Leading Off

SCREF · #1 (**permalink**) Tue Aug 19, 2003, 10:31pm

Situation as follows:
USSSA baseball 12 & under, OBR are used unless modified by USSSA. R1 on third, R2 on first, as pitcher comes set, R2 takes his lead on the grass half way to the right fielder, stands there holding a conversation with the right fielder. What's a poor umpire to do?!? 1)Ignore the situation? or 2)Call him out for making a travesty of the game?
YOU MAKE THE CALL!

mick · #2 (**permalink**) Tue Aug 19, 2003, 11:07pm

Quote:

Originally posted by SCREF
Situation as follows:
USSSA baseball 12 & under, OBR are used unless modified by USSSA. R1 on third, R2 on first, as pitcher comes set, R2 takes his lead on the grass half way to the right fielder, stands there holding a conversation with the right fielder. What's a poor umpire to do?!? 1)Ignore the situation? or 2)Call him out for making a travesty of the game?
YOU MAKE THE CALL!

A travesty is in the eye of the beholder.
I got nuthin'.
mick

chris s · #3 (**permalink**) Tue Aug 19, 2003, 11:37pm

Whats the problem???? If the players are allowed to steal and lead....I could care less if they danced and spit nickels. Now the skipper may need his head worked on

cowbyfan1 · #4 (**permalink**) Wed Aug 20, 2003, 06:13am

I probably got a pitcher making a pickoff move and getting the runner out cuz he is too busy to keep his attention where it should be.

greymule · #5 (**permalink**) Wed Aug 20, 2003, 06:32am

That's the "skunk in the outfield" play. Legal in Fed and OBR.

DownTownTonyBrown · #6 (**permalink**) Wed Aug 20, 2003, 09:55am

As discussed earlier in this forum, it is a legal play. The runner may take his lead from anywhere he wants. He must only go directly from his current position towards either the next or the previous base, if the defense has the ball to make a play on him. And he can go at any speed he wants... as the runner from 3rd scores.

check out:
http://www.hit2win.com/trickplay.html

GarthB · #7 (**permalink**) Wed Aug 20, 2003, 10:55am

YOU MAKE THE CALL!

No call to make.

VaUmp · #8 (**permalink**) Thu Aug 21, 2003, 07:39am

Quote:

Originally posted by SCREF
Situation as follows:
USSSA baseball 12 & under, OBR are used unless modified by USSSA. R1 on third, R2 on first, as pitcher comes set, R2 takes his lead on the grass half way to the right fielder, stands there holding a conversation with the right fielder. What's a poor umpire to do?!? 1)Ignore the situation? or 2)Call him out for making a travesty of the game?
YOU MAKE THE CALL!

The only thing that strikes my mind is the ZERO respect for the next batter being shown by the right fielder. That and the fact that R3 is on third and R1 is on first.

CDcoach · #9 (**permalink**) Fri Aug 22, 2003, 04:00pm

As a coach I've actually tried the play a few times with 13-14 yr olds...I've gotten the pitcher to balk a couple of times while trying to figure out what's going on. I've also had a second baseman go out to tag the guy on the grass while we scored a run. Kids like to run the play...I rarely do it more than once a season.

Once I did have an umpire call him out for leaving the "baseline". Of course I questioned it...I had worked witht he guy before...he stuck with his call and learned later on that I was right so I ran it next game he umped for us and it worked.

Adam · #10 (**permalink**) Fri Aug 22, 2003, 05:31pm

Curious, Coach,
How do you teach your kids to respond to the play if it's tried against you? Ignore it?
Adam

CDcoach · #11 (**permalink**) Sat Aug 23, 2003, 12:10am

Yeah it has never been tried on me actually but since we do run the play we also have a way tod efend it...our first try is a quick cutoff throw to try and get the guy on third to make a move towards home. Bring my F4 over to cover the bag at second. Then SS goes across the diamond and stands slightly behind the imaginary line between first and second in front of where the runner is. The pitcher steps off and throws to SS and then the SS checks R3 and if he has not leaned toward home yet the SS takes two steps toward the runner in the grass. Then turns and fires to third normally...unless the runner is already on a sprint towards home in which case the obvious play is at home.

Basically the key to the play if it is ever ran on you is to have at least introduced the kids to it previously...even if you don't go into as much detail as I do in practice just let them know the reason the play is run so that they don't panic and make stupid mistakes when it happens. (EX. Balks,chasing the runner who is trying to get him, making throwing errors in confusion, etc.)