Little League Jr rules? Age 13-14
 

Hey,

I have been asked to do some umpiring in the LL Jr District and I am not confident that I will get a straight scoop on the rules.

I am most familiar with Fed rules and I am somewhat familiar with OBR.

What do I need to know?

Thanks,

Joe

If you're going to be working the juniors district tournament I strongly urge you to brush up on 8.05 and 7.06. There are some differences especially in these two rules between FED and OBR that will likely come into play. Pay close attention to 8.05 because you'll probably need to call a few.


Tim.

Use Dave Hensley's LL Tournament Chart


http://www.pureneve.com/LL/2006LLBTo...RulesChart.pdf

Pete Booth

I daresay 7.05 (obstruction) is nigh verbatim between LL and OBR. Right?

Ace

Not anymore Ace - they changed it a couple of years ago to be nigh verbatim between LL and NCAA. "In the act of fielding" no longer exempts a fielder from obstruction; only actual possession of the ball does (with one interpretation that gives back a little wiggle room.)

And a confusing and seemingly contradictory interpretation at that. One found only in the Holy Grail of Little League publications. Oh, how I long for the days when we were still allowed to use judgment.


Tim.

Would either of you care to share this "wiggle room" interpretation with the rest of us, please?

The last paragraph found in the RIM is where you'll find the "wiggle room" we're given for ruling on obstruction. The contradiction is between the first comment and the second.


OBSTRUCTION is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball, impedes the progress of any runner. A fake tag is considered obstruction.

NOTE: Obstruction shall be called on a defensive player who blocks off a base, base line or home plate from a base runner while not in possession of the ball.

INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS:

It is quite simple now for the umpires to rule on obstruction…if the defense does not have the ball and impedes the progress of any runner it shall be called obstruction. It makes no difference if the defense is fielding a thrown ball or waiting for the ball, if the defensive player does not have the ball in his/her possession it is obstruction if they impede the progress of any runner.

“Train wrecks are still going to happen and are not to be considered as obstruction. Example: Throw from the shortstop to the 1st baseman in an attempt to get a batter-runner out pulls the 1st baseman down the line toward home plate and the 1st baseman and the batter-runner collide. This is a train wreck because the defensive player is doing what he/she should be doing (fielding the ball) and the batter-runner is doing what he/she should be doing (running the bases).


Tim.

Oh, yeah, that. I've seen that. I thought it was something really, really, really super secret.<a href="http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZRYYYYYYYYUS" target="_blank"><img src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_29_13.gif" alt="I Have A Secret" border="0"></a>

I believe you still have the decoder ring I sent you along with the super secret handshake manual.


Tim.