A base running question....

[gr8fuldiver]

Thanks guys. I was sure I applied the rules correctly. I guess it's matter of "base running 101". To make matters worse, the coach said she saw it in the rules book, and was going to go find it and bring it out to show us. I politely suggested she NOT do that as it might make her stay a lot shorter lol. Oh well I really appreciate your help and advice. You guys are helping this old vet get better and not stagnate.

Take care

Paul

[Big Slick]

Originally Posted by gr8fuldiver

Thanks guys. I was sure I applied the rules correctly. I guess it's matter of "base running 101". To make matters worse, the coach said she saw it in the rules book, and was going to go find it and bring it out to show us. I politely suggested she NOT do that as it might make her stay a lot shorter lol. Oh well I really appreciate your help and advice. You guys are helping this old vet get better and not stagnate.

Paul,
You did get the rule correct. Trust your rule knowledge, but why discourage the statement from the coach? Encourage her to find it in her rule book, just don't stop the game while she does it. That will keep her occupied for awhile; the more she is in the rule book, she isn't bothering you. If coaches did this more we wouldn't have to worry about "the other guy."

[PATRICK]

I think the days of the auto ejection for bringing a book on the field is over!

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by PATRICK

I think the days of the auto ejection for bringing a book on the field is over!

EXACTLY!!

Listen up, people. If a coach comes running out waving a book and that shows you up, then you can/should eject the coach for showing you up. Not for bringing the rulebook.

If a coach respectfully requests time, quotes a rule, and offers to show it to you in the rulebook; well, it is your JOB to rule according to the rulebook. Swallow your pride, check it out (best suggestion, go into the dugout and look at the rule, so everyone doesn't see what you are doing); if you are wrong, fix it!! If the coach is looking at something that doesn't apply (WOW!! Does that ever happen??), explain the difference, and move on.

Our job is to get it right, as long as the coach does it without showing you up. If you know you are right, what does it hurt to look in the book and show it to the coach??

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve

EXACTLY!!

Listen up, people. If a coach comes running out waving a book and that shows you up, then you can/should eject the coach for showing you up. Not for bringing the rulebook.

If a coach respectfully requests time, quotes a rule, and offers to show it to you in the rulebook; well, it is your JOB to rule according to the rulebook. Swallow your pride, check it out (best suggestion, go into the dugout and look at the rule, so everyone doesn't see what you are doing); if you are wrong, fix it!! If the coach is looking at something that doesn't apply (WOW!! Does that ever happen??), explain the difference, and move on.

Our job is to get it right, as long as the coach does it without showing you up. If you know you are right, what does it hurt to look in the book and show it to the coach??

It depends on how it is used as a prop. I don't know how many times I've had people try to show me a rule and they aren't even in the right rule let alone the right section. And to be honest, we rarely have the time to stop and give a clinic.

Not all games are NCAA games and some of those coaches aren't much better then the parent-coach in a 10U game who is citing the call s/he saw the previous weekend on the MLB Game of the Week.

Much of the time, a coach wants to show you a rule and there is no option to him/her other than what they think they are reading. But as we all know, rules come with interpretations and not all of them are in the book. Sometimes going to the book helps, however, I have found that it rarely resolves the situation on the field.

[Tru_in_Blu]

You could have four runners between home and 3B and R1 still owns the base. Yes, extreme, but gets the point across, hopefully.

If there were 4 runners, wouldn't that mean that R1 is forced to advance and in fact does NOT "own" the base?

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by Tru_in_Blu

You could have four runners between home and 3B and R1 still owns the base. Yes, extreme, but gets the point across, hopefully.

If there were 4 runners, wouldn't that mean that R1 is forced to advance and in fact does NOT "own" the base?

Okay. like I said, extreme, but I was more worried about making the point, but I'll correct it to meet that.

[argodad]

Originally Posted by Big Slick

Paul,
You did get the rule correct. Trust your rule knowledge, but why discourage the statement from the coach? Encourage her to find it in her rule book, just don't stop the game while she does it. That will keep her occupied for awhile; the more she is in the rule book, she isn't bothering you. If coaches did this more we wouldn't have to worry about "the other guy."

Great advice, Slick! Encourage everyone to get in the book. They might learn something.

[KJUmp]

Paul...

I think the common thread that you're seeing from all the replies that have been posted (and if your new here, these are some of the best rules guy that frequent here), is the importance of having a full understanding of the basic premise/logic of every rule to confidently and correctly work through these type of situations. A garden variety run down play between 3rd and home with other runners on base play that a coach wants to 'muddy' with some twisted logic and references to how "the other guy" ruled on the play.