Tyler Ricketts

I’m sure that has happened quite a few times in high school, hopefully the umpires knew the rule! That never crossed my mind until a few years ago when I was watching a game and the Cubs were defending against a sacrifice bunt. Rizzo was playing so far in and the second basemen, Javier Baez, was shaded way over towards the 1st base bag. The umpire stopped the game and deemed Rizzo was no longer playing 1st base and made him swap out his 1st basemen’s glove. I believe in the box score, Rizzo became and 2nd basemen and Baez switched to 1st base for that play. Interesting nuance of the game.

That is interesting. I believe coach’s interference makes the runner automatically out? Even though the runner was back safely, the ball was still in play when the coach intentionally picked the ball up. My guess is the base runner is out!

A runner can advance at their own risk in the event of an infield fly. I would think that a lot of younger players do not understand this rule and when they see the ball hit the ground, they immediately take off for the next base. It is important for coaches at a young level to teach their players this rule.

It is key that umpires understand this rule. If they signal a play dead too early, it could create a bad situation.

Is the MLB rule for this particular incident the same in NCAA? I noticed on my twitter feed this past weekend, that a Tennessee Vols player got hit by a pitch and sprinted down the line through first base to make a joke out of it. That would be crazy to see someone get tagged out when doing something like that to get a laugh out of everyone. I agree that it gives umpires at the high school level protection from teams and players doing stuff like that.