Another one, fellas!

[BktBallRef]

"The pitcher for the home team, who is the clean up hitter, pitches 6 innings,leaving at the bottom of the 6th on an announced "straight change".
The sub goes to center field, and the center fielder comes in to pitch the 7th. Visitors go into the bottom of the 7th up 5-4, with the home team plating batters 2,3,4. After the 1st batter gets a single, and the 2nd batter flies out, the next guy up should have been the sub for that pitcher that left the game in the "straight change!" Instead that original pitcher re-enters without telling the scorekeeper or umpires! Our coach and scorekeeper pick up on this illegal re-entry and wait for one pitch to be thrown so we can protest his at bat and have him called out! He proceeds to get a hit on an error on the first pitch which moves the runner to 3rd base setting up the sac fly to tie the game. Our coach argued this illegal reentry and the umpires decided and stated that the batter and the home team coach "just forgot" to tell the officials and his at bat was let stand.

He would have been the 2nd out of the inning and the next guys sac fly(which would have been just an out with a guy on first) would have ended the game!! What do you think ...were we robbed?...shouldn't the umpires have called the man out for not reporting in? This ruling left me in doubt about my knowledge of the re-entry rule!!!"

Thanks in advance for the responses.

[Rich Ives]

He's just an unnounced sub - legal as soon as he steps into the batter's box.

See 3.08(a)(2)

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

"The pitcher for the home team, who is the clean up hitter, pitches 6 innings,leaving at the bottom of the 6th on an announced "straight change".
The sub goes to center field, and the center fielder comes in to pitch the 7th. Visitors go into the bottom of the 7th up 5-4, with the home team plating batters 2,3,4. After the 1st batter gets a single, and the 2nd batter flies out, the next guy up should have been the sub for that pitcher that left the game in the "straight change!" Instead that original pitcher re-enters without telling the scorekeeper or umpires! Our coach and scorekeeper pick up on this illegal re-entry and wait for one pitch to be thrown so we can protest his at bat and have him called out! He proceeds to get a hit on an error on the first pitch which moves the runner to 3rd base setting up the sac fly to tie the game. Our coach argued this illegal reentry and the umpires decided and stated that the batter and the home team coach "just forgot" to tell the officials and his at bat was let stand.

He would have been the 2nd out of the inning and the next guys sac fly(which would have been just an out with a guy on first) would have ended the game!! What do you think ...were we robbed?...shouldn't the umpires have called the man out for not reporting in? This ruling left me in doubt about my knowledge of the re-entry rule!!!"

Thanks in advance for the responses.

Consider reporting a courtesy. It is not required in either FED or OBR.

[jumpmaster]

in the Men's Adult Baseball League (MABL)/Men's Senior Baseball League (MSBL) an unannounced sub is illegal. That is a league rule.

In no official code OBR, NCAA, NAIA, FED is an unannounced sub illegal.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Rich Ives

He's just an unnounced sub - legal as soon as he steps into the batter's box.

See 3.08(a)(2)

While this is correct, the original play dealt with re-entry, which is a FED rule, not an OBR rule, so the FED rules should have been cited in this case.

See 3-1-3, 3-1-1(d), and 2-36-2.

[ManInBlue]

Nothing illegal about his re-entry. FED allows starters to leave and re-enter one time - as long as they maintain the same position in the batting order. For that matter most , if not all, modified OBR rules (USSSA, Dixie youth, LL, etc) allow the same thing.

Poor rule siting - umpires should have simply stated that as soon as he took his position in the box, he became a legal sub.

Nothing personal, but your coach needs to read up on the rules - he shouldn't have even thought to protest this. Does he not pull starters then have them re-enter?

Did "the original pitcher" take the field for the 8th (or did they go on to win in the 7th)? Did "original F1's" sub go BACK into the field for the 8th? If so, there is your illegal player.