Dropped third strike question
 

this question applies to little league, and i know that rules vary, but i would just like a "generalized" answer to my question. the batter takes a called third strike, catcher drops the ball. batter hesitates for a second, someone yells "run!" and off he goes, reaching first base. the batter made no step back towards the dugout, in fact he didn't even leave the batter's box. the umpire calls him OUT saying he "hesitated" before running to first. what i have found so far indicates that the batter actually has until the next pitch in the game to run to first unless the umpire has called him OUT. does anyone know the rule? thanks in advance.

New Official Baseball Rules, rule 6.09(b):
The batter becomes a runner when --
...
(b) The third strike called by the umpire is not caught, providing (1) first base is unoccupied, or (2) first base is occupied with two out;
Rule 6.09(b) Comment: A batter who does not realize his situation on a third strike not caught, and who is not in the process of running to first base, shall be declared out once he leaves the dirt circle surrounding home plate.

I believe the dirt circle surrounding home plate is 13 feet in radius around the tip of home plate. (It's hard to read the MLB diagram 1 in rule 3.01.)

Little League Rules, unless specifically stated in their book, follow what OBR says. Therefore, if the L.L book does not have the wording of stepping into the dugout or reaching his defensive position, then the new OBR Rule applies.

Regardless, the ump in question erred.

Just to clarify. If this was LL majors or below the batter is out immediately on the third strike. He doesn't have the same option as a runner on the big diamond.


Tim.

Good point. Just what the heck was I thinking. LL doesn't have the dropped third strike. Oh well, I'm not an LL ump, so... :D

Majors and below do not have an uncaught 3rd strike rule, but Junior, Senior, and Big League divisions do, and it is just like the "old" OBR rule, which is that the batter is not out until he is tagged, or 1st base is tagged, or he steps into his dugout or bench area. The new rule about the dirt circle does not apply to Little League Baseball, which uses its own set of modified OBR rules.

As far as I know there haven't been any youth leagues using modified OBR to adopt the new changes yet. Has anyone else heard of one?


Tim.

I haven't heard of any, but if I were a bettin' man, I'd bet PONY would be the first to do it, because they usually advertise that they play by Sporting News Edition Rules (with modifications).

i should have been more clear on the league we're in. it's ages 11-12, and we do have a dropped third strike rule. the only question was whether pausing for a second after the strike was called disqualifies the batter from attempting to advance. i watch enough MLB that it seems that hesitating is often the case...it takes the batter a second to realize the catcher has dropped the ball, which was exactly the case here. thanks for all the responses...you guys are great.

If you are in Little League ages 11-12 is Majors division and there is no dropped third strike for that division. Am I missing something??

i don't know what to say except that it is permissable to in our league to attempt to advance to first on a dropped third strike. last year (10 year old league) it was not. it's a rec league run by the city of norman, OK.

Then what you said in the original post is untrue. It isn't Little League, it's youth baseball. Little League is an organization with its own rules, not a generic term for kiddie ball.

In this case then, the umpire blew the call, as hesitating before running is a perfectly normal occurrence.

steve...thanks for the clarification. the city actually calls it "little league", so i didn't even know there was a difference. i'm very happy to have found this site and all the knowledgable contributors. thanks again.

They may not be calling it "little league" for long if Williamsport finds out about it...

It is common for non-chartered youth leagues to still refer to themselves as "Little League" when what they really mean is "generic unchartered youth league." I suspect that is what you're missing.