Umpire Signaling Without Any Play Being Made On The Runner
Rich Wisner from Central Illinois asks:
The batter bunts a pitch so the second baseman covers first, but falls across 1st base while missing the throw. Runner leaps over outstretched 2nd baseman, missing the bag. Ball is loose. What should the umpire signal, if anything? (He signaled "safe," but I believe he was wrong because the runner has yet to touch the first base bag.)
Usually what the umpire will do in this situation is give the safe signal to show that there was no infraction (usually obstruction or interference) on the play. In this case this would make sense because he was signifying that he saw the second baseman fall over the bag and the runner jump over him but felt that there was nothing against the rules with the fielder's actions in the play. Often umpires will also accompany the safe signal with a verbal "That's nothing!" to avoid confusion.
Answered by: Jonathan Bravo
Keywords: Umpiring