someone has a brain cramp, I hope it's not me

[jkumpire]

Had fallball game today, NCAA rules.

1 out, R1, 3-2, F1 balks. Pitch is something, I assume a ball. BR goes down to 1B. HC says that's a dead ball, partner brings BR back.

I called the balk as BU, and I didn't kill the pitch, F1 finishes it and releases it. I asked my PU what happened after we were done, he said it's dead, and coach said it was dead. AAAARRRGGGG! I told him its a live ball, call the pitch, if its a ball then ignore the balk.

Am I wrong, or did my PU mess up? He did a great job today, but I think he missed this.

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by jkumpire

Had fallball game today, NCAA rules.

1 out, R1, 3-2, F1 balks. Pitch is something, I assume a ball. BR goes down to 1B. HC says that's a dead ball, partner brings BR back.

I called the balk as BU, and I didn't kill the pitch, F1 finishes it and releases it. I asked my PU what happened after we were done, he said it's dead, and coach said it was dead. AAAARRRGGGG! I told him its a live ball, call the pitch, if its a ball then ignore the balk.

Am I wrong, or did my PU mess up? He did a great job today, but I think he missed this.

You ignore a balk if the batter and all runners advance on the pitch. That happened (or should have) on your play IF it was ball 4.

You sure it was NCAA? I'd expect the coach and the umpire to know what's up at that level. Only FED has it immediately dead on a balk.

[jkumpire]

It was at an NCAA institution you would be familiar with.

Everyone has a brain cramp. My partner was a nice guy who did a nice job. He just missed it.

[GA Umpire]

Originally Posted by jkumpire

It was at an NCAA institution you would be familiar with.

Everyone has a brain cramp. My partner was a nice guy who did a nice job. He just missed it.

Does he do FED? Maybe he was remembering the wrong set?

Whether the coach knew it or not is irrelevant and he may have been trying to pull something. A coach not knowing a rule is not new nor expected. The umpire should have and needs to review for the next time.

[Rich]

I've seen a D-I guy miss this while slumming on a D-3 game. He quickly realized his error and fixed it, apologizing all the way.

[ozzy6900]

No, it is not an immediate dead situation as in FED, the ball remains live after the call of balk. We used to scare the heck out of everyone with both of us hollering "That's a Balk"! The idea was to get F1 to stop and we would not have to deal with anything further. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

[jkumpire]

Originally Posted by GA Umpire

Does he do FED? Maybe he was remembering the wrong set?

Whether the coach knew it or not is irrelevant and he may have been trying to pull something. A coach not knowing a rule is not new nor expected. The umpire should have and needs to review for the next time.

Yes.

We did review it, and with it being fall ball, it's a little more relaxed than a regular season game. For all I know the HC might just want a do over for some reason. But when we talked after the game, I didn't get that impression.

[jkumpire]

Originally Posted by ozzy6900

No, it is not an immediate dead situation as in FED, the ball remains live after the call of balk. We used to scare the heck out of everyone with both of us hollering "That's a Balk"! The idea was to get F1 to stop and we would not have to deal with anything further. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

Been doing that for years Ozzy, usually doesn't work on college players.

[TussAgee11]

Originally Posted by jkumpire

Yes.

We did review it, and with it being fall ball, it's a little more relaxed than a regular season game. For all I know the HC might just want a do over for some reason. But when we talked after the game, I didn't get that impression.

Why does the HC wanting a do over matter? There is no option on a balk...

[jkumpire]

11,

I don't know. I'm trying to figure out why my partner missed it to begin with, and why the HC said what he said. If I was the PU I would have moved them on, and explained why.

[ozzy6900]

Originally Posted by jkumpire

11,

I don't know. I'm trying to figure out why my partner missed it to begin with, and why the HC said what he said. If I was the PU I would have moved them on, and explained why.

If you work with partners that officiate in more than one rulebook, it's a good idea to go over this in your pre-game. You don't know how many times I went over balks with partners before a NCAA or simple Babe Ruth game only to hear them squawk "What do you mean, 'it's not an immediate dead ball'?". By covering details such as this in the pre-game, the both of you will be on the same page during the game.