Rules Clarifications: Two Plays

I sometimes use this blog to review some of the more unusual plays that occur during the games.

Play #1:
During the New Lenox game, the home plate umpire issued a warning to our pitcher, Ryan Novak, about a pitching violation. The umpire claimed that Ryan was "going to his mouth" (bringing his pitching hand to his mouth) while still on the mound--without wiping his hand off before holding the baseball.

During Chicagoland Metro League play, every pitcher is entitled to a warning before any penalties (i.e., balk or illegal pitch) are assessed. So, this action had no consequence.

Under Official Baseball Rules ("OBR"), a pitcher cannot bring his pitching hand in contact with his mouth or lips while on the mound. The penalty for this action is a "ball"--not a balk. The pitcher may bring his hand to his mouth while off the mound--and is not then required to wipe his hand before holding the ball. Exceptions to this rule are generally made on cold days when an umpire will permit a pitcher to blow on his hand even while on the mound. If a pitcher attempts to doctor (i.e., alter, apply a foreign substance) to a baseball, the penalty is more severe--ejection and suspension.

Play #2:
In the bottom of the sixth inning of the Frankfort game, a sequence of plays developed which quickly ended a big Warriors' rally. The Warriors had runners on second and third with just one out when Ryan Novak hit a hard ground ball in the hole--which the shortstop fielded. The runner on third base, Ryan Tannebaum, broke immediately for home. He arrived at the plate before the ball, but was initially unable to get to home plate as the catcher had the plate completely blocked. Ryan then reached for the plate with his hand, but was called out by the home plate umpire. On the next pitch, Ryan Novak was thrown out attempting to steal second base (with Robbie Maxfield on third) to end the inning!

Whether Ryan Tannebaum touched the plate before getting tagged is a judgment call and not the point of this posting. Rather, this posting addresses the obstruction rule.

First, a catcher has the right to field a thrown baseball in whatever position that naturally takes him. As long as he is going for the ball, no obstruction should be called. Also, if a catcher already has the ball, he has every right to block home plate. He is not required to give the runner an opening to the plate.

However, if the catcher does not have the ball, he cannot block the plate and deny the runner's access to score. That is exactly what happened during this play. The proper ruling was to call obstruction on the catcher--score the run--and place Ryan Novak on first base and Robbie Maxfield on third base.