!st & 2nd I am PU, ground ball to the left of F6, R2 lightly bumbs him as he goes for the ball & everyone is safe. This is a Little League game & after the play my partner says he wants my advice was it interference? I said I honestly did not see it & since he did not call anything I said not to make a call.Even if I did see it can we make the call after the play had stopped? Shouldn't interference been called when it happened? Or is it ok to make a delayed call?

That's interference the way you describe it. It's an IMMEDIATE dead ball, not delayed.

Bob

Umpires cannot change judgment calls but they can apply the rules. If an umpire is screened on a play that would result in a dead ball, he can let the play continue and then after the play ask for help. Specifically, if the umpire misapplied the rule as he did in this case, after confering you should apply the rule correctly: R2 out, batter gets first, R1 gets second.

The fact that the umpire delayed the call on an immediate dead ball simply means that any action after the play continued is nullified.

Oh PULEEEZE!
 

..Uh... sure they can...

OBR 9.02(a) says judgment calls are final. There are a few exceptions.

If BU said to PU, hey, I thought he tagged the runner when I called him out, but now I think he missed the tag. You can't change that call. But if PU says, I saw the fielder drop the ball on the tag, then you can change that call.

In any case, for the question in hand, it was a rules decision, not a judgment decision. Rules decisions must be changed if the application of the rule was in conflict with the rules.

Re: Oh PULEEEZE!
 

Deja Vu ??????????????

Steve

Good response, Joe. As I've told coaches who may complain about a late call on interference or a balk:

"when you call it, it means nothing----when I call it, it does. I can take my time to get it right."



Just be reasonable.

Steve

I think you have to be really careful before making an interference call. Just because a runner bumps into a fielder does not necessarily mean you have interference. If the runner could have avoided contact, then call the interference. But if the collision was incidental and did not affect the play, I would let the play stand. This incidental contact may occur if the ball was hit in such away that that made it impossible for the fielder and runner to avoid a collision. I often let the play develop before making a call. In one instance, I could have called interference but I took some time to think about if the interference affected the play. I didn't hear any complaints from either side so I let the play stand. Sometime your best ally is silence

Greg