USA change 4 - appeals
 

Rule 8, Section 7F-I Effect, [3] (Dead Ball Appeal): Once the ball has been returned to the infield and time is called, any COACH or infielder, with or without possession of the ball, may make a verbal appeal on a runner missing a base or leaving too soon on a caught fly ball. No runner may leave a base during this period as the ball remains dead until the next pitch.

Comment: Adds a coach to those who can make a dead ball appeal.

Makes sense for JO. Having the coach have to use a player as a conduit just wastes time.

The chang, as written, suggests that a coach can be in possession of the ball while making an appeal. :D

On a more serious note, I agree with Dakota. Why not let the coach make the appeal directly as opposed to "Hey, Sam, tell the umpire the runner missed third base." "What?" "I said..." etc.

He can.

Or you train the kids to know the game and how to handle all aspects of it. When I first started umpiring, it was baseball 8-13 yo and they had no problem making appeals without direction of a coach.

I would agree with you that players and umpires should know the game. But they don't. Cliff Lee was balked in MLB for appealing while in contact. He then acknowledged that he screwed up, except he didn't. Appealing can be a goat rope for players, coaches, and umpires. You and me have the reading comprehension to get it right by the old rules. But reading and comprehending is not everyone's strong point in current generations or even your or my generation in some cases. So it has to be dumbed down. Saving grace, the offender did miss or leave the base early. I don't like it but that's how it is.

As mentioned in another post just recently, we can't even get adult umpires on the same page as to what t-shirts to wear.

You can lead the horse to water...

While knowing how to make an appeal is a part of the issue, the more common issue for dead ball appeals, in my experience, is the players not noticing that there was a missed base, etc.

If the coach sees it, it is just more efficient if he just makes the appeal directly rather than yelling to his players, potentially back and forth a couple of times.

Again, it is all about teaching them the game and how to play it.

And, again, I'm talking about the reality of the game as it is, not as it could be with better coaches and better players.

Doesn't mean they cannot try. After all, isn't that their job? Doesn't that what the term "coach" means

I agree with you in principle... I'm just being selfish... keep things moving.

Something to be thankful for this week. ;) :D :D :p :D

Here’s an even more radical thought: how about just doing away with appeals altogether, and have Umpires make the calls when they see the violations? I’m not sure where this process came from in baseball and softball, but I believe they are the only two team sports where officials see violations, but can’t do a damn thing about them until the defense appeals? Why? And why only baserunning gaffes? Why don’t we allow for appeals by the offense when a fielder fails to tag a base or catch a sinking line drive?

There are no appeals in football when a player is guilty of being offsides or moving before the snap. There are no appeals in basketball when a player travels or steps on the line while touching the ball. A hockey or soccer player who is offsides gets penalized immediately, and not when a coach requests an appeal. If a runner can’t run the bases properly, why give him/her the free pass if the defense doesn’t catch it? Let us make the call right away. It would certainly speed up the game. :D

I agree, not only would it speed up the game, but would stop a lot of arguments about if a runner left early, missed the base etc.

Some years ago, while I was umpiring, just not high school yet, I went to watch a high school game that a friend of mine was umpiring. In the late innings, a batter hit an extra base hit to score a go ahead run. After the play was over, his partner called time, called the batter (now on third) out for missing first base, and negated the run. It was the third out. Well all hell broke loose. The coaches and the fans accused him of being a homer and cheating them. The coaches had to be ejected. Some fans had to be asked to leave. It wasn't pretty. I think the only ones that really knew the batter had missed first were the base umpire, the batter and me. No argument from the batter. Anyway, I was confused because I didn't understand why be called the batter out. There was no appeal. I asked after the game, and I was told that under high school rules, the umpire didn't not wait for an appeal, but called the runner out immediate after the play was over. Somewhere over time, that changed. I don't know which way is best. Sometimes I wish we could just call the runner out without an appeal. Players don't watch their bases, and sometimes we really need that out.

Been at minimum 10-12 years since NFHS just allowed the umpire to call a base running infraction without an appeal. I believe it is North Carolina that still allows high school umpires to call it without an appeal, but they are the only state I know of.

The rule changed in 2000 for NFHS, as it was my first registered year in PA (I had worked ASA and NCAA prior). My certification test (we only take it once in PA) was written with the no appeal rule (written on 1999 rules).

2004, PA highest classification game, go ahead run called out for missing the plate without an appeal. Game goes into extras with defensive team winning.

South Carolina, actually; but you were close.

Creates a lot of fun for those in border states .........

Been there, done that. IMO, it helps create lazy/cowardly umpires, or some seriously head-strong ego-maniacs that concentrate more on "catching" players than actually umpiring the game.

Yup, I live in SC, and umpires here do make calls on runners who miss bases, leave early on a fly ball, etc., in high school play. There are a few colleagues of mine who have voiced to me during our pregame that they won’t make the call unless the violation is blatantly obvious. I do think that’s a chicken-sh!t attitude. I always ask them what other not-so-obvious calls are they unwilling to make?

Sorry, but if a runner fails to step on a 17x17 bag or a similarly-sized plate, he/she deserves to be ruled out, and it should be without the need for the appeal. If there are umpires that won’t call it, then drum them out since they will also likely not call illegal pitches, slappers out of the box, failed check swings, etc. etc.

Wow, you guys use bigger bases down there. What size balls do you use?

Sorry; not enough coffee this morning. :o