Lucky for me, once fall ball ends in these parts indoor winter leagues start up. This provides me with extra learning experiences when I might otherwise be wasting time sitting in front of the fireplace sipping hot chocolate!

- Indoor league, ASA rules. R1 on first base. Batter hits fly ball to center, R1 takes off on contact. The catch is made and the runner is scrambling back to first. The throw to F3 is high and she has to go up for it. She catches the ball and lands on the colored base well ahead of the runner.

I called the out, but the offensive coach was kind enough to inform me that the defense has to use the white base on that play. I'll have to remember that...

- Same leage, different game. It's a pitcher's duel, score is 0-0 in the 6th and we're approaching the 75 minute drop dead time limit. (I hate drop deads, but it's the only way they can schedule back-to-back games from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. and not be there until midnight.)

Top of 6th, visitors break through for two runs. At the end of the half inning I remind the teams that there are only about seven minutes left. They hustle in an out. In the bottom of the inning, home team gets a couple of hits and scores a run. There is now one out and the tying run is at the plate- and the clock runs out. We revert back to the last completed inning for a 0-0 tie game. Bummer, but dems da rules.

Home team coach pleads for me to finish the inning and, when I won't, goes on a rant about how I'm, "Stealing the game from the kids".

Sorry, Coach, my bad. I forgot about the rule that says the home team can randomly dump the agreed upon time limits, depending on if doing so might or might not benefit the home team.

I seem to be missing out on a lot of rules and promise to pay better attention when our umpire meetings start up next February. Until then, I've got two more months for the coaches in this league to educate me!

Wow, that coach wasn't from McKinney, Texas, was he? I had the exact discussion with a coach from there last year, in almost the exact situation.

Probably not. I've seen this guy around my area for a few years now.

We have enough knuckle-headed coaches in Ohio that we don't have to borrow them from Texas! :D

Last night I was calling a fall 'JV league' (it was very JV to say the least)

First game of the night on the field and both coaches are 'discussing' who is the 'home' team in order to determine who 'must get the bases and place them on the field'. Finally they get their acts together, and we have a home team, bases laid out my partner calls the coaches together for a pre-game. After a quick pre-game (we are starting the game about 10 or so minutes late anyway), partner starts the game clock and informs 'home' coach to 'hit the yard, you are on the clock'.

After about 2 or 3 minutes, home team still hasn't left the dugout area, and I walk over and remind the coach that the 'game clock is running' and they 'might want to get his team out on the field'. Coach says 'okay, we are ready'.

another minute passes, and home coach walks out of the dugout and claims 'we are the home team, we bat first'. PU explains that the 'home team bats in the bottom half of innings'

Home coach asks with a puzzled look, 'When did that rule change'?

Later in the game, same coach asks me why i am not calling the other team's pitcher for pitching 'illegal'. (while this we very very JV, a called strike was a rare thing anyway). I asked him what he though she 'doing to be illegal'? he replied, 'I don't know, it just looks illegal'.

gotta love fall ball

I did learn last weekend that it's interference on the runner if she runs near the shortstop and doesn't affect the shortstop's ability to field the ball, in any way.

That has been a rule for like, ever! I think that came into the rule book about the same time as the BR is out if she doesn't run in the running lane, no matter whether a play is attempted or not by the defense.

The Fox announcers apparently believe this to be true in OBR. :rolleyes: