I can't believe the coincidence of this post!

I showed up at my son's baseball game last night, as an observer, and had the head coach approach me to ask about umpire interference. Apparently, just before I arrived the umpire behind the plate had a play at home, and decided at the last possible minute to step into the runner's path to move the bat. (DOH!:eek: ) The runner and the ump collided and fell in a heap to the ground. The ball was thrown in, and the runner tagged for the out. Man the coach was MAD!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave the bats alone!

I really need Rich Ives to chime in and verify this, as LL Majors and below have always been able to pitch from the windup with runners on base, no set position ever necessary. I've also never heard of a balk called for not coming set, when a stop is not required by any such rule.

That doesn't mean pitchers don't pitch from the set in Little League.

I have my gear in storage back home. Next time I am there, I will pull it out and see if any of my old rule books are in there, then I can tell you definitively what it was.

Steve,
No set position is necessary. No stop is required. No balks in LL.

Windup?
 

Can't you pitch from the windup with runners on base in all rule codes?

You certainly can...but in most rule codes you can also balk from the windup...

Just to prove that I have not completely lost my mind, this site states that balks were removed from LL in 1999. Granted, it's not a rule book but it's something.

http://mysite.verizon.net/rutherford.ll/umpinst.htm Scroll to the bottom under the heading, "Recent Rule Changes".

Same thing if you check here and look under "Game Rules".

http://www.davislittleleague.org/rules_aaa.asp

I will see if I can dig up a 1998 rulebook, I think I still have one.