Rules Question

I'm not an umpire, but hopefully I can answer this.

NO, it is NOT correct. Under all rule codes that I am aware of. Oddly enough, this is the third time that I have seen or heard of an umpire doing this.

This appears to stem from misapplication of the rule about "unannounced substitutions" (OBR) or "unreported substitutions" (FED).

First, the rule is written slightly differently in high school (FED) and pro (OBR).

In OBR, Rule 3.08(a) states that: If no announcement of a substitution is made, the substitute shall be considered as having entered the game when—(1) If a pitcher, he takes his place on the pitcher’s plate; (2) If a batter, he takes his place in the batter’s box; (3) If a fielder, he reaches the position usually occupied by the fielder he has replaced, and play commences; (4) If a runner, he takes the place of the runner he has replaced.

So if your game is being played under OBR, then a player would actually have to get on the pitcher's plate (rubber) in order for a pitching change to happen. HOWEVER, as I point out in the next reply, the rule is not even applied completely verbatim in MLB.

FED is similar, but adds one very important qualifier. Rule 3-1-1 states: Should there be no announcement of substitutions, a substitute has entered the game when the ball is live and:
a. a runner takes the place of a runner he has replaced,
b. a pitcher takes his place on the pitcher's plate,
c. a fielder reaches the position usually occupied by the fielder he has replaced, or
d. a batter takes his place in the batter's box.

Again, a new pitcher would have to actually get on the rubber, AND the ball would have to be live under High School rules.

I really haven't looked up NCAA rules, but I doubt that they are very different.

This information comes from a post in the baseball section of Officiating.com.

In 1979, Billy Martin was managing the Yankees, and Sparky Anderson had recently been named manager of the Tigers. During a game between the Yankees and Tigers that year, Yankee first baseman Chris Chambliss made the last out of an inning on the basepaths, and sustained a cut on his hand. While the trainer was bandaging Chambliss' hand in the dugout between innings, Lou Piniella came out to warm up the infielders. Sparky Anderson went to the home plate umpire and wanted him to rule that an announced substitution had occurred; i.e., that Chambliss was now out of the game and Piniella was the Yankees' new first baseman. The umpire refused. Sparky Anderson then played the rest of the game under protest.

Some time later, Tigers' catcher Lance Parrish made the last out in an inning. While he was in the dugout putting his gear on, Rusty Staub came out to warm up the pitcher. Staub was also serving as the Tigers' DH that day. That allowed Billy Martin to approach the home plate umpire and argue that Staub was an unannounced substitute (using the same application of the rule that Sparky Anderson was attempting). That would force Parrish out of the game, and also cost the Tigers the use of the DH for the rest of the game. Of course the umpire refused, which allowed Billy Martin to play the rest of the game under protest!

I don't know which team won (customarily, a winning team usually withdraws any protest it has played the game under). But at any rate, a few days later the AL President ruled that neither protest had any merit. Since then, MLB umpires have been instructed, in some way, not to enforce the unannounced substitute rule exactly as written. I'm not sure how they are instructed ("Use common sense", perhaps? Or maybe "an unannounced substitution can only occur when the ball is live"?).

You can see the problem if the OBR unannounced substitution rule were applied verbatim: i.e., every time somebody other than the catcher warms up the pitcher between innings, you would have an unannounced substitution.

What you have is an umpire that wants to show he is the smartest guy in the room. Thankfully most umpires aren't like this.

The shortstop should have thrown one warmup pitch, then claimed an injury.  

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Not correct for HS baseball.

I recall reading something about this ruling maybe being correct in Little League but since the last LL game I worked was about 30 years ago I didn't pay much attention to it.

This was pulled on my guys team back a few years.I know what ponys rule is and not sure after that but sounds reasonable to me.Unless any player has the ball and is incontact with the rubber there is no rule.If you watch enough MLB you will from time to time as encouragement I suppose.Someone with the ball onor @ the mound with the ball.I have seen infieldrs handling the ball while there is a coach visit.If the rule book states something different its not followed unless the rubber is in play.I have seen this aurued twice and won (once against us) by the same new lenox coach to get the pither out of game.Let the kids play

Utter nonsense.