Ball thrown to 1st base after BB/Walk ????

[snailpace]

Hi all Noob here,



Batter is walked and I have the catcher throw the ball to 1st base after every walk is there a ruling which stipulates this as an illegal proceeding?

The batter reached 1st and then left the bag while knowing 1st has the ball in his glove.---- It is not a trick play just good warmup throw for my catcher for the steal throw---- which sometimes in games the runner forgets and gets tagged. Blue ruled no call and illegal throw.

Blue told me that it was an illegal throw that the ball is to go back to he pitcher before any other base in a walk. I did this in h.s. ball and it was legal then. This is a juniors ll team. I cannot find a ruling in the rule book on this.

[snailpace]

The runner turned twoard second-- not overran the bag!

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by snailpace

Hi all Noob here,



Batter is walked and I have the catcher throw the ball to 1st base after every walk is there a ruling which stipulates this as an illegal proceeding?

The batter reached 1st and then left the bag while knowing 1st has the ball in his glove.---- It is not a trick play just good warmup throw for my catcher for the steal throw---- which sometimes in games the runner forgets and gets tagged. Blue ruled no call and illegal throw.

Blue told me that it was an illegal throw that the ball is to go back to he pitcher before any other base in a walk. I did this in h.s. ball and it was legal then. This is a juniors ll team. I cannot find a ruling in the rule book on this.

Nothing illegal about it.

What is juniors II...Little League?

[snailpace]

Originally Posted by GarthB

Nothing illegal about it.

What is juniors II...Little League?

Yes 13-14 age group.

Thanks for your reply.



Snail....

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by snailpace

Yes 13-14 age group.

Thanks for your reply.



Snail....

I've never worked Little League. I suppose it's possible they have some weird little rule; but it seems more likely that your umpire is a little league umpire, rather than an umpire working Little League....know what I mean?

[briancurtin]

Originally Posted by snailpace

Batter is walked and I have the catcher throw the ball to 1st base after every walk is there a ruling which stipulates this as an illegal proceeding?

It is not a trick play just good warmup throw for my catcher for the steal throw

that isnt why you do it...come on...

[DG]

My son started doing this when he was 10 or 11. Sometimes it worked. You can't do it every time or it will never work. If you find a particular batter who tends to step off the bag, he is the one to try it on.

Nothing illegal about it.

[LilLeaguer]

Originally Posted by GarthB

I've never worked Little League. I suppose it's possible they have some weird little rule; but it seems more likely that your umpire is a little league umpire, rather than an umpire working Little League....know what I mean?

There is no such rule in LL, Juniors or any other division.

I don't know if LL really has more phantom rules enforcement than other youth organizations, but I sure wish it had less.

At the very least, I'm beginning to think that LL doesn't help by having no real online repository of rules and interpretations.

Of course, no interp is needed to understand that there's no throw first to pitcher rule.

(In proofing this post, I think it may not fail to set some kind of record for compound negatives.)

[orioles35]

When I was in Little League (okay, I'll admit it...it was 29 years ago), I was on an All-star team that did this same thing. It was legal then...it's legal now. Sounds like someone played "invent-a-rule" because he didn't like this play.

Now, I've invented a 15 runs after 3 mercy rule, but that's another story.

[U of M Sam]

Situation described in the OP, as I understand, is a legal play.

Now, I've invented a 15 runs after 3 mercy rule, but that's another story.[/QUOTE]

That's the NFHS mercy rule (along with the 10 after 4 1/2 or 5) which I like.
It seems tough for LL to adopt this mercy rule because of the "mandatory play" requirements.
Sam

[DG]

I am not aware of a NFHS 15 after 3 mercy rule. AAU uses this rule, but not NFHS.

[orioles35]

This was in rec ball...14-15 year olds. Coach didn't have a clue and the kids were out of control. Called ballgame after three innings and no one complained on the field or in the stands.

[ggk]

I think the 15 run rule is a state modification of FED rules. We have it in the state of PA in the PIAA.

[nickrego]

Could you be more specific about the Walk.

Was it a Walk on 4 pitched Balls, or an Issued Walk ?

In some leagues, NFHS included, when you issue a Walk (elect to not pitch to the batter), the ball becomes dead. Hence, throwing to 1st is a no call, and can be considered a delay of game, if the ball isn't back to the pitcher when the next batter is ready.

With respect to the NFHS Mercy Rule:

4-2-2:...By state association adoption, the game shall end when the visiting team is behind 10 or more runs after 4 1/2 innings, or after the fifth inning, if either team is 10 runs behind and both teams have had an equal number of times at bat.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by nickrego

Could you be more specific about the Walk.

Was it a Walk on 4 pitched Balls, or an Issued Walk ?

In some leagues, NFHS included, when you issue a Walk (elect to not pitch to the batter), the ball becomes dead. Hence, throwing to 1st is a no call, and can be considered a delay of game, if the ball isn't back to the pitcher when the next batter is ready.

Since this is a Little League Juniors game, there are no issued walks. Four pitches are required at every level of Little League baseball, despite what some coaches tried to slip past me lately! The ball remains alive and in play, and no such rule exists that requires the catcher to throw it back to the pitcher before it can go to another base. Somebody making up their own rules again.

Umpire Working Little League