Here's a new one on me:

I was the PU in a game and had the following situation come up. We are in the 2nd inning with a runner on 2nd base. The batter hits a soft line drive that is fielded by the LF;R1 comes around 3rd looking to score, and when he makes his turn the catcher takes his headgear off and throws it up the 3rd base line so that it is sitting in he middle of the foul line. The runner stayed at 3rdso the gear never became an issue, but I thought to myself that it was weird for the gear to end up 15 feet up the 3rd base line.

In the 3rd inning we had a similar situation on the base paths, and once again the catcher's helemet ended up in almost the same position. Now I'm thinking that there is more to this than blind luck, but I don't say anything. When it happens a second time in the same inning I feel like someone is playing me and i feel that something needs to be said. I call time to clean off my plate, and as I am sweeping I tell the catcher that his helemet needs to stay off the foul line and needs to be deposited in a safer area. The catcher doesn't say a word and the inning ends uneventfully. Between innings the catcher goes back to his dogout and tells the coach what I said, and then the coach comes out and reads me the riot act. He says that there is no rule stating where that helemet can end up, and that by saying that to his catcher I am taking his team out of the game. I told the coach that it was a safety issue and it btter not happen again. He wanted to continue the argument, but I finally told him to sit down.

Now, have any of you come across this situation, and what exactly do i have, if anything?

Next time it happens, pick up the equipment and throw it out of the way -- somewhere where the catcher will have to walk a long way to get it (or kick it out of play).

If you can't get to it and a play develops, call obstruction.

Did a JV game at school. Son of an ex-major league pitcher and baseball academy owner was the catcher. Rocket arm and excellent skills. With a runner rounding third, he took a throw from the outfield, the runner never came. The 3rd base coach was yelling he threw his mask right on the baseline. Sure enough, there it was about 10 feet from the plate. It never came up again to see if it was intentional or a coincidence. I would have warned him then. It becomes a safety issue and possible obstruction. In thinking about the player, his father, and the possibilities, he probably did it on purpose. Anything to get an advantage.

Ed H

This is clearly meant to gain an advantage not intended by the rules - that is illegally hindering the runners opportunity to run the bases. The first time it happens, drop kick the helmet as far as you can and warn the catcher that if it happens again, his substitute will do the rest of the game. Give the coach a team warning also. Dump him too if he gives you any lip, because he is obviously coaching his kids to do something that is illegal and also very unsportsmanlike. Do not allow the catcher to use his mask as a tool to hinder the runner!

Dan, while I am not an advocate of tossing coaches at the drop of hat, I am wondering if the coach who read you the riot act in the third inning remained in the game or was at least restricted to the dugout for the remainder of the game (I assume that this was a H.S. game using NFHS rules).

It is an official's job to speak with and to player when appropriate, and I think that your situation was one of those times. Many coaches do not understand that, probably because they are control freaks.

I had a situation last year where in a H.S. jr. varsity baseball game where the catcher just was not making any attempt to catch the ball unless the pitch came straight down the middle of the strike zone and was handed to him on a silver platter. After the second time in the second inning where the catcher set up for and outside pitch and the pitch game down the middle and he made no effort to catch it (I know that getting hit by a pitch or foul ball from time to time is in our job description), I told him that if he did not start doing his job I would have his coach find a catcher that would. After the inning was over who do you think came charging out of the dugout, you guessed it, the catcher's coach, reading me the riot act. I did not waste anytime restricting him to the dugout before he could finish his second sentence. I explained what I told his catcher to an assistant coach (who was much calmer) and the catcher did his job after that.