2015 Baseball Officials Exam For Postseason Tournament Consideration & Answers 1. The count is 2-2 and B1 swings at an inside fastball. As he swings at the pitch, the ball hits his hands on the bat and the ball rolls toward the pitcher in fair territory. The correct call is. a. Fair ball; the ball remains in play. b. Foul ball; the batter remains at bat with a 2-2 count. c. Hit by pitch; send the batter to first base. d. Dead ball; the batter is charged with a strike, and since the count was 2-2, he is declared out. 2. The count is 1-1 and B1 swings at an inside fastball. The pitch continues to ride inside and hits the batter in the chest as he swings and misses. The correct call is. a. Foul ball; the batter remains at bat with a 1-1 count. b. Hit by pitch; send the batter to first base. c. Dead ball; the batter is charged with a strike, and count is now 1-2. 3. The count is 2-2 and B1 is trying to get out of the way of an inside fastball. As he tries to avoid the pitch, the ball hits his hands on the bat and the ball rolls toward the pitcher in fair territory. The correct call is. a. Fair ball; the ball remains in play. b. Foul ball; the batter remains at bat with a 2-2 count. c. Hit by pitch; send the batter to first base. d. Dead ball; the batter is charged with a strike, and since the count was 2-2, he is declared out. 4. B1 hits a line drive back at the pitcher. Without touching anyone, the ball hits the pitcher s rubber and deflects directly into the 1 st base dugout. The correct call is a. Foul ball. b. Ground rule double; put B1 on 2 nd base. c. Ball is dead; award B1 first base. 5. R1 is on 1 st and R2 is on 3 rd with one out. B3 hits a fly ball to right field and B1 takes off immediately on contact. The right fielder makes the catch for the second out while B2 legally tags up and scores. After R2 has scored, the ball is thrown to first base for the third out, easily putting out R1 who did not legally tag up. How many runs score on this play? a. No runs score since R1 was forced out. b. One run scores as R2 scored before R1 was put out (time play). 6. Count is 0-2 with R3 on third base with 2 outs. The batter swings and misses on a low pitch in the dirt that gets past the catcher to the backstop. The batter-runner takes off toward first as R3 advances home and scores before the catcher releases his throw toward first base. The throw to first base just beats the batter-runner and he is properly called out at first base. How many runs score on this play? a. No runs score since BR was retired before he reached first base. b. One run scores as R3 scored before BR was put out (time play).
7. R1 is advancing home and initiates malicious contact with F2, who was standing out of the baseline. F2 does not have the ball, and there is no play at the plate. What is the correct call? a. Obstruction on F2; award R1 home. b. Interference on R1; ball is dead immediately. R1 is out and ejected and any other runners return to the base last touched at the time of interference. If declaring the dead ball prevented the defense from completing an obvious double play, the umpire should award the additional out. c. Incidental contact; play on. 8. Upon rounding second base, R1 bumps into F6 who is standing in the baseline without possession of the ball. What is the correct call? a. Obstruction on F6; award R1 a minimum of 2 nd base. b. Obstruction on F6; award R1 a minimum of 3 rd base. c. Interference on R1; declare him out. d. Interference on R1; declare him out and eject him. 9. Upon rounding second base, R1 maliciously runs over F6 who was standing in the baseline without possession of the ball. What is the correct call? a. Obstruction on F6; award R1 a minimum of 2 nd base. b. Obstruction on F6; award R1 a minimum of 3 rd base. c. Interference on R1; declare him out. d. Interference on R1; declare him out and eject him for the malicious contact. 10. The count is 2-2. The pitcher balks with the bases loaded (and is called by the umpire) but he then continues to throw the pitch, which is hit 450 feet for a home run by B4. What is the correct call? a. The ball is dead immediately on the balk; move all runners up one base, and B4 remains at bat with a 2-2 count. b. The offense can ignore the balk and take the result of the play; score 4 runs on the home run. c. I have no idea what to call on this play. 11. How many warm-up pitches does a pitcher get if he was the pitcher the previous half inning? a. 3 pitches b. 5 pitches c. 8 pitches d. As many as he wants. 12. How many warm-up pitches does a new pitcher who just entered the game receive? a. 3 pitches b. 5 pitches c. 8 pitches d. As many as he wants. 13. Under NF playing rules, how many times may a starting player re-enter the game? a. None. b. One time. c. Two times.
14. Under NF playing rules, how many times may a player not listed in the starting line-up re-enter the game? a. None. b. One time. c. Two times. 15. The switch hitter, Jones, begins batting in the 5th inning as a right-handed batter. The pitcher is ambidextrous and chooses to pitch right-handed to Jones. The batter calls time and steps into the left-handed batter's box. a. The pitcher may now switch and pitch left-handed. b. The pitcher must stay pitching as a right-hander. c. Force Jones to stay batting right-handed. d. Only the pitcher is allowed to switch the second time. 16. When can a switch hitter change positions from the right handed batter s box to the left handed batter s box? a. He may switch at any time regardless of the count (assuming he has legally called time out). b. He may switch at any time up until he has 2 strikes (assuming he has legally called time out). c. The batter can never change sides once he has taken his initial position for the first pitch of an at-bat. 17. The batter's box rule requires that a batter: a. Leave one foot in the batter's box throughout an at-bat unless the listed exceptions apply. b. Remain in the batter's box throughout an at-bat without exception. c. Be charged with a strike anytime he leaves the batter's box. d. Be charged with a strike anytime he leaves the batter's box and the game is delayed. 18. Protests: a. May be filed when a coach disagrees with the judgment calls of any umpire. b. Must be filed within one-minute after the final out if the game ends in a protest-able situation. c. Umpires shall announce to each coach, the official scorer and PA announcer that the game is being played under protest and note and record the exact situation at the time of the protest. d. Are not allowed based on MHSAA regulations. 19. R1, less than two outs. A shot back at the pitcher deflects off the pitcher's foot toward first base. The pitcher chases the ball into the baseline between home and first. The pitcher arrives at the ball ahead of the batter-runner. As the pitcher is reaching for the ball, the batter-runner collides with the pitcher (not malicious) and both players fall to the ground. The pitcher gets up with the ball and tosses to first base for the put-out on the batter-runner. a. Obstruction on the pitcher; award BR at least first base and put R1 where he would have gotten had there been no obstruction. b. Inference on the BR; call him out and return R1 to first base. c. Incidental contact; play on.
20. R1, one out. R1 is stealing on the pitch. B3 hits a line drive to F3's right. F3 dives and catches the ball for the 2nd out. While F3 is lying on the ground, R1 leaps over F3's prone body and gets back to first base before F3 is able to tag either R1 or the base. a. R1 is guilty of interference. b. R1 is out for diving over F3. c. F3 is guilty of obstruction and R1 is awarded second base. d. Legal play. 21. Who can be guilty of interference? a. Any offensive player, team attendant or coach. b. An umpire. c. A spectator. d. All of the above. 22. R2 on second base with a 2-2 count with 2 outs. A curve ball in the dirt is swung at by B1 and missed for strike three and the catcher successfully blocks the low pitch as the ball rolls out in front of home plate. As the BR heads toward first, the catcher decides to throw to 3 rd base to retire R2 who was stealing on the pitch. The throw to third retires R2 for the third out. What is the correct call? a. Since B1 was never retired, he leads off the next inning. b. Since B1 s time at bat ended, the player following B1 on the line-up leads off the next inning. c. The offensive coach gets option of having B1, or the player following him on the line-up, to lead off the next inning. 23. Who must wear a helmet when serving as a base coach? a. All persons must wear a helmet. b. All persons may wear a helmet, but only non-adults are required to wear a helmet. c. Helmets are not required of any base coach. 24. B1 hits a long fly ball down the line near the foul pole. The left fielder comes over to catch the ball right in front of the foul pole where the ball hits his glove and deflects over the fence but on the foul side of the foul pole. What is the correct call? a. Home run; award four bases. b. Ground rule double; award two bases. c. Foul ball; return B1 to bat. 25. R2 is rounding third base and is obstructed by the 3 rd baseman (is seen and called by the umpire). R2 then continues toward home where he maliciously runs over the catcher before scoring. The correct call is a. The obstruction takes precedence; award R2 home. b. The malicious contact takes precedence; call R2 out and eject him. c. Since each team committed a violation, go back and replay the entire situation with the same count on the batter. 26. Smith started the game in left field and is replaced in the third inning. In the sixth inning, he is used as a courtesy runner for the pitcher. The correct call is a. Legal. b. Illegal substitution; Smith cannot be used as a courtesy runner.
27. For a non-wood bat to be legal, it must. a. Be a -3 bat. b. Have the BBCOR stamp on the bat. c. Have the words meets HS specifications on the bat. 28. What is the only acceptable color of umpire shirts and jackets when working MHSAA regular season and tournament contests? a. Black. b. Red. c. Blue. d. As long as the two umpires dress alike, any color is fine. 29. The ball slips from the pitcher s hand, bounces well short of home plate, and hits the batter who is trying to get out of the way. The correct call is. a. The pitch is a ball; the batter remains at bat since the ball hit the ground first and ball remains alive. b. The batter has been hit by a pitch; award him first base. c. When the ball hit the batter, the ball becomes dead immediately. However, since the pitch hit the ground, the batter remains at bat. 30. The ball slips from the pitcher s hand, takes one bounce in front of home plate, and then bounces across the middle of home plate at the batter s knees. The correct call is. a. The ball becomes dead when the pitch hits the ground; call it a strike. b. The ball becomes dead when the pitch hits the ground; call it a ball. c. The ball remains alive; call it a strike. d. The ball remains alive; call it a ball.