Eyes in the Back of the Head

[TheGeneral]

Got the call for a couple of solo MS softball games, and was reminded of this fun tidbit from last spring.  I'll refer to the teams by color, for a smidge of anonymity for the girls.

Background: School Purple and School Blue are old-time rivals, going back over 100 years.  I am a School Blue alumni, yet have called games for School Purple for years.  I'm also the UIC for the Town Blue Girls Softball Association, so I'm surprised at how many of these parents have no clue who I am.

We had one little jumble in a play at the plate.  Purple in the field, Blue on offense.  Catcher moving towards the ground up the line, runner poorly attempting to slide and foot getting tripped by F2 mask.  No malicious contact, attempted to avoid contact, so I "have nothing."  F2 drops the ball, runner safe.

Parents go nuts (of course), but both coaches generally understand as they tend to scraped knees and elbows, so we continue without a problem the rest of the game.

Jump to later that evening, and a family friend shows me a Facebook rant.  To paraphrase: "this stupid umpire was cheating for Purple and letting their catcher try to hurt Blue's players, yada yada yada" and posted a video.  The video showed Purple's F2 moving her mask purposely moving her mask right into the baseline, where one would begin to slide.

I watch the video and can’t believe what I’m seeing.  This middle school girl is intentionally picking up her mask from initial drop and placing it right in the sliding path.  But then I take a look at my placement…

This is a screenshot of my position when the dirty deed happened (I wished I had the full video, but I don’t).  I’m up the line, preparing for a play at 2B or 3B, WITH MY BACK TO THE PLATE.  How on God’s Green Earth am I supposed to see that happening, when I’m watching for 1,881 other things?

I laughed it off as I watched the vultures peck away at their keyboards.  The only time the mask came into play, the Blue team was safe and scored!  And if they didn’t like that I couldn’t see with the eyes in the back of my head, maybe actually pay a second official.

Oh well, wrestling is over, and I’m happy to be getting back on the field next week!

[wolfe_man]

Not to be sexist, but if it was a mother's FB, then there you go.  Mom's have eyes in the back of their heads and it's only natural to assume umpires should as well.