Rules

2026 Exams, Rule Changes, and Possible Balk Calls Related to Proximity of Fielders to the Base

by Bob Nasser

Welcome to the 2026 season! I hope everyone is enjoying some well-needed time off!

Several preliminary items…First, the Virginia High School League (VHSL) exam is open. I have taken the exam and have the answers. As always, there are several difficult-to-comprehend questions on the exam. Feel free to reach out to me for clarifications on specific exam questions at [email protected]. The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) exam does not open until February 12th. We will hold a test prep session via Zoom during the March membership meeting on Sunday, March 1st, at 7:00 pm to help those who need assistance with the exam. We will not be going question by question through the exam and giving the answers, so plan on working through the exam on your own. For those taking the test for the first time, we will also provide you with some helpful tips on taking the exam to make the process more manageable and hopefully, allow you to achieve your best score.

There are two questions on the VHSL exam that I feel need clarification. First, for the question about the penalty for diving over a fielder, rules 8-4-2-b-2 and penalty and 8-4-2-d and penalty seem to be contradictory. Rule 8-4-2-d and penalty is your friend here. Also, for the question that states:

S1 (Substitute 1) pinch-hits for the catcher and singles. The head coach wants to insert a courtesy runner (CR1) for S1, who is going to enter the game as the new catcher. The umpire takes the following action:

One would be wise to ignore the second half of the third choice when answering this question…

Second, there are several rule changes for this year, the two significant ones being the double first base and the limit to one player-to-player conference per inning. The double first base is optional in 2026 but becomes mandatory in 2027. I am told that Maryland will not use the double first base in 2026 and we await word from Virginia as of this writing. I plan to post an article on the changes once we get guidance from VHSL.

In the meantime, the umpire classroom channel on youtube has a 3 part series on the 2026 rule changes and is very thorough and really good. I encourage everyone to watch the videos. They are about 20 minutes each.

Third, to provide you with continued personal development as an umpire, we will be emailing out rule quizzes weekly-ish this year. Totally optional, but our goal is to cover nuances in the rules and improve your rules knowledge.

As to the rule of the month, let us take a commonly misunderstood situation, a pitcher, who is engaged with the pitching plate, throws a pickoff attempt to a fielder who is not near the base and is not moving towards it. We know from 2025 case play 6-2-4 J, at first base, this is a balk if the fielder is not in the proximity of the base, which is defined as close enough to make a play. I would go a step further and state that if the fielder is moving towards the bag when he catches the ball, he is making a play and therefore it is not a balk. It is, however, a balk if the fielder is not in the proximity of the base and is not moving towards it.

The case play only covers plays at first base. So is the rule the same at second and third bases? The high school rule book does not do a great job of explaining this, but the short answer is no, it is not a balk regardless of whether the fielder is in proximity of or moving towards the base. This type of play is considered a feint, and it is legal to feint to both second and third bases under NHFS rules, as per rule 6-2-4-a. As a side note, NHFS is the only rule set that allows feints to third, so this play to third would be a balk for NCAA and OBR, but that is out of our purview.

I hope this wets your whistle for the upcoming season! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone out on the field this spring!