Appeal

Question
Two Outs Two Strikes, runner at second.  Umpire calls a strike three based upon a swing.  No one appeals at first.  Base umpire who was at second base interjects and states he did not believe the batter did not break the plain.

May the base umpire interject.  After interjection home umpire states I though he offered but I've been overruled.  May the base umpire over rule without being asked?  Could the batter had asked for a ruling with out the permission of the Home Umpire?


PS Later find out field unpire brother's team benefitted from call but that is neither here nor there for this question.

Answer
Mike,

Simply: No.

Once a strike is called on a check swing, it cannot be reversed. The offense cannot appeal a check swing the umpire called a strike, and the plate umpire should not allow his strike call to be changed.

There is no way to be "overruled" in baseball. Each umpire is trained to make his own call, and no other umpire is to change his call without being asked by the umpire that made the call. If an umpire wishes to ask another umpire if they saw something different, they should do it after speaking to each other, away from the ears of all players.

As I said above, the offense cannot appeal a strike call. If the defense wishes to appeal a ball call during a check swing, they technically ask the home plate umpire to appeal to the base umpire. The base umpire then determines if he wants to appeal the call to the other umpire (common courtesy is to do so unless the defense is asking too much).