First pitch strike. Second pitch ball. Third pitch foul ball. Fourth pitch foul ball. Ump then announces 2-2 must be fair...

Should have been:
1st pitch strike = 1-2 count
2nd pitch ball = 2-2
3rd pitch was courtesy foul = still 2-2
• ump should have made "must be fair" advisory here
4th pitch foul = "batter fouls out"

Umpire screwed up. After the first foul never announced "must be fair" and then after the second foul which he should have been out then said "must be fair". None of which could be heard from the benches. Batter should have been out after the second foul so I called time and questioned why the batter was still at the plate. He said I didnt tell the batter he had no foul to waste so it doesn't count. At which point I asked to talk to the director and the director said it didnt matter that the batter knew he had used his "courtesy" foul because the ump didnt advise him that he had to hit it fair.
So instead of the inning being over because he was the 3rd out the batter hot a double and 3 runs were scored after.

My stance is regardless of what the ump said the facts are the facts and the batter should be out. Director said it's not up to the batter to know the count which IMO is BS...

Batter should have been out-3rd strike foul.
Did this happen in Vegas?
And how on earth did the ump get 2 balls 2 strikes when he only called one ball? Good grief!

stick8 ... SSUSA starts with a 1-1 count ... The OP stated the first pitch was a strike and the second was a ball ... (1-1) + 1 ball + 1 strike = (2-2) count ...

SSUSA Staff,

So, in the case I presented you didn't really answer my question. Was it the right call by the umpire to gift the batter an extra courtesy foul because he didn't tell the batter it had to be fair?
We've all been playing this game long enough to know that you get ONE courtesy foul after your second strike and it has to be fair afterwards. Why would the batter get an extra foul ball because the ump didn't tell him the right thing, you don't get an extra out if the ump accidentally tells a batter there is 2 outs when there is only one. That call doesn't ever happen where the batter would be safe if the defense knew there was one out and roll up a double play the batter can't say the ump told me there were 2 outs so I didn't run so why would there be an extra courtesy foul given?

I wasn’t on site, so I intentionally stayed away from a definitive answer by simply stating what “should have” happened. The governing Rulebook sections here are §7.4 D. • STRIKE CALLED BY UMPIRE, §7.6 G. • BATTER IS OUT and §9.4 • FOUL FINAL STRIKE. NONE of those Rulebook provisions contain ANY language mandating the umpire to notify a batter that the next batted ball must be fair. The umpire MUST know the count and courtesy foul status, and it’s highly advisable that the batter does, too.

John, you frequently employ this Message Bord inquiry technique after a tournament where you perceive that a call that went against your club was somehow flawed. Whether it was or not, there is something you seldom, if ever, do in that moment that has a high probability of correcting the problem in real time. If the umpire and/or Director declines to see it your way, you have the right to file a formal protest prior to the next pitch. As a member of the protest committee, I can assure you that you would have been 50% of the way to the two votes you would have needed to reverse this call and have a recorded out. This was, in my view based on an assumption that the facts presented are true, a correctable mistake that wasn’t. Using all of the tools at your disposal can be helpful.

Dave,

I called time and asked for clarification on why the batter wasn't out. He told me it was his mistake for giving the batter bad information so he was allowed to give him a "do over". At that point I asked the director to get involved and he said he didnt see it but the umpire is allowed to do whatever he wants in this case. I them asked for the director to escalate it so the main office and was told they wouldn't be able do anything either since they didnt see it. The umpire has the final call. I then specifically asked him to reach out to you specifically and was told he couldn't. Maybe had I asked to file a formal protest he would have done something differently but he told me escalating it further wasn't a possibility but he would ask for his own future knowledge.
When I post things like this it's for mine and whoever else's future knowledge in case I run across it again or it benefits someone else if they run into it they will know exactly east theyre talking about.

I stand on the advice previously given: You always have the right to request a formal protest committee hearing, and you will never be "in trouble” for respectfully declining to resume play until your request is granted.

Dave,

Thank you, next time I will just have to say I want to file a formal protest.

Dave,
Everything you stated is correct, thank you.
In the scenario JohnO28 described the batter should have been out on his second foul ball.