2 rules i ran into this weekend
 

1. we had a balk on the pitcher with a man on third, pitch was called a strike. is this a delayed dead ball? obviously runner gets third but does the strike count with the batter?

2. after a home run hit over the fence, the batter was given a high five by the 3rd base coach as he rounded the bag and by a teammate just before he touches the plate, is the batter out?

we are using major league rules in this tournament. i would like to know the rules in both mlb and nfhs. thanks

in situation 1, runner was on second and was awarded third on the balk. i made a typo.

1. In your case, the ball is dead when the pitch is caught (OBR). It's immediately dead on the balk (NFHS). Move the runner, cancel the pitch (both).

2. No (both).

If the umpires in your tournament ruled this way you should retitle your post to:
"2 clowns I ran into this weekend."

i am sad to say that they did. they took away a home run from a 11 year old that hit an absolute bomb. i am an umpire myself and was very embarrassed for them.

ô!ô
 

Gosh, I wish Mitch Williams was on the offended team in each of these plays.

So, you can only use wood bats, eh?

Oh well, it happens. I'm sure the 11 year old won't be scarred for life. He'll probably hit a lot more of them.

But the real question in my mind is: Did the player's manager protest the call?

You hit the nail on the head, Manny.

So easy to complain about bad umpires after the fact. But most of those guys don't get better because they go home thinking they got it all right. Unless a supervisor happens to be watching when they screw up, they don't get better.

I wish coaches would protest calls when they have a case ... like in this one.

I agree about the protest option....I assume no need to protest calling a strike on a balk unless it caused a strikeout but certainly would have to protest the HR takeaway...get your $100 bill out and have them call the UIC or TD before the next pitch.

Why wouldn't you protest the strike?

I wish umpires (the ones getting paid and not volunteering) would learn the rules.

Doesn't matter if they're volunteer or paid. If they're willing to work the games, they should learn the trade.

I spent my first ten years strictly umpiring Little League Baseball. Never got paid a dime. But I read rule books, case books, and authoritative interpretations, attended clinics, and actively participated in a number of internet discussion boards. I also encouraged my fellow volunteer umpires to do the same.

I agree with you. But you see how hard it is, sometimes, to convince some umpires of the proper ruling - and the vast majority of the umpires out there don't care enough about the job to come to sites like this one. It can be very frustrating.

You are to be commended for that - but you are the exception. I work LL ball once a year - at the end when a nearby league brings in real, paid umpires. I'm always paired (or trio'd) with 1 or 2 umpires they've been using all year. And they scare the crap out of me. I've had them argue with me that the hands ARE part of the bat. I've had them argue that under no circumstances can you award a base that the runner didn't attempt to get to after they were obstructed. I've had them call TIE! on a banger at first. I've had them call time with two runners on the same base. I've had them call a foul-tip-strikeout on a ball that went bat-mask-ground. I've had one guy flat out insist that he would never eject a coach after he got berated by one and we were discussing it between games. "It's not about me, it's about the kids" - so when he botched the hell out of a call and the same coach came flying out - experienced partner and I let him fly in the wind. 5 minutes. No ejection.

And they "get by" with this nonsense all season until their tournaments... and the other "real" umpires and I leave the place stunned and with tons of stories like those I just mentioned.