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I think it stirred up a big commotion because to ordinary people like me it seems like the spirit of the rule is to stop the infielder from letting it drop to get force outs and it didn't seem like this particular play was intended for that (by the fact they didn't even throw it to a bag). You explained it really well though.

Awesome

If you have not bought Bugsy's DVD's - go do so today! This guy is good!

yea......whatever...hey, bugs!!....where does it say in 2.19 (NFHS at least...) that the fielder has to "turn his shoulders" as opposed to what rule 2.19 EXPLICITLY says...."....ordinary effort",..or did you just make up the rule like so many others' you rail against in this vid?.......wtf.....

1:27 Balk

I guess you did not teach the umpire where the infield is

What about the left fielder he was there. no way the infield fly should have been considered?

Bogus. There was no attempt or opportunity for a DP, which is the whole point of the infield fly rule. What's more, it was probably the deepest infield fly ever called, by a wide margin. I bet statistics would back that up. Ump choked in a crucial situation.

Also, when people make the "he didn't call it in time" argument....they don't seem to understand that the purpose of MAKING the call at all is for the benefit of the runners - to let them know that the infield fly rule has been called, and under no circumstances will there be any force outs. So they know they don't have to run on an uncaught ball. So making the call ANY time before the ball drops serves that purpose. The people have no idea WHY the call needs to be made....they just heard somewhere that the word "immediately" is in the rulebook somewhere, so that's their loophole. I put the "not in time" argument on the same level as the "but that wasn't in the infield" argument. It's just a testament of the claimant's lack of awareness of the actual rule. And the rule doesn't say it should be called immediately. It says it should be called immediately after it becomes apparent that it will indeed be subject to the rule - as you said - when he squares his shoulders. And the umpire certainly called it immediately after this happened.

Great info!! The music kinda distracting.

A very good explanation! The infield fly rule seems to be one of the "softest" rules, as ordinary effort can mean anything to anyone. Defining 'ordinary effort' as 'able to square up before making the catch' is a very good way to make it usable and comparable in everyday games.

I thought an umpire would call it a "pitcher's plate" instead of a rubber.

So basically what your trying to say is that if the runners can't tag up from where the ball if fielded it's an infield fly. In that case If that ball goes deeper to the left fielder and he catches it,I'm almost positive that the runners aren't going to tag up. So you can't say you call an infield fly based on if runners are tagging up.

Didn't know the infield goes that deep..... You didn't address in how far deep that actually is. How in the hell is that an infield fly when it's in the damn outfield

He is so wrong that is to deep to be called a fly rule.So stop what you are thinking read this and tell me if im right or wrong ive seen the same comments so your most likely to be wrong so yeah make a video about that or comment on my comment about me being right or wrong and do u even ump and if u do what league

Can a right handed pitcher pitching from the stretch go to the set position then raise his left leg without breaking the rear plane of the rubber and then step directly back to first to pick off at first or is that only allowed to 2nd and 3rd?

I did not view this live, but maybe a lot of the controversy is based on the mere term "infield fly." Obviously this was hit to the outfield. Maybe there should be a new name for the rule, like "auto-out". Squirrely, to be sure!

Keep posting videos please! Its nice to keep my mind fresh and learning from the more experienced is very valuable. My first season starts in a month!

The HS rule book says the ball is dead immediately when you call a balk, they have for years and still do. Watch the video again and listen to what I'm saying. If you want to use the HS mechanic whereas you give the "time sign" with your hands, yelling balk, that's fine, watch at 5:16 of the video. I explain the difference. The reason I show you the Pro mechanic is for guys who umpire other levels of ball along with HS ball. And yes all the states are the same, they use Nat. Fed. book.

Have they changed the balk rule in Hs yet. If im doing a high school game in 2013 its alright to say thats a balk without saying time with my hands up or not?? Its 2013 remember.. great video I learn alot from your vidoes. thx #2? Do different states have different balk rules or all the states the same??

I actually had something pretty similar to this happen in a high school game not too long ago. The short stop caught the ball though which did make it less of an issue.

totally helpful. Now I know!

This was really good! I umpire a lot, even that following Saturday. During my plate meeting we joked about it. I think many of us got confused by the fact that it didn't appear to be ordinary effort and it was in shallow LF. Got to remember IF fly rule is ordinary effort by the infielder. Also true you would never see this at the youth or HS level.

Nice way to explain when the infield fly should be called . Square shoulders to home. Earlier in the game a runner was running on the wrong side of foul line to first got hit with throw ball to first and was called out .We as fans know this better as position to call then when to call an inf.Thanks for letting us know the right postion.

John was the best ball and strike umpire to ever live. He had to be. The reason? He was soooooooooo good he weight never mattered to MLB. I was very sad the day John died. It affected me so much, I went on a diet. I weighted nearly 400lbs at the time of John's death. I lost 200lbs, I now weigh 185lbs. I wish John could have made his appointment at Duke, which was suppose to be the day after he died. RIP.

Big Marc! How are ya buddy?

Bugsy, Big Marc here. John was the best ball and strike man to ever live! Bugs, did I ever tell you that John and Herbie Lammle were partners in the minors? Herb was 38 and John was 19. The year before John died in spring training Herbie walked into the umpire room and said, "Where's John?" .... As soon as John herd Herb's voice, John said, " Herb Lammle, Carolina Leage". He then told all the big league umpire's, If not for Herb, I wouldn't have made it to the Bigs. He was the best

hey teacher, when you step off the rubber (not set) can you still attempt a pick off?

It's fair. The plate is in fair territory.

I have umpired for over 30 years in Florida (now Alabama) and have done over 10,000 games at all levels including some Major League spriing training. But I love youth ball most of all. What he says is very true about the strike zone. I have conducted over 100 clinics and I tell the rookies to "have a good zone". Most young umps have too small a zone and they call a lot of balls. In the younger leagues, you have to have a very liberal zone, not unhittable as this ump did, but a good zone.

good information, is gold

If in your judgment, the runner gave up on the play and was definitely headed towards the dugout, you can call him out for abandonment of the play (so to speak).

NOTE: at the 1:52 point of the video (approx.), Frank doesn't state it specifically but keep in mind; per Pro rules only - if a balk is called by the umpire while the pitcher is pitching & the catcher catches the pitch, the ball is dead immediately after the catcher catches the ball. BUT if the pitch is wild and gets away from the catcher, it is a delayed dead ball & the runner is at his own risk after he reaches the base he would have been awarded, similar to what Frank was discussing.

good video..... gawd I wish these intros were shorter.... 38 seconds is too long. Also..... put on a glove.... it useful visually.

@bobjrj101 that fine as log as your cnositant on both sides of the teams you good

the sad thing these umpire looks like a really an official umpire. i know many umpires that are in just for the money. and will call out even if the runner is "safe"

in a rundown,runner is tag,but ball is dropped,runner doesn't notice the ball is drop,he takes 3 to 4 steps towards dugout,but realises the ump has not make a call,so he runs to the next base.was he out when he walked towards the dugout or the play was still on?

@ForTheWeekRocks -- Hi, to answer your question, no. That's a misnomer floating around out there. It appears because everybody sees so many umpires in MLB take 3rd extended, they should to but that's not the case at all. To this day, Pro umpire school still teaches the basics as I do. Each play at the plate dictates what you do. There are no mandatory mechanics as you ask or as I like to say absolute "Xs and Os". To be a good umpire you have to learn to react and adjust to each play. ~Bugsy

3:22 LAZER EYES

yeh ther's a problem with this tho farms and minor league games (8-10) the strike zone has to be changed. otherwise u gunna be in the same inning for the same 2 hours then ull have coaches come up to u and after the game and say u shoulda widened the strike zone there is no reason a team should have scored 13 runs on only 2 hits the letters to knees is way to small for small children and most people would agree for the young people it should be chins to shins and a ball nd half outside the plate

classic...this guy is funny at the end. thx for the help.

@gowhitesox12 I finally have that on the drawing board and hopefully it will be coming out soon.

@UmpireTeacher AND he was also my instructor at Professional Umpire School. You Rock John!!

@iflyacrj I had John teach at two of my camps I conducted in Florida and he was great with the guys! I miss him, great teacher and great man. ~Bugsy~

@neaallstar13 Neal, give me more. Be more specific with your question.

@vanparty Thank you, I appreciate that and this year I'm going to put up a lot more! ~Bugsy~ 1/15/11

@msy626 Hi, please re-write your question, I'm not quite sure what you're saying or asking.

@jross2319 Jross, the proper interpretation is just as I show it. As long as the pitcher does it (steps back and raises his hand up) simultaneously, he is legal. You'll see it happen a lot on the MLB games and also at the High School level and up. That interpretation is consistent at all levels.

@arandomperson240 No, both umpires can call a balk.

@bobojacobo LOL...I agree, I'm going to re-shoot this video and make it more clear as to what I'm trying to teach. Well said!!