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With no one on bas=
e, all
fly balls (or line drives) belong to the plate umpire. On all fly balls a=
nd
line drives to the outfield the base umpire will come into the infield and
pivot. The plate umpire will assume responsibility for all fair/foul,
catch/no catch. The thinking here is that the plate umpire will be no fur=
ther
away on the smaller field than the base umpire would be on the full size
field. The plate umpire already has everything in front of him/her and it=
is
a simple matter to move up the line on fair/foul or develop an angle for =
the
catch/no catch.
Little League recommends that the base u=
mpire
not go out, but there may be instances where the experienced umpire
judges that it is necessary to go out for better coverage of a trouble
ball.
If a fly ball or line =
drive
is hit from the center fielder straight in all the way to the right field
line and the base umpire, using the "pause-read-react" techniqu=
e,
decides NOT to go out, then the responsibility of the ball reverts to the
plate umpire. If this is the case, the base umpire will take a pivot and =
pick
up the batter-runner, making all decisions at 1st, 2nd, or 3rd
on the batter-runner.
If the base umpire does not go out, then as just mentioned, =
the
responsibility of any fly ball or line drive to the outfield belongs to t=
he
plate umpire. The plate umpire will come out from behind the plate in the
direction the ball is hit and will make all catch/no catch and fair/foul
decisions on the ball. If the ball is a "routine" fly ball, the=
plate
umpire will come out from behind the plate in the direction the ball is h=
it
and will go no farther than an imaginary line between 1st and =
3rd
to observe the play. If the play results in a routine catch, the plate um=
pire
will make the signal and should audibly inform his/her partner, "Tha=
t's
a catch, Sam", so that his/her partner is aware the ball has been
caught. If the ball is dropped, the plate umpire should call and signal,
"No catch! No catch!" The plate umpire should be completely sto=
pped
for these decisions.
On fly balls to the outfield, if the base umpire does not go=
out
and the play results in a difficult play (for example: a diving ca=
tch,
a home run, a ball hit off the wall, a fair/foul decision, a catch at the
warning track, etc.), then the plate umpire should come out in front of t=
he
plate in the direction the ball is hit and go as far as he/she can towards
the ball to make his/her decision. If the play results in a "tough&q=
uot;
catch (shoestring catch, diving catch, catch after which the fielder falls
down, etc.), the plate umpire should call and signal (and sell), “That’s a catch! That's a catch!"
(Signaling the catch should be done with the right arm fully extended upw=
ard
and right hand in a fist.) If this type of play results in a
"tough" no catch, the plate umpire again should come out in the
direction the ball was hit as far as possible and sell the call, "No
catch! No Catch!" Again, the plate umpire should be stopped to make =
such
a call. As soon as he/she has made the call, the plate umpire should retr=
eat
in a straight line back towards home plate for any possible play there.
Summarizing on fly balls (or line drives) hit to the outfield
with no one on, (1) if the base umpire does not go out, the decision on t=
he
ball belongs to the plate umpire. If it is a "routine" play, the
plate umpire should come out no farther than an imaginary line between 1st
and 3rd. If it is a ''tough'' play, then the plate umpire shou=
ld
come out as far as possible in the direction the ball was hit. Also, the
plate umpire should be completely stopped to make all of these decisions.=
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