Catcher’s Interference: Some Batters Will Do Anything to Get On Base
The Golden Age of Catcher’s Interference It’s safe to say that we are in the golden age of catcher’s interference. In the last three full seasons excluding the truncated 2020 shortened 60-game campaign, the number of catcher’s interference calls has increased each year. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, there were 61 violations in 2019;…
Rule of the Week: Runner’s Lane
Runner’s Lane The purpose of the three-foot wide lane (aka 45’ lane) along the last half of the distance between home and first base in foul territory is widely misunderstood. It only applies when the ball is being thrown to first base from the area of the plate (roughly from behind the runner), and…
2020 NFHS POINTS OF EMPHASIS AND HOW TO FOLLOW THEM
THIS RULE APPLIES TO NFHS NFHS POINTS OF EMPHASIS AND HOW TO FOLLOW THEM By Brady Hood Each year NHFS compiles a list of rules for coaches and officials to emphasize during the course of the baseball season. This year there are six rules that will require extra attention. Ending a regulation game…
Touch ‘Em All
Play No. 1 A base runner is required to touch every base in order and to retouch any missed base. There are various layers involved in the rules when either of those conditions arise. The Pirates and Cubs played at Wrigley on May 17th. In the bottom of the eighth, Cubs’ prospect Christopher Morel homered…
What You Don’t Know About the Hidden Ball Trick
One of baseball’s rarest plays, the hidden ball trick, is simultaneously gratifying and embarrassing. If you’re the fielder who pulls off this bit of defensive magic, it becomes one of the more satisfying moments of the season. If you’re the embarrassed runner, well, there is no hole deep enough to hide from the humiliation of…
Catcher’s Throw Hits Bat
The Dodgers and Braves played at Truist Park on June 26th. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Travis d’Arnaud was batting with runners on first and second and no outs. Michael Harris, the Braves’ runner on second, took off for third base on the pitch in an attempted steal. Dodgers’ catcher Will Smith attempted…
Deflected Balls Go Into Dead Ball Territory
Deflected Balls That Go into Dead Ball Territory: Part I This is the first of a three-part series involving rules that relate to pitched, thrown and batted balls that are deflected into dead ball territory or remain in play. In this edition, I’ll cover deflections that go into dead ball territory on throws from the…
