@PABaseball posted:This is a bit of what I was referring to. I followed that regional very closely as there are a lot of local kids and former teammates playing in it. That region was so poorly officiated start to finish I couldn't believe I was watching post season D1 baseball. It was not limited to the College Park regional either.
But that call was so bad the announcers could not even find a way to defend it. For the home plate umpire to make that call (when he should have been watching the runner from third come home) after it was initially ruled safe is nothing short of bizarre. And then for them to look at it and determine it was the right call is even wilder. Beyond that - the rule is absolutely atrocious sending the scoring runner back to third when there was never even an option for a play at home. Disgusting. Between that and Michigan I was really let down. There is no point of replay if everybody can agree what the right call is except for the crew on the field.
This call may have been questioned but it was correct. It is not new or obscure and it gets called fairly frequently. There is a reason those chalk lines are on the field.
Nobody knows whether the batter/runner's path to 1st (100% in fair territory) somehow affected the defense (slowing or altering the pitchers play on the ball, etc.) but the bottom line is this:
1. Batter/runner was 100% out of the running lane (and yes, it is the plate umpire's job to observe and make the call)
2. A play was being made on that batter/runner and his running lane violation COULD have altered the play.
Announcers really have no clue regarding rules most of the time (the same can be said for many coaches). These particular announcers were focused (as were the fans) on the collision on first which HAD NO BEARING on the running lane violation call.
And for those that think it's a terrible rule (many comments I've seen on social media) then I ask: why do we have rules in the first place if we are not going to enforce them?
And for those who may have never coached or umpired but may have played the game I ask this: when you were a player did you ever run to first in fair territory after bunting hoping you'd get plunked by the ball being thrown by either the pitcher, 3rd baseman, or catcher? I know I did!
And can you recall any coach ever explaining to you what the running lane was? I can't!
But ignorance of the rules is not excusable, especially for a coach. Thankfully we do have umpires and officials in our sports.