Unusual Little League Game Last Night

[Barkeep49]

Last night I coached a game featured more unusualness that I can remember in one little league game (5th and 6th graders):

*We had a genuine infield fly
*They had a runner called out at first for running inside the baseline (after the team had received a warning)
*We had a pitch declared a ball after our pitcher failed to execute a consistent pitching routine (he does this weird bounce thing)
*They had their last run of the game converted into an out on appeal after he missed home plate (though it now seems most involved agree that he didn't miss home plate)

Just having an infield fly and a runner called out on appeal would have been weird enough, the extra two were gravy.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Yep, that seems to qualify as unusual.

It's easy to go several seasons without seeing the infield fly rule applied at that age, props to the umpires on that one. Of course the apparently blown call on the home plate appeal kind of negates the kudos for the infield fly.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I umpired fast pitch softball for 11 years. You wouldn't believe the number of crazy things you see over that many games. Balls that are lost while IN the playing field, coaches that actually asked to be thrown out of games, concerned mothers running on the field DURING play, etc. If that job paid my bills, I'd still be doing it. It was always a lot of fun and very unpredictable.

[Dr. Sak]

Different sport but one game I reffed in football had a ball punted by the punt and caught by the punter. The wind was blowing so hard that the ball ballooned way up in the air at the line of scrimmage and blown back to the punter where he caught it.

Little football trivia if you so choose. What can the punter do with the ball after catching it?

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Little football trivia if you so choose. What can the punter do with the ball after catching it?

Shove it up his coach's ass?

[Lathum]

Did you call anyone a little bastard?

[Sgran]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Different sport but one game I reffed in football had a ball punted by the punt and caught by the punter. The wind was blowing so hard that the ball ballooned way up in the air at the line of scrimmage and blown back to the punter where he caught it.

Little football trivia if you so choose. What can the punter do with the ball after catching it?

Can he punt it again?

[Swaggs]

When I was in Junior High, our punter tried to call timeout after the ball was snapped to him. I'm not sure which was worse: the pummeling he took from the other team while he tried to make the "T" with the ball in his hands or that people teased him about it for the rest of the school year.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Sgran

Can he punt it again?

Yes he can. The ball didn't cross the line of scrimmage so he can punt it again, throw it, run it. But the kid decided to kneel it.

[14ers]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

*We had a pitch declared a ball after our pitcher failed to execute a consistent pitching routine (he does this weird bounce thing)

Did you mean "Balk"

I have never heard of changing a strike call to a ball because of the pitchers delivery. Then again I am not up to date on the latest Little League rules either.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by 14ers

Did you mean "Balk"

I have never heard of changing a strike call to a ball because of the pitchers delivery. Then again I am not up to date on the latest Little League rules either.

Just a WAG here but isn't the technically correct call a "ball" instead of a "balk" if there's no runner on base? In other words, if a pitcher does something that constitutes a balk under men-on circumstances it become an automatic ball (rather than a balk with a ball called as the penalty) if he does the same action with no one aboard?

[Barkeep49]

There's no balk in our league so the ump ruled it an automatic ball, and there were indeed no runners on base when this occurred (it was the second pitch of the inning).

[Dr. Sak]

I am trying to envision this weird bounce routine...can you better describe it?

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by bsak16

I am trying to envision this weird bounce routine...can you better describe it?

He pitches from the windup. Before he goes into his motion he bounces between 1 and four times in place. On the last bounce he then starts his windup with his back step and goes into a traditional delivery. I've never seen anything like it, but frankly it's pretty harmless. The head of the PD athletics happened to be there when this automatic ball happened and thought the call was ridiculous.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

There's no balk in our league so the ump ruled it an automatic ball, and there were indeed no runners on base when this occurred (it was the second pitch of the inning).

Okay NOW I'm curious.

Although finding LL rules online is a tough nut to crack (apparently LLB strictly enforces their copyright), here's a subsection
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/48433

8.05 - An illegal pitch (A balk in Junior/Senior/Big League baseball) when a runner or runners are on base is when -

(a) the pitcher, while touching the plate, makes any motion naturally associated with the pitch and fails to make such delivery;
(b) the pitcher, while touching the plate, feints a throw to first base and fails to complete the throw;
(c) the pitcher, while touching the plate, fails to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base;
(d) the pitcher, while touching the plate, throws, or feints a throw to an unoccupied base, except for the purpose of making a play;
(e) the pitcher makes an illegal pitch; Umpires will judge a quick pitch as one delivered before the batter is reasonably set in the batter's box.
NOTE: A quick pitch is an illegal pitch
(f) the pitcher delivers the ball to the batter while not facing the batter;
(g) the pitcher makes any motion naturally associated with the pitch while not touching the pitcher's plate;
(h) the pitcher unnecessarily delays the game;
(i) the pitcher, without having the ball, stands on or astride the pitcher's plate or while off the plate feints a pitch;
(j) the pitcher, while touching the plate, accidentally or intentionally drops the ball;
(k) the pitcher, while giving an intentional base on balls, pitches when the catcher is not in the catcher's box.
NOTE: There is no balk in Little League (Majors), Minor League or Tee Ball.
PENALTY: The pitch shall be called a ball. If a play follows the illegal pitch the manager of the offense may advise the plate umpire of a decision to decline the illegal pitch penalty and accept the play. Such election shall be made immediately at the end of the play. However, if the batter hits the ball and reaches first base safely, and if all base-runners advance at least one base on the action resulting from the batted ball, the play proceeds without reference to the illegal pitch. NOTE: A batter hit by pitch shall be awarded first base without reference to the illegal pitch.
(l) Junior/Senior/Big League only: The pitcher, after coming to a legal position, removes one hand from the ball other than in an actual pitch, or in throwing to a base;
(m) The pitcher delivers the pitch from Set Position without coming to a complete stop
PENALTY: The ball is dead, and each runner shall advance one base without liability to be put out unless the batter reaches first on a hit, an error, a base on balls, a hit batter or otherwise, and all other runners advance at least one base in which case the play proceeds without reference to the balk. When a balk is called and the pitch is delivered it will be considered neither a ball nor strike unless the pitch is ball four (4) awarding the batter first base and forcing all runners on base to advance. (NOTE: Umpires should bear in mind that the purpose of the balk rule is to prevent the pitcher from deliberately deceiving the base runner. If there is doubt in the umpire's mind, the "intent" of the pitcher should govern. However, certain specifics should be borne in mind:

(1) Straddling the pitcher's plate without the ball is to be interpreted as intent to deceive and ruled a balk.
(2) With a runner on first base, and the runner attempting to steal second, the pitcher may make a complete turn, without hesitating toward first, and throw to second. This is not to be interpreted as throwing to an unoccupied base.

Bolded are the parts that makes me wonder what rule was applied. I can't seem to find any reference to an illegal pitch with a ball called as penalty when there is no one on base.

[Barkeep49]

Well this isn't run by little league rules. They use, I believe NFHS rules with some modifications (such as no balks). The umps contention was that the routine penalized the batter since he didn't know when the ball was going to be coming. Frankly the whole thing seemed ridiculous, but again that's part of what made last night unusual. I will also add that we had a rare 1-6 double play, which was kind of cool.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

Well this isn't run by little league rules. They use, I believe NFHS rules with some modifications (such as no balks). The umps contention was that the routine penalized the batter since he didn't know when the ball was going to be coming. Frankly the whole thing seemed ridiculous, but again that's part of what made last night unusual. I will also add that we had a rare 1-6 double play, which was kind of cool.

This still might be a good thing for the kid to learn at this point so it doesn't come back to bite him later on (if he continues playing/pitching) when it'll be harder to change his routine. Not sure what level the rules exist at, but B.J. Ryan got called for a balk this season for not coming set long enough prior to a pitch, so I'm wondering if that is more the interpretation going on here because he's changing his routine in a random manner from pitch to pitch. Don't get me wrong, it is silly, but those types of rules will only get called more and more as they progress so getting into good habits now and all that.