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Traditionally regarded as villains by fans, adversarial autocrats by players, and invisible men by the press, umpires have been, as Furman Bisher put it, "submerged in the history of baseball like idiot children in a family album." Yet the umpire is baseball's indispensable man, for the arbiter transformed baseball from a recreational activity to a competitive sport and has personified the integrity of the professional game. Since attorney William R. Wheaton officiated the first recorded "modern" game on October 6, 1845, umpires have made important contributions to the National Pastime. Indeed, the history of the umpire mirrors the distinctive eras and developments of the game itself.

Does the run score?

One of the topics that I receive far too many questions on is if runs are to be scored or not scored. Understanding of the requirements for scoring / not scoring runs is imperative to umpires at all levels of play. There are a few basic conditions for scoring or not scoring runs that are detailed below.

Having not written anything recently for my site, I thought I would provide some clarity concerning the infield fly rule. It is a simple and common, but occasionally misunderstood part of the game. This being said, the rule not being in place would unfairly place base runners at risk in the infield fly situation. The infield fly rule dates back to 1894 and is covered under rules 2.00, 6.05(e), 7.08(f) and 7.08(f) exceptions of the Official Rules, NFHS 2-19-1 and NCAA 2-47. These cover various possibilities that may occur under the rule.

If a fielder catches a fly ball and then falls over the fence it is a homerun.

As long as the fielder is not touching the ground in dead ball territory when he catches the ball, it is a legal catch if he holds onto the ball and meets the definition of a catch. If the catch is not the third out and the fielder falls down in dead ball territory, all runners are awarded one base. If the fielder remains on his feet in dead ball territory after the catch, the ball is alive and he may make a play.

Rules: 2.00 CATCH,
6.05(a), 7.04(c) Official Baseball Rules

The ball is always immediately dead on a balk.

It is not. If a throw or pitch is made after the balk call, the ball is delayed dead. At the end of the play the balk may be enforced or not depending on what happened. On a throw; if ALL runners advance on the play, the balk is ignored. If not, the balk award is enforced from the time of pitch. On a pitch; if ALL runners INCLUDING the batter, advance on the play, the balk is ignored. Otherwise, it is no-pitch and the balk award is made from the time of the pitch.

Rule: 8.05 PENALTY
Official Baseball Rules

This Rule is TRUE in NFHS Rulebook. If the ball is pitched, all action on the play is negated. All runners are awarded one base and the count on the batter remains the same.

Runners may not advance when an infield fly is called.

An Infield-fly is no different than any other fly ball in regard to the runners. The only difference is that they are never forced to advance because the batter is out whether the ball is caught or not.

Rules: 2.00 INFIELD-FLY, 6.05(e),
7.10(a) Official Baseball Rules

The runner must always slide when the play is close.

There is no "must slide" rule. When the fielder has the ball in possession, the runner has two choices; slide OR attempt to get around the fielder. He may NOT deliberately or maliciously contact the fielder, but he is NOT required to slide.
Rule: 7.08(a, 3)
This rule does not apply to professionals

The batter-runner is always out if he runs outside the running lane after a bunted ball.

The runner must be out of the box AND cause interference. He is not out simply for being outside the lane. He could be called for interference even while in the lane. This is a judgment call.

Rules: 2.00
INTERFERENCE, 6.05(k), 7.09(k) Official Baseball Rules

The hands are considered part of the bat.

The hands are part of a person's body. If a pitch hits the batter's hands the ball is dead; if he swung at the pitch, a strike is called (NOT a foul). If he was avoiding the pitch, he is awarded first base.

Rules: 2.00 PERSON,
TOUCH, STRIKE (e) and 6.05(f) Official Baseball Rules

The reason we make some models in -2 rather than -3 (and the truth is that no maple bats should be made as light as -3 period) is that we understand after getting feedback on tens of thousands of bats what parameters a bat model needs to both perform and hold up. Maple is a heavy, dense wood and thus far, the best performing wood for bats. However, when bats are made with billets that are too light, they perform more like ash and break more readily than ash. Maple is a less flexible wood than ash so light maple does not have the performance advantage over ash and breaks easier than ash due to it's stiffness. This is why the maple backlash in MLB has come about.

THE PLAYING FIELD.The field shall be laid out according to the instructions below. The infield shall be a 90-foot square. The outfield shall be the area between two foul lines formed by extending two sides of the square, as in Diagram 1. The distance from home base to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction on fair territory shall be 250 feet or more. A distance of 320 feet or more along the foul lines, and 400 feet or more to center field is preferable. The infield shall be graded so that the base lines and home plate are level. The pitcher's plate shall be 10 inches above the level of home plate.

Until this season, video review was only allowed for boundary calls involving home runs, and it happened at the discretion of the umpires, who would leave the field to look at replays and then return to make their decision known.

A runner attempting to score may not deviate from his direct pathway to the plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher (or other player covering home plate). If, in the judgment of the Umpire, a runner attempting to score initiates contact with the catcher (or other player covering home plate) in such a manner, the Umpire shall declare the runner out (even if the player covering home plate loses possession of the ball). In such circumstances, the Umpire shall call the ball dead, and all other base runners shall return to the last base touched at the time of the collision.

Before the batter steps into the box: Under all codes, if detected, the umpire can direct the player to switch to a legal bat. There is no penalty.

The batter is in the box but has not seen a pitch: Under NFHS and pro rules, the batter is considered to have used the illegal bat as soon as he steps into the box.

Background::J.D. Drew hit a monster home run during the 1997 season, but it hit a tree in flight (while still 85' off the ground) so the length of the homer could not be determined. After reading an article in the newspaper about this problem, including some estimates by the coaches and a request for some help ("Now there's a science problem for you," FSU coach Mike Martin said.