Out of batter's box

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by CecilOne

Are you going to explain or should we just assume you kicked the batter and yelled "no such rule in USFA"?

Actually, I'll be honest. My initial (and also hidden) reaction was, "what the hell, man? It was a good call, and you're busting my nuts for it?"

However, he had some great points that made me take a step back to look at things from a different perspective. Yes, the batter's foot was clearly out of the box when he made contact. The AUIC (whom I will call "Fred," obviously not his real name) did not dispute that, and he said that from that aspect, I'm correct. However, his question to me was: why is that wrong?

We've all seen (and probably done) it: the umpire calls the batter out, coach comes to talk to the umpire, and the umpire points to the clear footprint left in the dirt. And yet, despite that, the coach continues to argue his player's case. What can an umpire do to avoid this?

"Fred" said to me, "it's not an issue of whether or not he was out of the box, but whether the batter gained an advantage by doing so." Does stepping out of the box necessarily give the batter an advantage? Not always, and Fred's message was that when it doesn't give the batter an advantage, maybe we shouldn't try to split hairs so much.

However, stepping out of the box often does give the batter certain advantages, such as pulling the ball harder down the line (by stepping back) or hitting an otherwise unhittable pitch (by stepping across). It's during these times, Fred contends, that the call should be made. Otherwise, you're simply splitting hairs, calling a call that really has minimal bearing on the game. And when you're picking boogers like that, we all know where that can land you.

Making these calls is something that every umpire must evaluate when setting foot on the field, and we do it every day. In our Tuesday night rec leagues, do we make everyone wear proper uniforms? Do we make them all turn their hats forward? In 10U, do we call every single illegal pitch when the pitcher gained no advantage? By the letter of the rule, shouldn't we be making these calls? Why aren't we?

Simple. No advantage gained, nothing lost, no call.

And now, how does this help us with a offensive coach whose batter just got called out? Simple. "Coach, the batter stepped out of the box and hit a pitch that would have been otherwise unhittable. In my judgment, he gained an unfair advantage by doing so, and we can't allow that to happen." You're telling the coach you're not out to pick nits, but rather to keep things on an even keel. Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing in the first place?

I hope that I've done justice to the 15-minute conversation that "Fred" and I had that day.