Playing with eight: umpires, just enforce the auto-out
Umpires, don't make me the bad guy. If a team is playing with eight, the ninth spot is an automatic out, so just enforce it.
I’ve been in far too many pregame meetings where the umpire turns to me and asks, “How do you want to handle this? Auto-out or not?”
Most tournaments and leagues allow a team to play with eight. The standard rule is that the ninth spot in the lineup is an automatic out every time it comes up. The reason, we can assume, is that playing with eight might actually be an advantage — if those are your best eight players.
Umpires, don’t do this. Don’t make me the bad guy. Simply enforce the rule, because it’s an out.
Before you assume I’d feel differently on the other side, I’ve been there. We played most of one season with nine players, and I’ve played with eight many times. I never expected the other coach to be flexible on the rules, and we always took the automatic out.
And once the auto-out is established, don’t make the other coach remind you when that spot comes up. It makes him the bad guy all over again, one inning later.
So how should it go? Once it’s clear that a team has eight, the umpire announces that the ninth spot is an automatic out. He tracks it on his lineup card, or he tells the scorekeepers to flag it for him. No one in either dugout has to say a word.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There’s always room for a nice gesture in a meaningless game between two coaches who get along. But, it shouldn’t be expected, and it should never be asked for in public. The umpire can protect the coaches from each other by taking control of the game.
Have you run into other “flexible” rules where an umpire, meaning well, puts one of the coaches in a bad spot?
Which rulebook? This is a tournament and league rule, not an Official Baseball Rules provision. Most youth tournaments allow a team to start with eight and score the empty ninth spot as an out each time it comes up. Read your event's rules, because some allow the game to proceed with no penalty and a few require a forfeit.
Runner on first stealing, one out. The batter swings through strike three, then stumbles across the plate into the catcher, who can’t make a throw. What’s the ruling?
Still have a question? Ask Coach Fungo.
“I've played with eight plenty of times. I never expected the other coach to waive it, and I never asked.”
I wrote the long version of this when I coached the Spiders: Umpires and Flexible Rules on SpidersElite.
Is the injured player’s spot an automatic out?
I almost always batted our whole lineup, and I understood the risk: In USSSA and a lot of Perfect Game events, an injury leaves a hole that's an automatic out. The umpire should announce it the moment the player leaves the game.
“I've been the bad guy, and it's no fun.”
Can a bounced pitch be a called strike?
No. A called strike has to pass through the zone in flight, so once the pitch touches the ground, it can't be called a strike, even if it hops through the middle. Swinging at it is another story.
“If it bounced, it's a ball unless he swings. I don't care how good it looked in the catcher's glove.”
The rules quiz
Ten questions, two minutes. Would you have gotten the call right?
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