rubber baseball

Question
We were playing a baseball game(age 14).  The bases were loaded.  There were 2 outs.  The opposing team called a time out with 3 balls and 2 strikes.  When the batter hit the ball we could then tell that the ball was rubber.  The ball fell short of the fence.  Are there any rules to correct when this happens?  Should everything be reset and let the batter hit again?   Please clarify what the official should have done?  This caused us to loose the game by 1 run.

Answer
Sheila,

As far as I know, there are no rules governing the penalties of an illegally-used ball. However, there are rules on players defacing balls, which I would use in my ruling.

I don't know the specifics of the league being played, so I will use Official Baseball Rules, which are used in Major League Baseball. Most leagues use a variation of the rules, usually changed to reflect safety for the players.

First, I would check the questioned ball to make sure it was not one that I inspected to be used in the game. If it is not, then I will deem the ball illegal.

OBR states a player may not deface a ball. The penalty is immediate ejection. For this reason, I would eject the coach and the pitcher, as it appears in your situation that it may have been swapped out during the mound visit.

After the ejection, the rules state the coach for the team at bat has the choice to take the play that occurred or not. If he elects to not take the play, a balk would be called (or a ball if no one is on base), and the game continues. In your situation, every runner would advance one base and the batter would return to the plate to finish his at bat.

I would like to add that this shouldn't happen. The umpires should watch the mound visit from a distance to ensure incidents like the one you suggest do not occur.