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Blues News
Each month or so (while I can remember), I will put helpful information on this page regarding some of those tricky LL rules. The purpose is to assist in your development, and to encourage consistency throughout District 9. Hope you find these instructional, and you will use them to keep your league umpires informed! Manny
Friday, February 29
Five-run Rule and Minimum Play
So now that LL has defined an inning in Minors as ending after five runs have scored, what happens when a kid plays a couple of innings on defense, but the innings end with the opposing team scoring five runs in each, never recording three outs? Does the kid violate the minimum play requirements of Regulation IV(i)?
Well, LL HQ has spoken. They have put out the following guidance: In Minor League, if a half-inning ends because of the imposition of the five-run limit in “Rule 2.00 – Inning,” and a player on the defense has played for the entire half-inning, that player will be considered to have participated for three consecutive defensive outs for the purposes of this rule. However, if the player has not played on defense for the entire half-inning, that player will be credited only as having played for the number of outs that occurred while the player was used defensively.
So if coach puts in a player defensively after one out in the inning, and he stays out there for another out before the five runs are scored, then the kid gets credit for only one out for minimum play purposes. But if the coach puts him in defensively at the start of the inning, and he stays for one out before the five runs are scored, he gets credited for three outs on defense.
"Dead Ball Strike"
What exactly is a "dead ball strike"? Well, quite simply, it's when a batter is charged with a strike and the ball is dead. Easy enough? Maybe not. Here are some scenarios when a batter gets charged with a "dead ball strike":
- A foul ball with less than two strikes
- A foul bunt, even with two strikes
- The ball goes through the strike zone and touches the batter
- The batter swings or attempts to bunt the ball and the ball hits batter
Now, the first two are obvious. The third, while also somewhat obvious, rarely happens. You'll probably see it when a batter ducks to get out of the way of a curve ball, puts his/her helmet right in the zone, and the ball plunks him/her as it breaks over the plate. But the last one is the one that will give you the most grief, because to this day so many people believe the hands are part of the bat.
When the batter swings or attempts to bunt the pitch, and the ball hits the batter's hand/wrist/arm, kill play immediately. It doesn't matter where the ball went; it's not Fair or Foul. It's DEAD, and the batter is charged with a strike. If he/she had two strikes when it happened, he/she is out.
Too many times I've seen plate umpires rule that the ball is Foul after a batter swings and hits the ball with his/her hand. That is incorrect. And although the outcome of the incorrect vs. correct call is the same with less than two strikes (add a strike to the batter), it is very different with two strikes. As much as you'll hate doing it while the kid is hurt and crying, you have to send him/her to the dugout for striking out on a dead ball strike. Oh, yeah, since it is a dead ball, send any runners back to their previous bases!
Continuous Batting Order: How to Handle Injuries
I have received a couple of questions regarding CBO under LL Rule 4.04, and how leagues should handle injuries to batters at the plate and runners on the bases. LL HQ does not provide any guidance on this, so it's up to the local leagues to do what they want. Here are some suggestions:
Injured Batters: If a batter injures himself while up to bat (i.e., hits a foul ball off his foot), and the batter can no longer continue, a league may opt to bring the previous batter in the order who is not on base to continue the at-bat. This batter would assume the count of the injured batter, with no penalty. Another option is to bring the next batter in the order. Some people argue that bringing the next batter penalizes that batter because he has to assume a count as opposed to starting with a clean slate (you cannot restart the count; the pitches to the injured batter HAVE to be accounted for!) Well, bringing up the previous batter may also be a detriment if that batter just finished striking out and faces another strike out possibility. There are pluses and minuses with either option, and no real optimal solution.
Injured Baserunners: If a runner injures himself while on the bases (i.e., twists an ankle sliding safely into second), and the runner cannot continue, a league may use the previous player in the order who is not already on base.
Note that these are not permanent changes to the CBO. These are just temporary substitutions. I highly recommend against giving the opposing manager a choice, because the manager's choice may easily screw up the batting order.
Monday, January 3
New SPR Rule
LL changed rule 7.14 for the 2005 season. Now, a player may only be removed once during a game for a Special Pinch Runner. The intent of the change is to prevent a manager to bring in an SPR for that slowpoke catcher everytime he gets on base. Now, he can replace that catcher with an SPR once--and only once--in the game.
As always, if a league bats the entire roster in certain divisions, then SPRs may not be used in those divisions. And a league may NOT incorporate Courtesy Runners into their local rules without receiving an approved waiver request from LL Headquarters!
Sunday, November 21
New Pitcher Visit Rule
For 2005, LL has updated Rule 8.06(d) to read, "A manager or coach may confer with any other player, including the catcher, during the visit with the pitcher." According to guidance I received from LL HQ, this means more than one player. So a manager can bring all of his infielders to the mound to discuss strategy.
HOWEVER, umpires are still responsible to make sure the flow of the game is not interrupted. So if it's getting dark and a manager decides to call in all his fielders, even the outfielders, for a pitcher's conference, the plate umpire should not allow it (besides, I've never seen a plate conference include the outfielders, so don't let the manager tell you he needs to talk to them!) Keep things moving along.
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