Under "Obstruction" thread on eteamz (which has become seriously multi-topic and difficult to follow), Sam (the coach) opined that it is very rare for runners to be called for leaving early unless they are stealing.

My experience is there is another fairly common occurance of runners leaving early -- namely when they think they can get away with it.

Examples include trailing runners with multiple runners on base. The BU will be focusing (they assume) on the lead runner, so they figure they can get a jump with little risk of being called. Typically, when I have seen this, it will catch the corner of my eye the first time, and after that, I will position myself so I can see both runners. I make this call several times every season.

The other example is runners on 1st in a single umpire game. Same thing ... catches the corner of my eye & I then watch for it (as best I can from behind the plate) after that. I make this call less often, but I called it twice last year in the same game.

So, I was wondering - what is your experience?

I know a lot of the good teams will do this until you call it and then they stop. They just push the limit until you give them a reason to stop. I was good friends with a coach from a local team who eventually won several nationals, the Tomboys. I was calling his game one day and his first 2 baserunners left early. I got both of them and they stopped. After the game I asked him what the deal was and he told me that they did that all the time until they knew what the limits were for the umpires on the field. They did that with pitching and just about every other rule you could come up with. I guess we all know there is a wide range of what all of us umpires call. Different strike zones, illegal pitches, leaving base early, tagging up ...........


Rick

Then there is the pure "I'm stupid" syndrome. As I pointed out on the other board, the NCAA had two "leaving early"(lost contact with base) calls in the last three years, one of them being the final out of the championship game when the runner thought the ball was loose when the pitcher was just standing in the circle with it.

The other was a couple of years ago when a runner for a CA team (UCLA, I think) just walked off 3B to kick a small stone out of the base path.

And as I discovered this past year, it isn't just in FP either :)

Mike,

I had two last year similar to the UCLA incident. R2 on
3B in an ITB game walks off to draw a line as to how far
she wants to run up after the pitch. The other was, R1
on 1B back off the orange base to take her running start.

The team that won the Texas 3A state championship had a
coach very similar to the one TexBlue mentioned. Try it
until Blue calls it. He too believed to push every thing
from leaving early, illegal pitch and being well out of the
batters box until it was called.

I realize sometimes we see something and think, "No, she did
not leave that early!" If they do it once, normally it will
happend again.

Pretty much as everyone else has said. I've had more leaving early calls in college games than JO or HS.

You can usually get away with it once, but if you try it again, you are mine!!!!

"Then there is the pure "I'm stupid" syndrome."

I've had several of the "walk off" type in Men's FP. Young guys just a year or so removed from H.S. baseball will walk off the base, or just stand there a foot or so from the base. Usually I yell at them to get back on the base; once I stopped play to expain "the new rules" to a high school age player.

Second time around, though, they get wacked.

WMB

I only have one problem with this attitude. As a coach, don't knowingly try to push me and then argue when I make the call is made.

That may be a quick route to a deaf ear.

Mike,

He won't do that. After you catch'em - that is it.
He told me last year he had quit trying to have em
leave early if I was on bases.

glen