What would you do?

[PeteBooth]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by BigUmp56

Lets say that you're working an OBR game. You have R1 and R3. It's the bottom of the last inning with two outs. Home team is down by two runs. F1 while in his motion hangs his knee and pauses before he delivers the pitch. Now, instead of using proper mechanics for a balk you first point to the pitcher and proclaim "time that's a balk." F1 delivers the ball to the plate where the batter takes it out of the park to deep center. Do you wait to see if the defense complains that you killed the ball before you disallow the runs and try to hide from your error, or do you eat it and end up dumping the offensive coach?

In OBR there is already a precident that allows an umpire to reverse a call of TIME. I believe it happened this past year.

However, if F1 threw a lollipop to the plate then you disallow the HR and enforce the balk call, however, if F1 did not stop his motion or simply lob the ball across the plate, then in essence the players DID NOT React to the call of TIME and you can allow the play to stand.

IMO, the answer depends upon how F1 threw the ball to the plate after hearing TIME called. If in your judgement F1 threw the ball to the plate as if NO TIME had been called then allow the play to stand.

Also, as Dave said F1 will probably say that "he let-up" after hearing TIME called but what else do you expect him to say after giving up a gopher ball.

Either way the Umpire is going to "hear-it", however, if the players DID NOT React and if in your judgement F1 threw the ball like he normally would then allow the play to stand.

Pete Booth

[BigUmp56]

[QUOTE=PeteBooth]

In OBR there is already a precident that allows an umpire to reverse a call of TIME. I believe it happened this past year.

However, if F1 threw a lollipop to the plate then you disallow the HR and enforce the balk call, however, if F1 did not stop his motion or simply lob the ball across the plate, then in essence the players DID NOT React to the call of TIME and you can allow the play to stand.

IMO, the answer depends upon how F1 threw the ball to the plate after hearing TIME called. If in your judgement F1 threw the ball to the plate as if NO TIME had been called then allow the play to stand.

Also, as Dave said F1 will probably say that "he let-up" after hearing TIME called but what else do you expect him to say after giving up a gopher ball.

Either way the Umpire is going to "hear-it", however, if the players DID NOT React and if in your judgement F1 threw the ball like he normally would then allow the play to stand.

Pete Booth

Pete:

I think your interpretation is a little out there. I'm curious under what conditions a precedent was set in OBR to set aside the call of "time." I know there's been a precedent set to reverse the call of "foul."

I think it would make matters worse if we tried to BS our way through it by claiming how the ball was thrown to the plate and how the teams reacted to the call makes a difference.

Tim.

[PeteBooth]

Pete:

I think your interpretation is a little out there. I'm curious under what conditions a precedent was set in OBR to set aside the call of "time." I know there's been a precedent set to reverse the call of "foul."

I think it would make matters worse if we tried to BS our way through it by claiming how the ball was thrown to the plate and how the teams reacted to the call makes a difference.

Tim.

OBR 5.09
The ball becomes dead and runners advance one base, or return to their bases, without liability to be put out, when --

(e) A foul ball is not caught; runners return.


Tim, we are talking semantics here. When an umpire calls FOUL for all practical purposes (other than a Fly ball that is FOUL), the ball is Immediately dead as when TIME is called.

This past year the Major League Umpires changed a FOUL call to FAIR (can't remember the game but I remember seeing the highlights on ESPN). Andy Konyar changed a FOUL call to FAIR in the LLWS.

Therefore, while the FOUL call was not preceded by the call of TIME , in the aforementioned instances the ball was immediately dead as if TIME had been called. The call was changed on the theory that the players did not react to the call of FOUL.

In your example, either way the Umpire is going to hear it. He/she BY RULE and PRECEDENT as in the aforementioned examples can award the game ending HR to the batter.

In a nutshell it's a grey situation as the Umpire can say that TIME was called hence No HR allowed an enforce the balk or he/she could rule that even though TIME was called, the players reacted as if NO Time had been called and allow the play to stand.

As mentioned the umpire is going to take heat either way EXCEPT in a FED game in which case the ball became immediately dead as soon as F1 committed the balk.

Pete Booth