He was forced to do what?

Okay, here's a new one...the force play. There are alot of complicated scenarios on every site I visited to get a clear understanding of this rule, but the short and skinny is this:

if the runner is forced to move because the batter or another runner is coming to take possession of the base they are on, it is a force play (in these cases the fielder must only touch the bag of the advancing runner while possessing the ball to get the out), however, in the case of the batter, if the batter is out before reaching first base, the force is off and the runner must be tagged for the out on the advance.

Now, how about "tagging up"? If the batter is out on a caught fly ball, the force play is off and the runners on base must retouch the base before advancing, if the baseman tags the plate before the runner can tag up, he is out. This IS NOT a force play. This is considered a "time" play.

It's Not A Field Goal!

This weekend at yet another youth baseball tournament, Brett - Dad to Tyler, CF - made a comment that stuck with me. He said I need to teach Donna - wife to Brett and mother to Tyler, CF - about baseball. Me? Teach baseball. What the hell is he thinking?

After mulling this over for a couple days, he started making sense. I have 3 years bleacher experience, I know what a run differential is and can get a 10 year old boy to understand hip movement in a baseball swing, so as baseball moms go, I ain't too shabby.

So... without further ado...I present to you What Every Baseball Mom Should Know. The quintessential baseball mom's guide.

Give me your tired, your confused, your mosquito bitten masses yearning for strike three...