The game had gone to the fourth inning without incident. The batter had a 1-1 count. The defensive coach called time and walked from the home team’s first base dugout to the third base coach’s box where the offensive coach was positioned with his scorebook in hand. After a brief chat, the two coaches approached the plate umpire. The offensive coach spoke, “I’ve got the wrong batter in the box.” “Okay” said the plate umpire without hesitation, “Get the right batter up there and the count is still 1-1.”

Both coaches looked at the plate umpire skeptically, “Are you sure?” “Yes” came the reply, “There is no out for batting out of order unless an appeal is made after the wrong batter completes his at bat and before the next pitch, play or attempted play. This guy is still at bat, so he can be replaced with the correct batter without penalty.” That was good enough for both coaches, but not for the man who initially detected the infraction – the home team’s score keeper.

“What’s going on here?” “That’s the wrong batter, he’s out.” The explanation was given again and the fatal words from the score keeper were “You don’t know what you’re doing.” He then learned how to keep score from the parking lot.

There are no statistics on how often batting out of order occurs, but the detected incidents are few and far between. It might happen because of an inattentive player, confusion over a substitution or because the coach gives the plate umpire a different lineup than what he posts in the dugout.

One of the things done correctly in the preceding...

Catchers make contact with batters, runners and umpires. The rules govern how umpires and catchers should handle such situations. In part IV of this nine part series involving rules that are central to both catchers and umpires, I’ll tackle this topic.

Contact between Runner and Catcher

Playing under NCAA and NFHS rules, if the catcher/ fielder has possession of the ball and blocks the path of the base runner to the base (plate), the runner may make contact, slide into, or collide with a fielder as long as the runner is making a legitimate attempt to reach the base or plate. The runner must make a legal slide into or around the glove. Under NFHS rules, a runner cannot dive, hurdle, jump or go over the top of the catcher unless the catcher is prone. He cannot lower his shoulder and barrel over the catcher. As a result of his illegal action if the runner interferes, you have a dead ball and the runner is out.

Under NCAA rules, “When there is a collision between a runner and a fielder who clearly is in possession of the ball, the umpire shall judge whether the collision by the runner was avoidable (could the runner have reached the base without colliding) or unavoidable (the runner’s path to the base was blocked.)

“If the runner can avoid a collision when the catcher clearly has possession of the ball, the runner is called for interference if he attempts to dislodge the ball without making a bona fide effort to reach the plate" (8-7a; A.R. 1).

Both NCAA and NFHS rules agree that if the flagrant or malicious contact by the runner was before the runner’s touching the plate, the runner shall be declared out and also ejected from the contest. The ball is dead immediately and all other base runners shall return to the bases they occupied at the time of the interference (NCAA8-7a AR2; NFHS 3-3-1n).

Under NCAA and NFHS rules if the runner is safe prior to the collision and the collision is flagrant, the runner is safe, but ejected from the game. Both codes stipulate that the ball becomes dead immediately and all other base runners return to the base they had touched prior to the contact when malicious and flagrant contact occurs. If that occurs at any base other than home, a pinch-runner may substituted in NCAA contests (8-7a  AR3). Playing under NFHS rule 3-3-1n, if a runner initiates malicious contact, the ball is dead, the player is ejected and declared out, unless he has already scored.

Perhaps the classic play that comes to mind concerning runner/catcher collisions is the...

A Vallejo Babe Ruth coach will not be rejoining the league after an incident in which the man is alleged to have knocked out a state tournament umpire Sunday afternoon, the league's vice president said Monday.

Babe Ruth Baseball League Vice President Alicia Griffin said the coach later turned himself in to police, but Vallejo police could not be reached Monday to confirm that. However, firefighters responded to an emergency call at the Wilson Park field at 3:13 p.m., with reports of an unconscious umpire suffering an injury from an assault, Vallejo Fire Department spokesman Bill Tweedy said.

The incident came just weeks after the league was the target of vandalism and two back-to-back break-ins. Vandals broke windows, smashed stadium lighting and computers, spray painted the league's headquarters office, and other activities. Fundraising assistance from the community helped the league make some needed repairs for the tournament. Vallejo, host of this year's Northern California 13- to 15-Year-Old State Babe Ruth Tournament, was playing against Sonoma with a one-run lead on Sunday when "tempers started to flair," one witness said.

Following a call in favor of Sonoma in the seventh inning, the Vallejo team's coach reportedly approached the first-base umpire. The coach, said the grandmother of one Sonoma players, had already received a warning earlier in the game. Then the umpire said "you're out of here" to the coach, she added.

"The coach blind-sided the umpire," said the grandmother, who asked to have her name withheld for fear of retaliation. "He went out like a piece of cardboard. Then his legs started vibrating. ... it appeared that he couldn't get up for 10 minutes." Griffin declined to identity the coach. She said the team's players are suffering from the automatic game forfeiture. The grandmother said the forfeiture was a shame, because Sonoma players "didn't come away feeling like winners." "Vallejo was in it and had a good chance of winning it ... and now, they're out of it," she said. "This was highly unusual. We were all shocked. It was just so strong in our minds and so unacceptable and unbelievable at that kind of event."

HARROGATE (WATE) - A Blount County little league coach was arrested for attacking an umpire in an incident earlier in July.

Michael Maples, of Maryville, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault after deputies say he attacked an umpire.

The alleged attack happened at an all-star game in Harrogate. It was at a ball field on Washington Avenue.

The all-star game was between 11 and 12-year-old boys with Harrogate Little League and Eagleton Little League, which is based in Alcoa.

Before the incident happened, things had already gotten a little out of control at the ball game. "At one point, we had the law come and a couple of people were asked to leave," said Harrogate Little League President Freddie Chumley.

Chumley, who's worked in little league for 23 years, says this was the first time he had to call the authorities to remove people from the crowd.

In the final inning of the game, things escalated, and the head coach for Eagleton was ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Still, what happened next was very unexpected.