A good umpire must know all the rules, but learning
them is difficult because the rule book is hard to understand. An umpire must
know how the rules should be interpreted and applied in real situations. You can't
simply memorize the rule book and expect to be a good umpire.
Although the umpire must know all the rules, in reality, only a few come into
play in most games. This document will focus on rules that need to be applied
to situations that occur in almost every game. An umpire can refer to the rule
book when an unusual play occurs, but he should know exactly what to do when the
common plays occur.
In my opinion, an umpire should thoroughly understand INTERFERENCE, COLLISIONS,
OBSTRUCTION, AWARD OF BASES, APPEALS and BALKS. If you work Little League Baseball,
you should understand rule 7.13, the rule that applies to a runner leaving his
base before the pitch reaches the batter. These subjects and the rules that apply
to them are the focus of this document.
- Jim Booth
Table
of Contents
 Interference
Collision
vs Interference
Interference
by the Batter
Obstruction
Award
of Bases
Appeals
Balks
Little League Rule 7.13
 Leaving
Early Before the Pitch
Leaving
Early When a Hit Occurs
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