Batter won't even come out of the dugout!!!!

[NM FP Ump]

What do you do when you have a batter that won't get in the batter's box? Heck, she won't even get out of the dugout!?!?!

I had this situation this week. NFHS JV game, visitors down 6-2 but rallying in the top of the 6th. 2 outs, bases loaded, #2 batter is next to bat. I call out "Batter", thinking she is still in the on deck circle and I have already counted to eight. I look and no one is there. I call time, go to the dugout and ask the coach for a batter. He says that she doesn't want to bat (he has already used his two substitutes). I ask him again for a batter, and he says, "She won't bat, just call her out."

I'm not making this up, it really happened.

I didn't want to demean the player or the team or the fans; it seemed to me that the players had issues with each other, and the coach. So instead of getting back into position, calling a strike on the batter for violating the ten second rule, calling "Play ball" and having the pitcher throw two more pitches (strikes, of course) to a non-existent batter, I called the girl out for not reporting to the batters box.

I couldn't find anything in the rule book about this kind of situation. I know I did not do it "by the book", but what would you have done in my plate shoes???

Asking for input and constructive criticism.

[SRW]

"Batter." Wait 10 seconds. "Dead ball. Strike."

"Batter." Wait 10 seconds. "Dead ball. Strike."

"Batter." Wait 10 seconds. "Dead ball. Strike."

Batter's out.

Next batter.

NFHS 7-3-1

[AtlUmpSteve]

Why not NFHS 4-3-1(b) "refuses to continue play after the game has started", or 4-3-1 (c) "delays more than one minute in resumimg play after the umpire calls "Play Ball", or 4-3-1(e) "willfully and persistently violates any one of the rules after being warned by the umpire'? What gives the player, coach, or team the option to refuse to bat? Isn't that a rule?

ASA equivalents are 4.4-C, D, and F.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve

Why not NFHS 4-3-1(b) "refuses to continue play after the game has started", or 4-3-1 (c) "delays more than one minute in resumimg play after the umpire calls "Play Ball", or 4-3-1(e) "willfully and persistently violates any one of the rules after being warned by the umpire'? What gives the player, coach, or team the option to refuse to bat? Isn't that a rule?

ASA equivalents are 4.4-C, D, and F.

NFHS rule 4-3-1 begins

ART. 1 . . . A game shall be forfeited to the offended team by the umpire when a team:

It seems in the OP we had a batter refusing to play, not a team. Using the delay rule to call the batter out and moving to the next batter seems like a better fit than a forfeit.

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by Dakota

It seems in the OP we had a batter refusing to play, not a team. Using the delay rule to call the batter out and moving to the next batter seems like a better fit than a forfeit.

So, if the pitcher refuses to pitch, you would simply award a ball every 20 seconds, if the coach told you "I can't make her"? At no point would you consider this a forfeit? Is there a difference if it is a batter or the pitcher refusing to participate as required by the rules of the game?

I submit that the coach is required and responsible to have the players play the game. Not doing that isn't acceptable. The fact that all subs had been used should be his problem, not ours.

Personally, I would advise the coach that refusing to bat isn't an option; either she takes her turn as required by the rules, or be ejected for refusing to participate in accordance with the rules. Unless he thought to tell me she was injured and unable to continue, I would advise his options are to 1) get her to participate immediately, 2) provide a legal substitute for her immediately, or 3) forfeit the game being unable to produce the required 9 players to continue.

[Dholloway1962]

Above responses are "by the book". The forfeit is overkill, not needed, and not the spirit of that rule (that's strictly my opinion). All that is going to do is make a bad situation worse.

If you want to do the right thing for this particular situation, you did it. Call her out and move on (once again my opinion.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve

So, if the pitcher refuses to pitch, you would simply award a ball every 20 seconds, if the coach told you "I can't make her"? At no point would you consider this a forfeit? Is there a difference if it is a batter or the pitcher refusing to participate as required by the rules of the game?

Yes, there is a difference, and I didn't say you couldn't forfeit the game. Just that, based on the OP, the delay rule seems a better fit.

If you want to declare a forfeit and go home, go ahead. You have a rule to back it up.