FED or OBR?

Im certainly not going to rip you....We can not advance the profession of umpiring by ripping each other....but I'll give you my opinion...

If the truth be told, I would effort a guess that 99% of all real umpires would prefer OBR.

NFHS (FED) rules are definately different and the differences are mainly participation and safety rules that differ greatly from the good ol' game of baseball we geezers used to play.....

I cant hazard a guess if this is a good move for Rhode Island, but it certainly isnt the end of the world if they do...

The only thing you as the umpire need to learn is that if you dont like FED rules and have a real problem with them, then don't call HS baseball....The worst thing you can do is take a game under a rule code then refuse to call the game according to that rule code...

I'll give you an example.....in past years the FED rule was that if an umpire saw a player miss a base he was to call that player out without an appeal....I never agreed with it, It is the defense's responsibility to know if the base was missed...but even though I did not agree with it, I called it that way.....fortunately NFHS has since decided to change that rule to the more acceptable appeal method.....

I call 3 separate rule codes...... so do yourself a favor and try to separate your opinions of the rules from the application of them....thats your job.....to be an unbiased arbiter of the rules.....and yes "unbiased" can be from your own opinions...

There are a number of books you need to buy if you aspire to umpire beyond youth leagues.....I will reccommend 2.

Baseball Rules Differences by Carl Childress...compares and contrasts OBR/FED/NCAA/NAIA rules

Jaksa/Roder- a reorganizaation of baseball rules and an authoritatinve advanced umpiring guide....

best of luck....

johntaine21,

Be prepared to enter the world of baseball rules confusion. Not only for you but for the players, coaches and fans also.

By "changing to Fed rules" I'm guessing you meant for High School ball although there are other levels of summer and fall ball that use Fed rules.

Be prepared also for the resistance to change from the more seasoned umpires. Everyone knows that we "older" guys hate to change things that we've been doing "so well" for so long. As for the "Baby Rules" comment made by your associate, well, the rules are what they are. Our job, as piaa noted above, is to monitor the game with the rules that apply. We may disagree with them (and believe me, you'll disagree with many in Fed) but they are still the rules that we are bound to officiate with.

As for "ripping" you; you won't find too much of that on this site. Let's just say that at times we respectfully disagree with each other. That is the pleasurable aspect of this site compared to others out there. People on this site want to help each other. It doesn't matter whether it's umpires, players, coaches, parents or fans.

Welcome aboard.

Thank you piaa and pilsner,

I really appreciate the input. If we were to change I would definitely go out and get the rules and interpretations immediately so I can perform at least at the level I am now. Until then, I guess I'm one of the lucky one's on the site that gets to call using OBR (what piaa pointed out to being the preferred book, I guess because of the less complex rules), so I guess I will enjoy that until we change.

Thanks again

There are some big differences between Fed and OBR.
Some of the pros:
Some good safety rules.
An excellent casebook to go with the rulebook.
Some of the cons:
Some very different pitching rules.
Different obstruction rules.
As you mentioned, the DH.


Your older ump mentioned the baby rules, they are becoming fewer. Some the really arcane pitching rules are gone. The appeal rule is better than the old method PIAA cited, although still very different than OBR.
You referred to OBR as the simplier book but in reality Fed is probably easier because of the access to the casebook. The downside is they change stuff every year.