New FED rule: appeals required, made easier

[Patrick Szalapski]

Check out the change in rule 8-2, http://www.nfhs.org/sports/baseball_rules_change.asp .

My thoughts:

• In general, a good idea. Closer to OBR, and it frees umpires from making the call that no one expects.
  
• They are allowing dead ball appeals, which makes it simpler, but also will confuse the participants who are also in OBR games. We'll have players calling time to appeal in OBR games, and then we'll have to say, "No, coach, that's a high school rule. Here, you need a live ball to appeal."
  
• They are allowing coaches to make the dead ball appeal. Why? Too much trouble to get a dumb player to do it?
  
• Coaches can make a live ball appeal. Huh? How? "A live ball appeal may be made by a coach or any defensive player with the ball in his possession by tagging the runner or touching the base that was missed or left too early" (FED web site) That doesn't make any sense.
  
• The rules for fourth out appeals are too vague; one might interpret that fifth outs are not allowed at all.
  
• Limit of one appeal on one runner at one base - why not make it a rule instead of leaving it to be covered under "travesty of the game"?