Recent protest has many asking, “What is a protest?”
With last month’s Cubs-Nationals game ending in a protest from Joe Maddon, the topic of protesting in baseball came back to life. Although it is rare, with protests only being upheld 15 times in Major League Baseball history, it allows teams an avenue to enforce the Official Rules of Baseball at times when the umpires…
MLB Umpire Manual Changes for 2019
CHANGES FOR 2019 IMPORTANT NOTES (1) The numbering of some interpretations has changed from last year’s edition due to the addition of new interpretations for 2019. (2) All Official Baseball Rule numbers in this section of the MLB Umpire Manual refer to the current (new as of 2015) Official Baseball Rule number. The following changes…
2023 Batter, Catcher and Shift Regulations
The Batter and Timing Regulations Question: What is defined as being alert to the pitcher with 8 seconds remaining on the clock? Answer: The batter must have both feet in the batter’s box, and facing the pitcher. He must have his eye on the pitcher and be in a position to quickly assess a hitting stance….
NFHS Baseball Points of Emphasis – 2017
This article appears on the official NFHS website, nfhs.org By NFHS on November 22, 2016 The NFHS Baseball Rules Committee and the NFHS Board of Directors believe there are areas of the game of interscholastic baseball that need to be addressed and given special attention. These areas of concern are often cyclical, some areas need…
Rule of the Week: Batter Abandonment – When A Batter Is Called Out For Desertion
Your favorite player swings and misses. “Strike three,” signals the umpire. While the disgusted batter drops his head and walks dejectedly back towards his dugout, a fan yells, “Run! He dropped the ball!” The batter now takes off in a half sprint to first base. Too late, the home plate umpire has already signaled out….
Rule of the Week: Switch-Pitchers
You probably know at least one left-handed person. One out of every ten people is left-handed…and only 1% of the population is truly ambidextrous. In the Major Leagues, however, the numbers are a little different: off the top of your head, you can probably name several leftys easily. After all, more than 25% of the…
Is this Batter out of the Batter’s Box? Red Sox Manager Thinks So
There is nothing like a 17-inning loss to get a manager’s emotions running hot. When the Red Sox and Twins played a 5-hour 45-minute marathon game, June 17, 2019, Red Sox manager, Alex Cora watched his team walked off by a game winning single by Max Kepler. But earlier in the 17th inning, Cora had…
When a ball off the wall is really a home run.
Play #1 After review, Kipnis’ Home Run becomes a triple The Tigers and Indians played in Cleveland on Friday, June 21, 2019. In the bottom of the eighth, the Indians had a runner on first base and no outs when Jason Kipnis hit a ball that was originally ruled a home run by second base…
The George Brett Pine Tar Game was not the First Pine Tar Game
It was a steamy July day in New York and George Brett was on fire. He had just stroked a Goose Gossage four-seamer into the Yankee Stadium bleachers for a dramatic two out, ninth inning, home run that put the Royals up 5-4. The Yankees manager, Billy Martin, decided to protest the home run based…
