Cal Ripken rules
 

What is the penalty for leaving a base before the pitch crosses the plate?

Tried to look it up but couldn't find it, (Cal Ripken website is pretty bad)
but most leagues with tight bases, you send the runner back, or if the pitch is hit give the defense the choice of play.

In other words, the offense gets no advantage.

Maybe someone else knows the exact rule for Cal Ripken.

Thansk
David

In Canada we don't have Cal Ripken rules but do have age group called Mosquito (10-11 year olds) where they are not allowed to leave the base until pitch reaches home plate.

If the runner leaves early, you wait until the play is over and then decide which base the runner would have reached if they didn't leave early.

On a stolen base see if the runner is thrown out, if so the out stands otherwise return the runner to their TOP base.

Of course, most games at this level have only one umpire so seeing the corner bases is very difficult. Usually the only base that "leaving early" is called at is second because it is directly in line of sight of the pitch.

Cal Ripken Does Not Rule
 

Cal Ripken does not Rule. He's an overglorified player who everyone loves just because he showed up and did what he was paid to do every day.

Oh, wait, your talking about the league...my bad. :D

(BTW, I'm joking about Ripken, too).

First, don't kill the play, other than dropping a red flag if you use them in your league, don't say or do anything other than follow the play as you would any other play, let any action on the pitch or subsequent hit ball procede to completion. If the runner leaving early is thrown out stealing, the out stands.

After action is completed, call dead ball, return all runners (not just the one who left early) to original bases unless forced to advance due to the batter reaching base. Any forced advance of runners due to a hit ball is determined based upon value of the hit so if batter hits a clean single and it rolls thru F8 legs and batter winds up on 3rd, he is awarded a single and runners are only advanced one base (if forced). So if you have a runner at second and third, and the runner at second left early, and a clean single to center field rolls thru F8 legs, you end up with bases loaded and no runs scored. No runner is forced to advance and the runner on 3rd is penalized for R2's mistake.

If any runner scores due to a ball hit within the infield, that run does not count.

One thing I was taught in my LL days is to keep a red flag in your pocket and drop it as soon as you see the runner leave early, so if a play ensues that takes some time to develop, the flag shows that you caught the infraction when it actually happened. Sort of like a football kickoff return where the player runs 100 yards with all the fans screaming, while the yellow flag lays there on the ground.

If you have a specific scenario, we can dissect it for you.

No, I think that pretty much covers it. I thought Cal Ripken used rules similar to Little League, but wanted to be sure. Too many volunteer umpires in this area are calling the runners out for leaving too early like they do in softball.

You sure about this? It has been a long time, but my memory is that a runner who left early can not advance more than one base beyond the batter or the base he is forced to. It don't seem logical in your situation to not allow the runners on 2b and 3B to score when the batter hits a ball and ends up on 3B. Leaving early at 2B had no bearing on the play and if we put the runners back where they started the batter is on first. Just don't seem logical to me. We penalize the offense 2 runs for something that had no bearing on the play and reward the defense for making an error.

DG

I used LL rulebook as my reference. Ripken (Babe Ruth) rules used to be online, but don't seem to be anymore. However, I checked this rule in BR awhile back and am 99% sure that it is the same as LL.

To answer your question, yes I'm sure about my example.

LL rule 7.13(b)
"In no event shall the batter advance beyond first base on a single or error, second base on a double or third base on a triple. The UIC shall determine the base value of the hit ball." That's why I gave the example as a clean single that got between F8's legs for additional bases. No matter where the batter winds up, its still a single, the batter only gets 1B because a runner left early.

Example 12 below in the same rule says "Runners on second and third, either leaves too soon, batter reaches first safely, neither runner can advance."

Mighty suspicious, and illogical ruling. Reward the defense for an error. If the batter only reached 1B I can see R2 remaining at 2B because he left early. R3 did nothing wrong, yet he is penalized and would have easily scored on the the hit.

DG

I think that if an umpire made your logical ruling in a BR or LL game, nobody would likely know the difference because most coaches and spectators think logically.

But if you are doing a LL tournament game, and that situation happens, you better call it by the book because if someone protests the "logical" call, the game is halted until the District UIC makes a ruling and he will know the rule and the illogical rule will be enforced.