This Just Seemed Odd...from rule aficionado/lurker

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

I agree with your result but not your reasoning. The umpire crossed the line when he told the defense what to do. HE put the offense in jeopardy. He must rectify that. If the ball is going to remain live, he cannot influence play by telling the defense not to leave the field.

(And heck, he also put the defense in jeopardy by telling the offense it was still live - had events after him butting in evolved differently, his announcement to each team what they should do during a live ball could have aided the offense instead...)

Once he told EITHER team what to do during a live ball, he has to kill it. At ANY level.

I didn't read in the OP that the umpire told the defense what to do. To me, what he did is no different than when an umpire says, "That's only two outs!" while teams are erroneously changing sides. Or are you suggesting we shouldn't say anything in those situations?

Now, this being a preseason game, which the OP didn't mention until a subsequent post, yeah it should be rectified. But for a regular season game involving two competitive teams, I still believe the base coach should be responsible for not knowing the rules.