Rules review...Out of play and award of bases

Coaches,

The question comes up every weekend, what is out of play?... and the answers often differ. Unless your Umpire has a strong desire to do something different, if you extend the front fence of the dugout out to the outfield, any ball that crosses that imaginary, or if you take the time to paint it, actual line is out of play. If at all possible I recommend taking the time to paint it. Do your best to keep fans behind that line as well.

This will vary at every field you play at and should be covered in the pre-game conference with the umpire(s).

So what does that mean? Ball is thrown out of play, how many bases are awarded? That depends.

For the vast majority of plays at first base that will mean the batter/runner goes to second. To simplify, if it is the first throw by the infield then the runners get two bases from the time of the pitch. If it is not the first throw, then they get two bases from the time of the throw. There are other scenarios involving pick-offs but that is not pertinent for Little League since we have no leads.

To be clear - By far the most common occurrence is the overthrow on a play at first. In this case the runner gets two bases from the time of the pitch, which means they go to second base.

Some examples to illustrate the many other occasions;

Scenario #1:* 

Runner on 1^st on a hit and run, batter hits a fly ball that is caught by the right fielder (batter/runner is out), as the base runner is almost at 2^nd ,right fielder throws wildly out of play in trying to double the runner off of 1^st base. Where does the runner end up?  

Answer - The runner is awarded 3^rd base.  But in going to 3^rd on this dead ball, he must first re-tag 1^st base (since a fly ball was caught), and then touch 2^nd on the way to 3^rd.

Scenario #2:*

Runner on 1^st:  Ground ball to SS, throws to 2^nd base for 1 out and relay throw to 1^st goes out of play.Where does the batter/runner end up? 

  

Answer - Since it’s not the first throw by an infielder, it’s 2 bases from time of throw.  If the batter was already on 1^st by the time the 2^nd baseman threw the ball (not likely), he would be awarded 3^rd base, otherwise he gets 2^nd base as at the time of the throw he had not legally occupied 1^st base yet.

Scenario #3:*

Runner on 1^st: Bunt slowly to the 3^rd baseman and he throws the ball wildly past 1^st base.  The runner on 1^st had already rounded 2^nd and was on the way to 3^rd base by the time the throw was made. Where does the runner end up?  

Answer - 3^rd base only.  2 bases from time of pitch, which had the runner at 1st base.

Many umpires operate under the mistaken impression that this is a judgement call - it is not. However, in the case of the 2nd throw by the defense, if the ump does not for sure know where the runner(common in single ump games) was at the time of the throw - some judgement does enter in, so be patient.

Umpire Judgement on award of bases is involved in interference calls - but that will be for another day.

Lastly, the Umpire is always right and teach your kids to back up all throws.

*Scenarios and examples borrowed liberally from various sources on the interweb.