slaps glove
 

Catcher throws dirt on batters leg or slaps glove to ground as pitch is delivered in attempt to distract batter. Is there a rule against this or is it just poor sportsmanship and should be handles within the "unwritten" rules.
Would the rule, if any, be the same in obr vs fed?

Tell him to knock it off. EJ if he continues. You might be able to get CI

Ignore it.

Remember, the catcher has to hit. To be subtle...the players can manage that issue on their own. Unless it's really bad or a FED game, I'm probably not going to get involved.

Fix it before the batter decides to do something about it directly. (Marichal/Roseboro).

It's bush league for sure. What rule would you enforce in OBR?

He gets a "nice move" whisper on that.
That typically happens when a catcher thinks the batter is peeking at signs or more generally, location. The catcher will then setup late, pound his glove in a different area, and try to get the batter to guess where he's at based on sound.

If you're talking about something different and he's literally pounding his glove on the ground while a pitch is on the way, that's just stupid catching and it'll screw up a pitcher's target.

On the slapping glove piece, I agree w/ briancurtain...that's good catching. That part isn't against the rules in any way. It's good catching. I agree w/ that. It's not a distraction in my opinion...I'm not getting involved there. That happens fairly often. Never seen the dirt piece though.

Indeed.

You'll see catchers routinely snap their gloves to get the hitters to think they're set up elsewhere. No problem.

But if F2 is distracting the hitter as the ball is in flight, or the pitcher is in his delivery, then we've got an issue. The rule would be unsportsmanlike conduct, and can be dealt with however you wish, from a friendly "you might not want to do that" to a "Knock it off".

If the catcher throws dirt onto the batter's foot and it distracts him, the applicable rule is catcher's interference.

Personally, I would equate this to the dreaded center fielder trying to distract the hitter. I would warn first then eject on any further occurrence. I like 3-3-1g4 for this one.