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Monday, March 25, 2024

NCAA Ejection for Helmet Toss During Walk-Off HR

Georgia batter Kolby Branch found himself ejected and suspended after tossing his helmet while celebrating a walk-off grand slam, umpires opting to enforce NCAA baseball's unsportsmanlike conduct rule after the game had ended, meaning that pursuant to the post-participation ejection rules, Branch was effectively "ejected" (or suspended) for the team's next game, which was Game 2 of a doubleheader vs Alabama.

To be clear, NCAA Rule 5-17, Unsportsmanlike Conduct, states that "Game personnel shall not use language that will, in any manner, refer to or reflect negatively upon opposing players, coaches, umpires or spectators. Any orchestrated activities by any player or dugout personnel designed to distract, intimidate or disconcert the opposing team or reflect poor sportsmanship shall not be allowed."

We knew that bat flips during a game were grounds for ejection, but a celebratory helmet toss after a game-ending four-run home run?

The roots of college's decision to adopt 5-17 and emphasize its enforcement stems from a benches-clearing incident that occurred after a bat flap mid-game, but in this case, the game was already over and indeed, the plate umpire had already started walking off the field with his back turned to home plate—the first base umpire was the only official who appeared to witness the throw, convening the crew shortly thereafter to impose the ejection penalty for a violation of NCAA 5-17.

Are we going too far in legislating celebrations or is this a correct application of rule within its spirit to head off a potential game management situation in Game 2 of the Alabama-Georgia doubleheader?

Video as follows:

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Shohei's Blunder & Bogaerts Strikes Out on Pitch Clock Violation in Seoul

After Dodgers acquisition Shohei Ohtani's baserunning blunder during MLB's Seoul Series, Padres batter Xander Bogaerts struck out on a pitch timer violation when HP Umpire Andy Fletcher called an automatic strike on the San Diego slugger, leading to an argument over who said what and when.

In Game 1 of the LA vs San Diego season opening series in Korea, baserunner R1 Ohtani ran toward second base on a deep fly ball off Freddie Freeman's bat that was eventually caught for a fly-out. When retreating to first base, Ohtani—who had rounded second base—failed to retouch on his last time by the bag. San Diego successfully appealed the base-running error for the inning-ending double play. Official Baseball Rule 5.06(b)(1) requires all runners forced to return to "retouch all bases in reverse order."

With two out and none on in the top of the 8th inning of Game 2, Bogaerts took a 1-0 changeup from Dodgers pitcher JP Feyereisen for a called first strike. Bogaerts, who appeared to disagree with HP Umpire Fletcher's strike call (pitch QOC for those curious: px 0.68, pz 1.54 [sz_bot 1.58 / RAD 1.46]...the call was correct), stepped toward the umpire and said something, to which HP Umpire Fletcher signaled "Time" and pointed at the batter to indicate Bogaerts had taken his offensive timeout.

After a later strike two call (px 0.31, pz 1.64 [sz_bot 1.58]—call was correct), Bogaerts again said something to Fletcher, who then signaled Bogaerts out for a clock/time violation, resulting in an argument during which it became clear the disagreement concerned how many times Bogaerts had requested time out. Bogaerts maintained it was his first time out request of the at-bat while Fletcher had it as the batter's second.

With a 15-second bases-empty pitch clock (18-seconds with runners on base [down from 20-seconds in 2023]), the timer can work very quickly, leaving little time to argue about an umpire's call between pitches. The pace of play procedure states that each batter is allowed one time out request per at-bat, meaning that Fletcher's determination that Bogaerts had requested two time outs also meant that Bogaerts had violated the pitch timer rules by requesting an excessive timeout, the penalty for which is an automatic strike.

With a two-strike count, the auto-K resulted in a strikeout. | Video as follows:

Friday, March 22, 2024

Lindor Called for Obstruction After Base Blocking

As Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor appeared to tag out Tigers baserunner Carson Kelly on a stolen base attempt, 2B Umpire Brennan Miller called the New York fielder for obstruction pursuant to MLB's new point of emphasis concerning base blocking, declaring Kelly safe at second due to the violation.

Official Baseball Rule 6.01(h)(1) itself has not changed and obstruction is still defined as "the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner."

However, the primary focus of the new emphasis appears to be fielders blocking runners on pickoffs and steals (or any time a play is being made at a base).

Major League Baseball seems concerned that infielders have used the "in the act of fielding the ball" exemption to the obstruction rule as an excuse to illegally block the offense from reaching a base, by sticking a leg, knee, or foot in the runner's way, and has adopted a stance on OBR 6.01(h)(1) similar in theory to the existing standard for home plate collisions in OBR 6.01(i)(2), which prohibit a catcher from blocking the pathway of the runner—even when in the act of fielding—unless the catcher is blocking the runner's path "in a legitimate attempt to field the throw."

Video as follows:

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Interference Ends Tigers' 8th vs Phillies - Whose Protection is it Anyway?

After Phillies 3B Esteban Quiroz failed to catch a two-out fly ball vs Detroit, 2B Umpire Matt Brown called Tigers baserunner Eddys Leonard out for interference, ruling that the runner illegally hindered the fielder attempting to field a batted ball. But with three Philadelphia infielders in close proximity appearing to track the fly ball, was 3B Quiroz the correctly protected fielder or was this another player's ball?

Official Baseball Rule 6.01(a)(10), which puts a batter or runner out for interference if they "fail to avoid a fielder who is attempting to field a batted ball," also states, "if two or more fielders attempt to field a batted ball, and the runner comes in contact with one or more of them, the umpire shall determine which fielder is entitled to the benefit of this rule."

Although the "comes in contact with" portion of this rule might suggest contact is required for such a call, this is another instance of a misleadingly-worded rule. The definition of interference states, "Offensive interference is an act by the team at bat which interferes with, obstructs, impedes, hinders or confuses any fielder attempting to make a play." Body contact is not required (though it often helps toward getting this called).

Replays indicate 3B Quiroz was joined by two teammates in the immediate vicinity of the falling fly ball and 2B Umpire Brown determined that this fielder was the one protected—do you agree?

Had the umpire not protected 3B Quiroz, we theoretically could have seen an Obstruction 2/B call out of this, presuming the umpire also determined that the fielder hindered the runner's attempted advancement.

But in the end, with 3B Quiroz protected, the interference call ended the inning. Credit Tigers batter Parker Meadows with an infield single.

Video as follows:

Monday, March 18, 2024

Bat Flip Ejections - How Not to Be Ejected for Flipping?

After umpires ejected UConn's Matt Malcolm and Penn State's Kyle Hannon, both for bat flips after hitting a home run, you asked us how a college player can avoid ejection for celebrating a big hit, and why bat flips have seemingly been deemed illegal by NCAA Baseball. Perhaps of equal importance is to consider why college baseball adopted the bat flip ejection rule in the first place.

Prior to the 2023 season, NCAA adopted rule 5-17: Unsportsmanlike Conduct, which states
Game personnel shall not use language that will, in any manner, refer to or reflect negatively upon opposing players, coaches, umpires or spectators. Any orchestrated activities by any player or dugout personnel designed to distract, intimidate or disconcert the opposing team or reflect poor sportsmanship shall not be allowed. This includes activities such as:
> Negative comments directed at an opponent, umpire or spectator.
> Bench jockeying.
> Bat flips near or toward an opponent or umpire.
> Use of props or signs directed at an opponent or umpiring decision.
The instruction to umpires appears to be one of strict scrutiny: interpret most bat flips as qualifying under this new sportsmanship rule 5-17. After all, an opponent (including the opposing dugout) or umpire is bound to be near a bat flipping player.

During a college baseball playoff game in 2016, a Miami player flipped his bat after a grand slam, resulting in a benches-clearing incident when defensive team Boston College responded with objection. Eight years later, the NCAA rules committee stepped in to address the bat flip issue, effectively finding that its member schools had been unable to address the problem on their own, requiring a sportsmanship intervention.

*An earlier version of this article's title contained the phrase, "How to not be ejected for flipping?" The author sincerely apologizes for exposing the reader to this reckless split infinitive. This careless error has been corrected.

Video as follows:

Saturday, March 16, 2024

2024 MLB Umpire Crew List & Roster

MLB quietly posted its 2024 umpire crew list on its website, albeit marked "CONFIDENTIAL"... though the crews are posted publicly via Official Information => Umpires = > Crews. In any case, crew chief Jerry Layne returns as baseball's most experienced umpire in the major leagues, with a new crew for recently-promoted chief Chris Guccione and new-hires Clint Vondrak and Ryan Wills slotted into the mix. Here are the 2024 crews:

2024 MLB Umpire Crews

#Crew ChiefUmpire 2Umpire 3Umpire 4
A50 Emmel, Paul49 Fletcher, Andy76 Muchlinski, Mike52 Visconti, Jansen
B2 Bellino, Dan10 Cuzzi, Phil11 Randazzo, Tony66 Tosi, Alex
C26 Miller, Bill88 Eddings, Doug62 Whitson, Chad44 Moore, Malachi
D64 Porter, Alan28 Wolf, Jim36 Blakney, Ryan29 Barber, Sean
E13 Tichenor, Todd89 Blaser, Cory79 Gonzalez, Manny33 Ceja, Nestor
F80 Johnson, Adrian81 Wolcott, Quinn18 De Jesus, Ramon25 Valentine, Junior
G72 Marquez, Alfonso16 Barrett, Lance90 Ripperger, Mark40 Ortiz, Roberto
H63 Diaz, Laz73 Gibson, Tripp83 Estabrook, Mike12 Bacchus, Erich
I51 Hudson, Marvin21 Wendelstedt, Hunter74 Tumpane, John48 Mahrley, Nick
J14 Wegner, Mark1 Dreckman, Bruce35 Rehak, Jeremie15 Vondrak, Clint
K46 Kulpa, Ron4 Fairchild, Chad37 Torres, Carlos20 Wills, Ryan
L24 Layne, Jerry19 Carapazza, Vic78 Hamari, Adam32 Moscoso, Edwin
M27 Vanover, Larry86 Rackley, David96 Segal, ChrisTBD*
N98 Conroy, Chris7 O'Nora, Brian31 Hoberg, Pat55 Miller, Brennan
O58 Iassogna, Dan54 Bucknor, CB97 May, Ben38 Beck, Adam
P6 Carlson, Mark71 Baker, Jordan85 Scheurwater, StuTBD*
Q23 Barksdale, Lance5 Hernandez, Angel93 Little, Will59 Lentz, Nic
R92 Hoye, James8 Drake, Rob17 Reyburn, DJ84 Libka, John
S68 Guccione, Chris91 Knight, Brian47 Morales, Gabe67 Additon, Ryan
UUnassigned: 87 Barry, Scott43 Livensparger, ShaneCloseCallSports.com

Transactions:
Crew A (Emmel) added Fletcher for Fairchild, Muchlinski for Lentz, and Visconti for Rehak.
Crew B (Bellino) added Randazzo for Ripperger and Tosi for Livensparger (unassigned).
Crew C (Miller) added Eddings for Drake and Moore for Ortiz.
Crew D (Porter) added Blakney for Muchlinski. Blakney is now a #3.
Crew E (Tichenor) added Blaser for Knight, Gonzalez for Randazzo, and Ceja for Tosi.
Crew F (Johnson) added De Jesus for Gonzalez. Wolcott is now a #2. De Jesus is now a #3.
Crew G (Marquez) added Barrett for Eddings. Barrett is now a #2.
Crew H (Diaz) added Gibson for Fletcher. Gibson is now a #2.
Crew I (Hudson) added Mahrley for Blakney.
Crew J (Wegner) added Vondrak (new-hire) for Scheurwater. Rehak is now a #3.
Crew K (Kulpa) added Fairchild and Wills (new-hire) for Blaser and Visconti.
Crew L (Layne) added Moscoso for Mahrley.
Crew M (Vanover) added Segal (from Nelson) for Guccione (new crew chief). Rackley is now a #2.
Crew N Conroy added Miller, Br for Ceja.
Crew O (Iassogna) added Bucknor and May (from Nelson), for Barry (unassigned) and Morales. 
Crew P (Carlson) added Scheurwater for Gibson and TBD for Br Miller.
Crew Q (Barksdale) added Hernandez for Hickox (retired) and Lentz for Additon.
Crew R (Hoye) added Drake for Hernandez.
Crew S (Guccione) replaced 2023 Crew B (Nelson; retired) and has four different umpires.
Unassigned umpires are Barry and Livensparger. Crews M & P have TBD slots.

Supervisor Jim Reynolds oversees Crews A (Emmel), F (Johnson), N (Conroy), and P (Carlson).
Supervisor Larry Young oversees Crews B (Bellino), D (Porter), and J (Wegner).
Supervisor Mike Everitt oversees Crews C (Miller), G (Marquez), H (Diaz), and Q (Barksdale).
Supervisor Charlie Reliford oversees Crews E (Tichenor), L (Layne), and S (Guccione).
Supervisor Jeff Kellogg oversees Crews I (Hudson), O (Iassogna), and R (Hoye).

Video as follows:

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Did Gomes Interfere with Adames in Brewers-Cubs ST?

When Cubs baserunner R2 Yan Gomes stood in Brewers shortstop Willy Adames' way during a ground ball in the 5th inning of Tuesday's Milwaukee-Chicago game, 2B Umpire Bruce Dreckman ruled no interference had occurred. You've asked us to review the play to see if a call could have been made and our answer is 'yes'—in two different ways.

By now, you should be familiar with our right-of-way axiom: a fielder has the right to field a batted ball while the runner has primary right of way at any other time (other than a batted ball). Official Baseball Rule 5.09(b)(3) puts a runner out for interference when "they intentionally interfere with a thrown ball; or hinder a fielder attempting to make a play on a batted ball."

OBR 6.01(a)(10) reinforces this: "It is interference by a batter or runner when they fail to avoid a fielder who is attempting to field a batted ball..." The intent requirement on the runner's part only applies to interference with a thrown ball or fielder attempting a throw (remember the runner has primary right of way on non-batted ball situations, so to get interference on a throw requires actual intent to commit wrongdoing), but intent is irrelevant for a batted ball situation.

Accordingly, if your judgment deems the fielder was hindered or impeded from fielding batter Mike Tauchman's batted ball due to the actions of baserunner R2 Gomes, then Gomes is guilty of interference.

The second way to get this call is in OBR 6.01(a)(11), which puts a batter or runner out when "a fair ball touches them before touching a fielder. If a fair ball goes through, or by, an infielder [not including the pitcher], and touches a runner immediately back of them, or touches the runner after having been deflected by a fielder [including the pitcher], the umpire shall not declare the runner out for being touched by a batted ball."

On this play, the pitcher did not touch the ball nor did it pass any non-pitcher infielder prior to contacting runner R2 Gomes, so OBR 6.01(a)(11) would apply and put R2 out for the touched-by-a-batted-ball brand of interference.

One final question pertains to whether R2 Gomes was "protected" by having a foot in contact with his base at the time he was touched by the batted ball. Leaving the issue of timing aside (e.g., was he really touching 2B or did the ball touch him before he got back), the rules answer here is found in the MLB Umpire Manual which states, "The fact that the runner had contact with the base when struck with the batted ball has no bearing on the play. (An exception to this is when the runner is hit by an Infield Fly while on base)."

A ground ball is not an Infield Fly, so the exemption here does not apply and R2 Goes, thus, is not protected from interference simply because he is in contact with a base.

Video as follows:

Friday, March 8, 2024

Spring Ejections 1-2 - Angel Hernandez (Lynn, Marmol)

HP Umpire Angel Hernandez ejected Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn and manager Oliver Marmol (arguing balls/strikes) in the bottom of the 3rd inning of a #Cardinals-#Nationals Spring Training game. With one out and none on, Hernandez warned the St Louis dugout about arguing balls and strikes. Lynn was ejected after objecting to a ball call on a subsequent pitch; Marmol for arguing Lynn's ejection. This game was not televised and its stadium not equipped with pitch tracking data, the call was irrecusable. At the time of the ejections, the Cardinals were leading, 5-4. The Cardinals ultimately won the contest, 7-6.

These are Angel Hernandez (5)'s 1st and 2nd ejections of Spring Training.
*OBR 6.04(d) states, "When a manager, player, coach or trainer is ejected from a game, they shall leave the field immediately and take no further part in that game. They shall remain in the clubhouse or change to street clothes and either leave the park or take a seat in the grandstand well removed from the vicinity of their team’s bench or bullpen."

These are the 1st and 2nd ejection reports of 2024 MLB Spring Training.
This is the 1st player ejection of Spring 2024. Prior to ejection, Lynn's line was 2.0 IP, 4 ER.
This is the 1st manager ejection of Spring 2024. Ejection Tally: 1 Manager, 1 Player, 0 Coaches.
This is St Louis' 1-2nd ejection of S-2024, 1st in the Grapefruit League (STL 2; All Others 0).
This is Lance Lynn's 1st ejection since August 18, 2021 (Nic Lentz; QOC = U [Illegal Substance-USC]).
This is Oliver Marmol's 1st ejection since August 22, 2023 (Brennan Miller; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).
This is Angel Hernandez's 1st ejection since Sept 28, 2023 (Bryce Harper; QOC = U [Check Swing]).

Thursday, March 7, 2024

New Obstruction Emphasis Called for 1st Time in Spring Training

2024's new obstruction rule point of emphasis got its first call of Spring Training as 3B Umpire Nick Mahrley called Angels third baseman Luis Rengifo for illegally blocking Cubs baserunner Chrisopher Morel's return slide into third base before Rengifo fielded pitcher Reid Detmers' throw. The ensuing base award enabled Morel to score Chicago's first run of the afternoon, despite Morel having been obstructed while sliding back into third base and not trying for home.

As announced in February, MLB's obstruction point of emphasis instructs umpires to call violations of Official Baseball Rule 6.01(h)(1) when a fielder blocks the runner's base path without possession of the ball, or if fielding the ball (without possessing it), blocks the runner's path unnecessarily (e.g., the fielder did not need to occupy that space to receive the throw.

This allows the definition and rule to remain unchanged: "Obstruction is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner," while deeming that a violation of OBR 6.01(h)(1) has occurred if the fielder, for instance, sticks a knee into the runner's path without the ball, or performs some other impeding action that isn't strictly necessary to field a thrown ball.

Finally, OBR 6.01(h)(1) states, "The obstructed runner shall be awarded at least one base beyond the base they had last legally touched before the obstruction," which is why baserunner R3 Morel, having reached third on the prior play, was awarded home plate. Note that this mandatory base award applies only to Obstruction Type 1 (Type A) and only to the obstructed runner. When no play is being made on an obstructed runner at the time of obstruction (Obstruction 2 / B), the base awards are made to "nullify the act of obstruction."

The scoring on this is an error charged to the fielder.

Video as follows:

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Swimmer Disqualified for Celebrating? Spirit of the Rule

NC State swimmer Kenneth "Owen" Lloyd finished first in his Men's 1650-yard freestyle Final in record time and climbed into teammate Ross Dant's lane to celebrate. After the race, however, referees announced Lloyd had been disqualified for switching lanes prior to the heat's end in violation of NCAA Swimming's interference rule. Let's talk spirit of the rule vs technical letter of the law.

NCAA Swimming & Diving Rule 2-5-1-b, a section called FOULS with the article titled INTERFERENCE, states, "A swimmer who changes lanes during a heat shall be disqualified."

There it is, black and white. A heat, event, or race effectively ends when the final competitor touches the wall to stop the clock. Replays indicate that Lloyd finished so quickly that other racers were still swimming—in the opposite direction—when Lloyd and opponent-but-also-teammate Dant touched up.

Lloyd then climbed atop the lane divider between himself and Dant's lane before dropping into his teammate's lane to celebrate a dominant victory.

Upon the race's conclusion, referees met (they are allowed to use video review) and determined that Lloyd was to be disqualified for changing lanes during the heat—e.g., while opponents were still swimming.

It didn't matter that Lloyd didn't appear to actually interfere with anyone (Dant had already finished when Lloyd breached the lane)—he was DQ'd based on the strict technicality of the interference rule.

This brings us to spirit vs letter of the rule—should this rulebook-supported decision been withheld due to Lloyd's obvious victory...or are the rules letter-tight for a reason in all situations?

Video as follows: