1. G REATER L OWELL U MPIRES A SSOCIATION G ENERAL M EETING John Hansbury President March 23, 2016 http://greaterlowellumpires.com/

2. GLBUA Agenda Treasurers report - GLBUA Balance as of Mar 16 2016 is $12,280.28 Attendance - Lucien Tanguay, Ray Bellerose General Business- President John Hansbury Rules interpretation - Tom Clews

3. General Business Banquet & Elections - Thursday March 31 - 6-10 pm - See Mark Byrne if you are attending Forms for the Banquet & Sonny Robbins award Available at the attendance table please pick one up at the end of the meeting

4. MIAA Notes OFFICAL’S BACKGROUND CHECK UPDATE: The MIAA Board of Directors has approved a policy to conduct background checks for all game officials, beginning in this year If you officiate HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL and have not registered with Arbiter, please go to miaa.arbitersports.com and do so as soon as possible. – Deal with poor bench and on-field behavior early in the contest. – Making bench and on-field behavior a high priority. – Understanding ourselves—our pressure points, our hot buttons, our responses to stressful situations and our non-verbal messages. – Establishing a benchmark on what is or what is not acceptable to you

5. Sonny Robbins Memorial Scholarship Fund the GLBUA has established the Sonny Robbins Memorial Scholarship Fund. This award will be given to any umpire in good standing who has a son/daughter/grandson/granddaughter going to/or already in college. It also is available to GLBUA members who are members in good standing and are going to/ attending college. It is a $500 Cash Award funded in part by the 50/50 raffle at the meetings -Tickets $5 for 1 or 3 for $10.- Please support this worthy fund named after a founding member of this board. The award limits 2 applicants per family. There shall be no duplicate winners of the award

6. A runner shall be called out, after a successful live ball appeal, if he:out failed to tag up on a batted ball caught in- flight,tag up failed to touch a base the last time he passed it, or failed to touch all previous bases in order What is an Appeal Play

7. Requirements for making a proper appeal 1.The appeal MUST be made before the next pitch. 2.The appeal MUST be made before the next play or attempted play. 3.The appeal MUST be made while the ball is “In Play.” 4.The appeal MUST be made in a precise, unmistakable manner. 5.The appeal MUST be made before all defensive players leave fair territory

8. 1.Should the defensive team manager or a defensive player request time before making an “appeal?” NO – All appeal plays must be made under “live ball” conditions. 2.Does the ball have to go back to the pitcher before making an appeal? NO – Any defensive player with possession of the ball may initiate the appeal. 3.If the pitcher has the ball, does he/she have to go to the mound before making an appeal? NO – Making contact with the pitching plate now restricts the actions of the pitcher. If the pitcher commits an illegal pitch in the process of making the appeal; this is considered a play t to the appeal is lost. 4.Does the ball have to go to the base that was left early or missed? NO – If the runner being appealed is still on base, the ball may go to any fielder that can tag the runner. In baseball, an appeal play occurs when a member of the defensive team calls the attention of an umpire to an infraction which he would otherwise ignore.

9. Legal Appeals Legal and viable appeals Fielders have the right to appeal any runner at any base he has reached or passed, at any time while the ball is alive, subject to the following restrictions: No live ball appeal may occur on a runner who misses home base (when not forced) and immediately attempts to correct his mistake; this runner must be tagged in order to be put out. (In running or sliding for home base, the runner fails to touch home base and makes no attempt to return to the base, appeal can be made and touching home base will suffice.)tagged When a running infraction occurs and then all playing action becomes relaxed, any live ball appeal must occur before the next pitch, play, or attempted play. An appeal itself does not count as an attempted play for the purposes of subsequent appeals. Once a fielder properly executes a legal live ball appeal on a runner, that runner may not again be appealed at that base, even if the appeal is for a different reason. An appeal is legal if the fielder has the right to appeal a runner at a base, clearly communicates to the umpire what the infraction was, and tags the runner or base in question with a live ball.

10. Appeal Videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSyQ5xh3JrM http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=baseball+App eal++Play++videos&&view=detail&mid=8E85A7C27E4 21F8698C38E85A7C27E421F8698C3&FORM=VRDGAR http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=baseball+App eal++Play++videos&&view=detail&mid=8E85A7C27E4 21F8698C38E85A7C27E421F8698C3&FORM=VRDGAR http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=baseball+App eal++Play++videos&&view=detail&mid=6004D0898B4 EDAAEB4F76004D0898B4EDAAEB4F7&FORM=VRDGA R http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=baseball+App eal++Play++videos&&view=detail&mid=6004D0898B4 EDAAEB4F76004D0898B4EDAAEB4F7&FORM=VRDGA R http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/dodgers-chase- utley-suspended-slide-34415645 http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/dodgers-chase- utley-suspended-slide-34415645 What is an Appeal Play

11. Can A fourth out be made in an inning A fourth out is a legal out made by the defense after three outs in a half-inning already have been recorded. According to the Rule 7.10(d) of the Official Baseball Rules, the third out does not cause the ball to become dead. If the fielders make a subsequent out that prevents a run from scoring, this out will supersede the apparent third out, thus becoming the recorded third out. For statistical purposes, the apparent third out is "undone" and the fourth out's result is recorded insteadoutOfficial Baseball Rulesdead

12. Who has the right of way runner or fielder? Until he has possession, or becomes “in the act of fielding” the ball, he must give the runner some way to get to the base. It is never obstruction when the fielder is in the base path while he is attempting to field a batted ball. Is the ball dead on a balk? PENALTY: The ball is dead, and each runner shall advance one base without liability to be put out, unless the batter reaches first on a hit, an error, a base on balls, a hit batter, or otherwise, and all other runners advance at least one base, in which case the play proceeds without reference to the balk. Is a base runner out if hit by the ball? A runner may interfere with a fielder simply by hindering the fielder's ability to attempt to make a play on a batted ball. If a base runner is hit by a fair-batted ball while standing on a base, the runner is out, unless the ball has already passed an infielder OR it's a declared infield fly.