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Ken Berry League Web Site Exclusive
YOU MAKE THE CALL! Archive
Situation 1
It's the bottom of the 7th. Score is tied with one out. Speedy runner (R1) on first. Manager decides to sacrifice bunt the runner to second to put him in scoring position. Batter (BR) squares to bunt as the runner takes off for 2nd base. As the batter tries to bunt the ball, it strikes him on his hand and rolls out in front of the plate in fair ground. After shaking his hand for a second, the batter realizes the ball is fair and takes off for 1st. The catcher, coming out from behind the plate to field the ball, runs into the batter, causing them both to fall to the ground. In the meantime, the speedy R1 has rounded 2nd and seeing the mess at home plate decides to try for 3rd. The pitcher charges in and fields the bunt. He tags the batter who is still trying to get up for an out. He then fires the ball to 3rd but is too late to retire R1 as he slides safely into 3rd. What is your call?
A) We have a fair batted ball. BR interfered with the catcher's chance to field the ball and is declared out. Since no runner may advance on an interference play, R1 is returned to 1st. There are now two outs and R1 is at 1st base.
B) We have a fair batted ball. BR is obstructed on the play as he tries to run to 1st by the catcher. BR is awarded 1st on the play. R1 is safe at 3rd. There remains one out. BR is on first shaking his band and R1 is safe on 3rd.
C) The batter was hit by the pitch. The ball is dead immediately. BR is awarded 1st and since the ball is immediately dead, R1 is returned to 2nd. All other action is ignored. There remains one out. BR is on 1st shaking his hand and R1 is on 2nd.
D) The batter was hit by the pitch. Since the batter was trying to hit the pitch, however, he is not awarded 1st base. This results in a dead ball strike call. All runners must return to their time of pitch bases. Any other action is ignored. There is still one out. BR, holding his injured hand, is still at bat with a count of one strike and zero balls. R1 remains at first.
The correct answer is D.
The hands are never part of the bat. This is one of the most common myths in baseball. There are only three times that a batter who is hit by a pitch will not be awarded 1st base. These are:
- he makes no attempt to avoid the pitch - the part of his body hit by the pitch is in the strike zone - he attempts to hit the pitch
In this situation, the batter attempted to hit the pitch, therefore, even though the pitch struck him on the hand, he is not awarded 1st base. He is instead charged with a strike. Since he was struck by the pitch, however, the ball is immediately dead. This results in R1 being placed back on 1st base. All the action with the catcher and the batter in front of the plate is ignored in this case since the ball is already dead.
It is worth noting that if the bunt was laid down successfully, without it hitting the batter's hand, the wreck in front of the plate is nothing. It has been ruled that if both players are simply doing what they are supposed to, a wreck like this is ruled incidental. The umpire would have to see clear evidence that the catcher or the runner meant to run into each other to rule otherwise. In this case, the play would have ended up with R1 at 3rd and BR out on the tag.
Situation 2
Bases loaded. Runner 1 on 1st, Runner 2 on 2nd, Runner 3 on third. There is one out. Batter (BR) pops the ball up high toward the shortstop. R3 takes off for home as soon as the ball is hit. R2 believing that the ball is going to be caught, returns to stand on his base. R1 simply stands a few feet off his base and watches the fly ball. As the ball descends, the base umpire calls out "infield fly, batter out," however with all the noise from the crowd and other players, no one hears him. F6 has dropped back to the edge of the outfield grass in good position to make the catch but drops the ball. Now the fun starts!
The ball rolls free back toward the pitching mound. In the meantime, R3 realizing that the ball might be caught retreats back toward 3rd. Seeing the ball on the ground, R2 takes off for 3rd. R2 and F6 collide as F6 chases the ball back into the infield. R2 stumbles but recovers and heads on for 3rd. In the confusion, R1 tries to advance to 2nd. A much relieved R3, seeing the ball on the ground, stops retreating to 3rd and makes it to home safely. In the meantime, F6 retrieves the dropped ball and fires it to 3rd. The third baseman successfully tags out R2 sliding into the bag. R1 safely advances to 2nd on the play. What is your call?
A) Since no one heard the umpire, the infield fly rule does not apply. BR is safe at 1st. R1 is safe at 2nd. R2 is out at 3rd. R2 does not need to be tagged at 3rd, since the ball was dropped this is a force out. R3 scores easily. The contact with F6 is nothing but incidental contact. One run scores. There are now two outs. BR on 1st, R1 on second.
B) The infield fly rule is applied whether anyone heard the umpire or not. Runners may still advance at their own risk. R3 scores. R1 is safe at 2nd. F6 is charged with obstruction on R2 and R2 is awarded 3rd on the play. One run scores. There are now two outs. BR is out. R1 is on 2nd. R2 is on 3rd.
C) The infield fly rule is applied whether anyone heard the umpire or not. Since the infield fly rule means the ball is automatically caught, whether it is or not, all the runners must tag up before they advance. R3 is safe at home but may be called out for not tagging up after a proper appeal. While R2 has successfully tagged up, he has interfered with the shortstop's attempt to field a ball and is ruled out on the interference. Since no runners may advance on an interference play, no runs score. BR is out. There are three outs and the inning is over.
D) Since the ball was touched while the fielder was in the outfield grass, the infield fly rule does not apply. BR is safe at 1st. R1 is safe at 2nd. Since R2 has a clear right to the running lane to 3rd, it is the fielder's responsibility to avoid the runner. R2 is awarded 3rd on the obstruction. R3 scores. There is still one out. One run scores. BR is safe at 1st. R1 is safe at 2nd. R2 is safe at 3rd.
The correct answer is B.
The best way to treat an infield fly is to act just like you would with any other fly ball. The only exception is that the batter is always out, whether the ball is caught or not. Runners may still advance just as they could on any other fly ball. If the ball is caught, they must tag up after the ball is touched or they would be subject to an out on appeal. If the ball is dropped, it is just like any other ground ball and runners may advance as they wish without having to tag up. Since the batter runner is automatically out, no force is in effect on any of the runners. Even if the umpire's call is not heard, it doesn't matter as far as the infield fly is concerned. If there is no doubt that the infield fly situation is in effect, the rule is applied. It can even be ruled an infield fly after the play. Players are expected to know the rules and how they apply to them.
The play between the shortstop and R2 is obstruction of R2 because the shortstop has had his opportunity to field the ball and has muffed it. By rule, if a fielder has muffed a ball and is chasing it, he is now responsible for avoiding any runners that may be in the vicinity.
It should be noted that R2 has no clear right to any base path between 2nd and 3rd. He is not ordinarily able to interfere with the shortstop's attempt to field a ball even if the shortstop is in the middle of the path he wants to take to 3rd. The runner has an obligation to avoid a fielder making an initial play on a ball. If the fielder muffs the play and is chasing a ball he has already had an opportunity to field, the responsibility now changes to the fielder to avoid any runner.
Situation 3
Runner 1 is on 1st base. R1 takes off to steal 2nd on the pitch. Batter (BR) hits a hard ground ball through the hole between 1st & 2nd base. The right fielder charges in on the ground ball and seeing that BR is still not close to 1st, he fires it to 1st base to try to throw out BR. He makes a bad throw that sails over the 1st basemen's head and into the dugout, out of play. When R1 sees the throw is going to 1st, he rounds 2nd and heads for 3rd. At the time of the throw, R1 had not touched second. BR had not reached 1st when the ball was thrown but had touched 1st by the time the ball went into the dugout. What bases do you award the runners.
A) The rule is always 1+1 bases on an overthrow to a dead ball area. This means that the runners are awarded the base they are going to plus one more for the dead ball. Since R1 was going to 3rd, he is awarded 3rd base plus home on the overthrow. Since BR had not reached 1st yet, he is awarded 1st plus 2nd on the overthrow. R1 scores a run. BR is on 2nd.
B) The rules is always 2 bases from the time of the pitch when a ball goes dead. R1 had already touched 2nd before the ball went dead but since the award is from the time of the pitch he had not reached second as far as the award is concerned. R1 is awarded 2nd then 3rd. Since BR had not touched 1st, he is awarded 1st and then 2nd. R1 is on 3rd. BR is on 2nd.
C) The rule is always 2 bases from the time of the throw for a throw from an outfielder that goes out of play. Since R1 had not touched 2nd when the throw was made, he is awarded 2nd and then 3rd. BR had not touched 1st when the throw was made so he is awarded 1st and then 2nd. R1 is on 3rd. BR is on 2nd.
D) The rule is always 2 bases on any overthrow from the time the ball goes dead. Since R1 had touched 2nd and was headed for 3rd, when the ball is dead he is awarded 3rd and then home. Since BR had touched 1st before the ball went dead, he is awarded 2nd and then 3rd. R1 scores a run. BR is on 3rd.
The correct answer is C.
There is no 1+1 rule. The base award on a ball that is thrown out of play is always 2 bases. In this example, the runners are awarded their bases based on where they were at the time the outfielder releases the throw. If an infielder had made this throw, the award would have been from the time of the pitch. In this example, the base awards would have worked out the same as answer C. When the ball actually goes dead makes no difference on a throw which enters a dead ball area. The awards are based on where the runners are at the time of the pitch or at the time of the throw.
Situation 4
Runner on third (RC). There are two outs. Batter (BR) hits a hard line drive down the line into left field for a hit. R3 advances on the hit and scores. BR thinking he can stretch the hit to a double rounds 1st base and heads for 2nd. BR fails to touch at 1st base as he turns wide around it. The left fielder makes a great throw to 2nd base and the 2nd baseman tags BR out as he slides into 2nd base for the third out. As the defense starts to leave the field, the 1st baseman tells the base umpire that he wants to appeal that BR missed 1st base.
A) An appeal may be granted as long as the defense has not left fair territory. The 1st baseman has made a legal appeal. BR is out at 1st. Since no run may score when the batter makes the third out at 1st, the inning is over with no run scored.
B) An appeal may be granted as long as the defense has not completely left fair territory. The ball must be returned to the pitcher, however, when then must appeal the play by throwing the ball to the 1st baseman. If this procedure had been followed it would result in BR being called out at 1st. This would be a timing play, however, and since R3 had already crossed home when the appeal was made he scores a run. The inning is over with one run scored.
C) Since the out at 2nd is the third out of the inning, no appeals are granted. The inning is over with one run scored by R3.
D) The 1st baseman is ejected for arguing a judgment call. No appeals may be made after the third out in an inning. R3 scores a run and the inning is over.
The correct answer is A.
This is a textbook example of an "advantageous 4th out." An appeal may be made by an defensive player or coach, with our without the ball, at any time prior to the next pitch, legal or illegal. An appeal may be made at the end of the inning as long as it is made before all the defensive players have left fair territory. Time may be called before making an appeal but it is not required. Multiple appeals at different bases are legal. In the play above, the 1st baseman made a smart play. If he had not appealed BR out at 1st, R3's run would have counted.
Ken Berry is using Federation rules modified by its own rule book in certain areas. Under this set of rules, an appeal may be made while the ball is live or after time has been called. This appeal need only be a verbal request to the umpire to appeal a certain runner at a certain base. An umpire will not stop playing action to grant an appeal. It is strongly suggest that if a coach or runner wishes to appeal a play that he/she call time before doing so. This prevents any baserunner from trying to correct his error and keeps them from advancing while the appeal is being made.
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Situation 5
The batting order is Adam, Ben, Charlie and Dan. In the top of the 4th inning with no outs and a runner at second, it is Adam's turn at bat. Charlie comes to bat instead of Adam and hits a single to right field. The runner at second advances to third on the hit. Ben thinking it is his turn steps into the batter's box and gets ready to hit. Before a pitch is thrown to Ben the defensive coach realizes that Charlie batted out of order and brings it to the plate umpire's attention. What is your call?
A) Since Charlie's turn at bat was completed his at bat is legal. Adam's turn is skipped and Ben is the proper batter now. When Charlie's turn to bat comes up he will be skipped since he has already batted and Dan will be up. there are now a runner on first and third with no outs and Ben is at bat.
B) When the batter out of order is confirmed by the plate umpire the batter who missed his turn, Adam in this case, is called out. Since the batting out of order was caught before a pitch was thrown to Ben, Charlie's at bat is nullified. Charlie is removed from first base and the runner on third is returned to second base. Ben is now the proper batter and Charlie is on deck. There is now a runner on second and there is one out. Ben is at bat.
C) Since Ben has entered the batters box before the appeal for batting out of order was made the appeal is denied. Charlie remains at first and the runner stays at third. Since Charlie has completed his at bat the next proper batter should be the one that follows Charlie in the batting order, in this case that would be Dan. Ben is removed from the plate and it is Dan's turn at bat. Dan is at bat. There are now runners at first and third, with no outs.
D) Since Charlie batted out of order he is called out after the appeal is made. Any advance made on the play stand however so the runner will stay at third. Since Adam should have been at bat he is now the proper batter and Ben is on deck. Adam is at bat. There is a runner on third, with one out.
The correct answer is B
Batting out of order can be one of the most confusing situations to unravel for an umpire. In our situation the defensive manager made a good decision by waiting for Charlie's at bat to finish but not for a pitch to be thrown to Ben before appealing the batting order. He got a free out. If he had appealed the out of order batter while Charlie was still at the plate, all that would have happened is that Adam would have taken his proper spot at bat and assumed whatever count was on Charlie at that time. This is the easiest out of order to fix. If a pitch had been thrown to Ben everything would get much more complicated. Once a pitch was thrown to Ben, Charlie's at bat is now legal. The next proper batter would be the one to follow the last legal batter which in this case, since Charlie is now a legal batter, would be Dan. Ben would be removed from the plate and Dan would be at bat with the same count as Ben had when he left. Adam and Ben would simply be skipped this time through the order.
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Situation 6
There are no runners on and no outs. The batter hits a long fly ball to deep right field. The right fielder makes a great running catch close to the fence. He then takes two more steps and runs into the fence. The ball pops out of his glove and falls to the ground. Is this a legal catch?
A. This is a legal catch. The fielder had the ball under his control for more than one step and that is all that is required to show control and a catch.
B. This is a catch. The fence is considered a part of the field and the field can not cause a legal catch to be dropped.
C. This is not a catch. The fielder must hold onto the ball until he releases it voluntarily.
D. This is not a catch. The fielder must show the ball in his hand before the umpire can rule on the catch.
The correct answer is C.
The fielder must show control and voluntary release for a catch to be legal. It does not matter if he takes one step before dropping it or several. If he runs into the wall or falls to the ground before he has shown control he must still have the ball afterwards. The umpire needs to see the fielder release the ball by his own actions before he can rule on a dropped ball being a catch.
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Situation 7
R1 is on first base. There are no outs. R! tries to steal second base on the pitch. The runner gets a bad jump and the throw from the catcher is at second base well ahead of the runner. The shortstop moves over to cover second on the throw and kneels down on the first base side of second base to take the throw. The throw however sails over his head and into center field. Seeing the bad throw, the shortstop stays knelt down by second base in an attempt to keep the runner from advancing on the bad throw. R1 is forced to step around the shortstop to touch second but makes contact with him as he goes by. R1 then tries to advance to third on the overthrow but is thrown out as he slides into the bag at third. What is your call?
A. R1 is out at third. Anything that happened at second base is ignored since no play was made there on the runner.
B. This is interference on R1. The runner prevented the shortstop from getting up to catch the throw from center field. R1 is out.
C. this is obstruction on the shortstop. R1 is awarded third base on the obstruction.
D. this is a double foul. Both the runner and the shortstop made errors by being the wrong place. R1 is returned to first and the play is started over as if nothing happened.
The correct answer is C.
Obstruction may be called on a fielder if he impedes a runner's progress illegally. In this case the shortstop has done nothing wrong by kneeling down at the bag at second base as long as the throw is going to him there. Once the throw went past him or if it was to somewhere else he needed to vacate his position to allow the runner to advance. If the ball and the runner had arrived at the base at the same time obstruction would probably not have been called since the shortstop was there to receive the throw and would not have had time to leave the base path before the runner had arrived. In this case however the shortstop had time to leave a path to the base open and failed to do so.
On an obstruction call the Federation ball one base will always be awarded. It shall be up to the umpire to award additional bases if he feels that the obstruction prevented the runner from getting to them on his own. In this case the umpire felt that the runner would have reached third safely if he had not been obstructed at second and so he protected the runner into third base also.
A fielder is not required to give a runner a free path to a base if he is attempting to put that runner out or if a throw to the fielder is imminent. Imminent means that the throw to the fielder must be on its way and getting near the fielder. Whether the throw to the fielder is close enough to him to be considered imminent is a judgement call by the umpire.
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Situation 8
In the first inning the manager for team A goes to the mound and talks to his pitcher. In the third inning he returns to the mound and talks to the same pitcher a second time. Later in the same inning he returns to the mound and replaces his pitcher with a new pitcher. In the fifth inning he goes to the mound and talks to the new pitcher. In the seventh inning the manager calls time and indicates that he wants to talk to his pitcher. the umpire informs him that if he does he will have to replace him since he has used up his 3 free visits for a seven inning game. The manager decides to not take time and talk to his pitcher and leaves him in the game. Two pitches later team A's manager calls time and talks to his infielders about a possible bunt situation but does not talk to the pitcher. Is this a charged conference? You make the call.
A. This is a charged conference. The manager has used up his 3 allowed conferences and must replace his pitcher.
B. This is not a charged conference. The manager may talk to his infielders without being charged with conference as long as he does not approach the mound or talk to his pitcher.
C. The manager is ejected for attempting to avoid the use of another conference.
D. This is a charged conference. A conference is charged every time a manager calls time to talk to anyone. The pitcher must be replaced.
The correct answer is A.
A manager is allowed 3 defensive conferences in a seven inning ball game. All of the conferences may be in the same inning. They can all be to the same pitcher. If a manager has a conference with a pitcher and replaces him at that time the conferences does not count as one of his three allowed visits. Any time he calls time and talks to any defensive player he will be charged with a defensive conference unless the pitcher is changed at that time.
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Situation 9
R1 is on first base. R2 is on second base. There are no outs. The batter hits a hard ground ball back to the pitcher. The pitcher makes a great diving catch on the ball as it heads by him. When he try's to take the ball from his glove to throw to first base he finds that the ball has gotten stuck in the webbing of his glove and he cannot remove it. Seeing the batter nearing first base he removes his glove and throws the glove, with the ball still stuck in it to the first baseman who catches it just ahead of the batter who is running to first. Is the runner out at first base?
A. This is an out at first base. Since the ball is stuck firmly in the glove and the first baseman has control of the glove this is a legal play and the batter is out at first.
B. This is not an out at first base. Since the ball is lodged in the pitchers glove he is the only one who can claim control of it. Since he did not tag the batter or first base ahead of the runner the runner is safe.
C. This is an out at first base. The ball is dead immediately when it is clear it is lodged in the pitchers glove. Since the ball is dead the umpire must decide who, if anybody, would have been out on the play. Since in this situation the pitcher would have clearly thrown out the batter at first the batter is called out. R1 and R2 must hold at second and third base.
D. This is not an out at first base. When the pitcher could not remove the ball from his glove and threw it to first base the ball is immediately dead and ruled lodged in player equipment. All runners are awarded 2 bases from the time of the pitch. The batter is awarded second base. R1 gets third base. R2 is awarded home.
The correct answer is D.
This is one of several instances where the Federation rules that are used at Ken Berry are different from the Original Baseball rules you see used on TV and in college. In Federation ball once a ball is ruled to be lodged in a players equipment or the fence it is dead immediately and bases are awarded. If the pitcher was able to remove the ball after several tries the ball would not have been ruled lodged in his glove and play would have been able to proceed normally. Once he threw his glove to the first baseman he was showing he could not remove it and the ball was lodged.
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Situation 10
There are runners at first base and third base with no outs. The batter hits a fly ball to short center field. The runner on third tags up on the catch and attempts to score. The center fielder makes a great throw to the catcher who has the ball in plenty of time to tag the runner coming home. In the meantime the runner at first, seeing that the throw is going through to home tags up and tries to advance to second. The catcher seeing the runner try for second base sets up to be ready to throw to second after the tag of the runner coming in from third. The runner from third sees that he is going to be tagged out and decides to try to take down the catcher who is standing right on the third base side of the plate waiting to make the tag. The slide takes out the catcher's legs and he goes down in a heap on top of the runner from third and drops the ball without making a tag. The runner from third's slide takes him onto the plate for an apparent score and the runner from first slides into second safely. You make the call.
A. This is malicious contact by the third base runner. The runner from third is called out and ejected. Since the malicious contact prevented a double play, the runner on second is called out also.
B. This is a legal play and all runners are safe.
C. This is obstruction on the catcher. He cannot block the base path from third base. The runner on third scores a since no play is made at second that runner is safe also.
D. This is interference on the third base runner since he prevented a possible double play being made by knocking down the catcher. The third base runner is called out for interference and the runner on first is sent back to first since no runner may advance on an interference play .
The correct answer is B. _________________________________________________________________________
SITUATION 11
This is the classic example of one of the most common plays at the plate. The runner from third has two choices if the catcher has the ball and is waiting to tag him. He can give himself up and be tagged out or he can slide or make some attempt to avoid the tag while remaining within the approved base path area. The runner in this case makes a legal slide into home. The contact with the catcher is nothing since neither player is doing anything wrong. The catcher has every right to block the base when he has the ball. The runner has every right to attempt to legally score by making a legal slide into home.
The runner must be careful in this situation to not get carried away with his contact on the catcher. It is illegal in Federation ball to initiate malicious contact with any player. He must make a legal slide toward the plate while keeping his legs and lower body as near the ground as possible. He needs to be aware that any contact that the umpire rules as too excessive may be ruled malicious and will get him ejected and called out. If he makes malicious contact with the catcher he is committing interference and the runner from first will be sent back.
There is a runner on third with 1 out. the batter hits a fly ball to deep right field. As the right fielder catches the ball the runner on third tags up properly and advances to home. The right fielder throws home but the throw is to late and the runner crosses the plate ahead of the throw safely. As the runner crosses the plate he fails to touch the plate and heads toward his dugout. The catcher touches the plate by accident as he steps to throw the ball back to the pitcher. The touching of the plate by the catcher was before the runner had entered the dugout. You make the call.
A. By touching the plate, the catcher has made an appeal of the missed base even though he did not ask for one. Since the appeal was before the next play it is granted and the runner from third is called out by the umpire.
B. Since the runner had not entered the dugout yet any attempt to appeal the missed base must be a tag of the runner since he can still return to touch the plate before he enters the dugout to correct his mistake. The accidental touching of the plate by the catcher is nothing and the run scores.
C. Since the runner failed to touch all of the bases in the proper order before entering the dugout he is out for abandoning his advance to a base. He is out as soon as he enters the dugout.
D. There is no such thing as an accidental appeal of a missed base. Baring any appeal attempts prior to the next pitch or play the run scores.
The correct answer is D.
In federation baseball an appeal for a missed base must be made by any player with the ball when it is live and by any coach or player with or without the ball when it is dead. If the catcher in this case had stated to the umpire prior or during his step on the plate that he wanted to appeal the missed base an out would have been granted here. the runner could also be tagged to get this out but a tag is not required since he is not in the immediate act of trying to return to the base. If the runner had realized his mistake and was trying to return to touch the plate a tag would be required for the out. Once the runner enters his dugout he gives up the right to return to fix a base running error. Once a pitch or a play has been made after the base running error no appeal of that error will be granted.
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