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Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/12/2021 in all areas

  1. I have worked both a LL regional and the LLWS. I have had 3 nationally televised plate jobs in those tournaments (when I did the regional, only the semis and the finals were televised, and I worked the final). My mindset when I worked those plates was this - this is the best LL has to offer and these pitchers will either hit the plate or they can bring someone in who will. I didn't go out or in or up or down. After my regional, I watched my work pitch for pitch and there was one pitch I wanted back that didn't even register at the time - a breaking ball in the first pitch of an inning that I called a strike that was a few inches off the plate - just poor timing. I love LL and I am still involved, albeit in a different way now, and I'm just going to be a contrarian here. The work turned in by some of these umpires has put us back at least five years. I sincerely thought that the perception of the work of umpires during these tournaments had improved dramatically the last few years, with few examples of these kinds of really bad pitches, but I could post at least a dozen of these from 5-6 different games from this week alone. Also, these are mostly umpires who have been there and done that before as those selected mostly chose to defer their selection to 2022. The regions had a chance to bring in the best of the best from previous years - they could've brought back all those who worked championship plates well, and it seems they simply didn't do that. Note: I'm not eligible to work, so this isn't any kind of sour grapes. I know a few of the WS umpires and I know they will do a great job. But to say that the umpiring hasn't been part of the story this week is just putting on the blinders. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
    3 points
  2. https://ftw.usatoday.com/lists/little-league-batter-reaction-umpire-strike-call-video-pitch-texas I guess ESPN's "undying" support of LL indeed has its limits. "We're paying so, we'll present it anyway we think we can best sell ad time." To all the LL umpires who work locally, right to those who go to Williamsport...you have my utmost respect for what you do and what you do for the game. It's sad to see you done like this on national TV. ~Dawg
    1 point
  3. No. The regions all reached out to umpires who have worked events in the past or are connected in some way to the regions. Our district had an umpire scheduled to work and he deferred. It's not the masking protocol that was the issue for him, it was the lack of family and fans allowed. 2 of the umpires that worked the LLWS when I went are going back again this year. All of the LLWS umpires (12 this year instead of 16) have already worked a LLWS. They will be working 4-umpire crews, at least the first week.
    1 point
  4. Don't get me wrong...I had considered all those factors when watching the videos. Yes, there's a margin of error, and yes, Randy Johnson was always closer to the plate than anyone else. Frames rates and video tech, sure...otherwise you'd have to believe that Dizzy Dean threw 180 mph and Babe Ruth ran faster than Usain Bolt. And to my point, the margin of error between measuring velocity at hand, midpoint and plate is just as great as anything this guy says. And the margin of error between today's tech and yesteryear's is just as great. I had also developed my thinking long before seeing that MLB Network video. His conclusion in the end about Ripken implying batters getting worse is disingenuous at best. The pitchers AND the batters are getting better. And no one suggested otherwise. There are MORE pitchers throwing at top velocity, as a percentage of the whole, than before...so batters get no reprieve. There are pitchers that can throw that hard for an inning or two, and then get replaced by another throwing just as hard. There are more pitchers throwing with more effective movement, and spin rate, and disguising their pitches better. Batters don't get the chance to learn a pitcher over multiple at bats in a game like they once did. Most starters won't see a batter a third time...or maybe just a few batters (not all nine)...only the elite will see batters a fourth time. Batters don't get the stat padding late inning at bats against a pitcher who is throwing not only slower, but with less movement/accuracy, in the late innings. Relievers are at a higher quality...not necessarily "worse" than starting pitchers...just lacking stamina (or they only have two MLB quality pitches instead of three or four) So, batters are at an inherent disadvantage first and foremost...even though they are much better, fundamentally/physically, than those who played 30 years ago. And, on top of all that, batters are willing to sacrifice average and strikeouts for slugging. All of those are at play and the last one is, likely, the biggest factor in lower averages today. NOT, purely, velocity. I said it before and I'll say it again...and I can talk from experience...95 mph ain't nothing if it doesn't move. Yes, fundamentally, 95 is harder to hit than 85...if for no other reason you have some time to think and react (and make sure the thing is in a spot where you can hit it)...but the HOF is littered with pitchers who lived in the 85-88 range because they could hit their location, and they could run the ball into/away from the batter.
    1 point
  5. You're killing me Smalls!!!!
    1 point
  6. No, Cause Chevy didn't make a 327 in '55, the 327 didn't come out till '62. And it wasn't offered in the Bel Air with a four-barrel carb till '64. However, in 1964, the correct ignition timing would be four degrees before top-dead-center.
    1 point
  7. Here is a breakdown of the possible flaws in such a comparison for you to consider
    1 point
  8. Somehow this is considered "journalism"...
    1 point
  9. 2019 rule 8-4 ART. 2 . . . Any runner is out when he: b. does not legally slide and causes illegal contact and/or illegally alters the actions of a fielder in the immediate act of making a play, or on a force play, does not slide in a direct line between the bases; or 1. A runner may slide in a direction away from the fielder to avoid making contact or altering the play of the fielder. 2. Runners are never required to slide, but if a runner elects to slide, the slide must be legal. (2-32-1, 2-32-2) Jumping, hurdling, and leaping are all legal attempts to avoid a fielder as long as the fielder is lying on the ground. Diving over a fielder is illegal. PENALTY: The runner is out. Interference is called and the ball is dead immediately. On a force-play slide with less than two outs, the runner is declared out, as well as the batter-runner. Runners shall return to the bases occupied at the time of the pitch. With two outs, the runner is declared out. The batter is credited with a fielder’s choice. 2-32 ART. 1 . . . A legal slide can be either feet first or head first. If a runner slides feet first, at least one leg and buttock shall be on the ground. If a runner slides, he must slide within reach of the base with either a hand or a foot. A runner may slide or run in a direction away from the fielder to avoid making contact or altering the play of the fielder (8-4-2b). 2-32 ART. 2 . . . A slide is illegal if: a. the runner uses a rolling, cross-body or pop-up slide into the fielder, or b. the runner’s raised leg is higher than the fielder’s knee when the fielder is in a standing position, or c. except at home plate, the runner goes beyond the base and then makes contact with or alters the play of the fielder. At home plate, it is permissible for the slider’s momentum to carry him through the plate in a straight line (baseline extended), or d. the runner slashes or kicks the fielder with either leg, or e. the runner tries to injure the fielder, or f. the runner, on a force play, does not slide on the ground and in a direct line between the two bases.
    1 point
  10. No. Sad, yes; smug, no. Every TV play-by-play guy should have to do a week-long clinic for pro umpires (if not pro school). Bruce Weber did it about 15 years ago and wrote a good book about it (LINK here; 35-minute radio INTERVIEW here).
    1 point
  11. That couldn't be further from the truth. I suggest a quick re-read of the FPSR
    1 point
  12. None of that matters. He's not a runner, so abandonment does not apply. He could be sitting down having a drink and he's still the proper batter and not out.
    1 point
  13. Why would you let him get to the dugout? When he turns around: "That's strike 2, batter." Why wait?
    1 point
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