In baseball if a runner misses a base the umpire does not make that call unless the other team appeals. Are there other rules like this in other sports?
Also in baseball, if a batter batted out of turn, he’s not automatically called out unless the opponents point it out to the umpire.
So why do they let this happen and force the other team to make the call?
it’s probably from the practices of cricket. In cricket all dismissalstechnically require the fielding team to appeal to the umpire. See wikipedia’s article on appeals here.
In addition the fielding captain may reverse an umpires decision and call a batsman back if it is considered appropriate. The most notable recent example of this was in the second test of India’s tour of England, where Bell was run out by the Indian team after walking off for tea while the ball was technically in play. He was given out at the time but was called back by the Indian captain after the tea break.
With most appeal plays the offensive player has a chance to correct the problem before the defensive team makes an appeal. For example, if a baserunner leaves a base early when a fly ball is caught he can go back and retouch the base. The same is true if a baserunner misses a base. There is an exception when the ball becomes dead - in that case the runner isn’t allowed to retouch the base. But in this case the appeal must still be made. That is, there is no special rule that allows an umpire to call out a baserunner if he misses a base (or fails to tag up) and the ball subsequently becomes dead. The defensive team must make the appeal in the same way.
A missed base is a pretty unusual occurence, but failing to tag up is not. An automatic out in this case would significantly change the game. A baserunner wouldn’t be able to go part-way to the next base on a fly ball that might be caught. Even taking a lead would be dangerous, because a baserunner could be put out on a line drive that was caught.
I guess, but it seems that the “logical” nonappeal way to do these things would be to throw to the base to get the out. You just wouldn’t have to communicate anything to the umpire after having done that. The runner would just be out.
If a hockey player uses an illegal stick, it is only called if the opposing team appeals. At least that used to be the rule. Interestingly, if you appealed and the stick was legal, your team was charged with the penalty instead.
NHL got rid of rules on the curve of stick blades. But there are still other rules such as the length of the stick. Also goalie sticks are made too wide, they must be shaved down to be legal.
Really,when did they get rid of it?
The role of the appeal play in baseball is best understood from the perspective that, in the beginning, all referrals to an umpire were appeal plays.
As Peter Morris explains in A Game of Inches: The Stories Behind the Innovations That Shaped Baseball:
Players in that more gentlemanly era were expected to call their own plays, with an umpire only to “appeal” to in cases of honest disagreement. As the game became more competitive and professional after the Civil War, this became unworkable, and with respect to more and more calls, umpires were expected to render immediate judgment without waiting to be asked.
The three remaining appeal plays (batting out of turn, missing a base, failing to tag up) are fossil remnants that resisted this trend, probably because they’re sufficiently uncommon and can be justified as requiring the opposition to maintain a salutary alertness.
Coincidentally, I was playing “soccer” yesterday, and there was an incident that made me ponder this very question.
The opposing team were awarded a free kick about thirty yards from our goal. The rules state that players must stand at least ten yards away from the ball at a free kick. Me and three of my teammates formed a wall and stood about four yards away from the ball (standard practice, prevents the opposition taking the free kick quickly), fully expecting to be moved back by the referee.
However, there was no move by the referee to do this. There were some quizzical looks from the opposition, and a bit of a delay, before one of them eventually asked the referee to move us back. The referee said something like “thank you, I was waiting for you to ask me”, then moved us back to the correct distance. So in this case it seems that the ref won’t enforce the rule until requested to by the players. I doubt that this is explicitly stated in the rules, and it will probably vary from one referee to the next, depending on how they were trained.
I’ll say it: travelling in basketball. Except it’s not enforced ever, regardless of who’s doing the asking.
If the ref steps in and interferes with the wall by moving them back, the free kick has become ‘ceremonial’ and has to wait on the referee’s whistle. So, in case the offense wants to quickly kick and go, the referees are trained to wait on the kicking team to ask.
Is the 3 seconds rule enforced in the NBA? I thought it was loose at best.
I think that’s what they do, actually, which makes this a somewhat iffy example of the idea. Or am I wrong? This doesn’t happen very often, and I’m not a baseball rules expert. But I have vague recollections of seeing a runner scoring from second, say, on a single and just beating the throw home to be called safe by the home plate umpire–then the catcher threw back to third & the third base umpire called the runner out after the 3B stepped on the bag, due to his not touching that base on his way by. The implication is that he’s not automatically out from having bypassed the bag–he still has to be put out by the defense, and the ump won’t make a call until they try that.
Darth has it exactly.
Please bear in mind that, when you and your team members line up obviously too close, the Ref is entirely within his/her rights to yellow card one or all of you for it with no verbal warning whatsover.
In normal practice, however, the Ref that isn’t intending to be gamed will give a verbal warning the first time, a lecture the second, and the yellows will start with the third incident.
Another way I’ve seen a Ref handle it is to move the wall to 10 the first time with a warning, then just move it further back every time after that. “10” becomes 12, then 15, then…well, I’ve never seen it go beyond 15 before the players figured it out and decided that that day was not a good day to forget what 10 yards looked like.
In practice the act of throwing to the base is enough. That is, even on an appeal play they usually don’t have to ask the umpire to call the runner out. If the umpire saw a rule violation such as leaving the base early or missing a base, he will make the call immediately. If the umpire didn’t see such a violation, he will signal “safe”.
There’s also the rule about illegal bats in baseball (corked bat, too much pine tar, etc.) I don’t believe any bats are disallowed unless the opponent’s manager appeals.
The home plate umpire can examine a bat any time he wants. The most common way I know that a player can be caught with a corked bat is that the bat breaks, exposing the interior.
Another baseball rule that sort of fits in this thread is the one requiring the first and third base coaches to stay in their respective coaches’ boxes. The comment on this rule (4.05) says that a coach will not be considered out of the box unless the opposing manager complains, in which case the umpires will require the coaches on both sides to stay in their boxes at all times. I have never seen this happen, by the way.
Traveling in the NBA. If your contract is for more than $5M/yr the refs won’t call you on it.