire could say, "sorry man, but you can only check back in when your due up" . . . remember FED says you CANNOT do subs in advance.

2) An Ahole umpire could allow the sub, BOO, and then wait to see if the defense reacts . . . then make the call.

3) A real big Ahole umpire could allow the illegal sub and find a way to make it an out.

I guess Little, I would do the first thing:

If I was smart enough to know it was out of order, if I thought fast enough on my feet and if I could sell it I HOPE I would simply not allow the sub.

Psst, the real truth:

I would probably have no clue the guy was checking in a batter early and I would have dug my own hole.

Fun times I guess.

The trap is that there are two interps with two different umpire procedures:
A) Chris is re-entering legally for "A", but batting OO.
B) Chris is re-entering illegally for Alan.

In case A), the approved mechanic would be to say nothing until the defense challenges the AB. In case B), the umpire has the option (or is it a duty?) to penalize Chris as soon as he steps into the batter's box.

I suppose Big Dog could ask Chris (or coach Rat) who he's coming in for. That would make the infraction clear, but it might go beyond expectations. In a clear BOO case, you wouldn't say anything.

Psst, even in full-on tournament mode, I'm not checking the batting order during an innning. My extra responsibility is only to ensure that substitutions that I'm notified of are legal. (Sorry for the LL-specific content.)

-LL