ukce1861

Before the pitcher delivers the ball, the catcher will reach down and grab a handfull of dirt and put it in his/her mitt. Then they'll dump it out. When the pitcher delivers the pitch, a huge cloud of dust comes flying out of the mitt and directly into your eyes.

Congratulations. Keep working at it, and you'll be assigned to the championship game with no complaints...

So you would apply 3.02 to a player putting dirt in their glove? I've never applied it that way but I certainly wouldn't mind. I'd love to have a reason to stop this because the dust in my eyes is brutal...

+1 on this. To me, that's the best thing about umpiring - for a couple of hours, I'm not worried or thinking about anything else. Like Mike said, whenever you're struggling, make an extra effort to focus on the next pitch and the next play and the next inning. Don't get ahead of yourself - just be very intentional in your focus.

You have to be behind the plate. Too many breaking pitches that you'll be just guessing on behind the mound, not to mention close pitches. Plus, there's the issue with fair/foul. Pick-offs and steals of second are almost impossible from behind the plate, but - as long as you can run around - you should be able to get a decent angle on most of the plays at the bases.

Had a game Friday night. Home team got down early and they (the fans) whined about everything the whole time; pitches, positioning, everything. Anyway, they come back and score 5 runs in the bottom of the last inning and win the game. As we're walking off the field, all we hear is "Good game, great job, etc, etc, etc...":rolleyes:

There's an NSA softball rule that you can't touch first base while still holding the bat. Don't know why, but maybe that's what they were appyling...:shakehead:

Hence, why you don't talk to players during the game...

Had one of those Friday night. Pitcher was throwing pretty hard and an inside pitch drilled me in the right forearm, just below the elbow. It's a good thing I don't cuss, because I probably would've unleashed a stream... Weird thing was my whole arm went numb from the elbow down for a few seconds. It swelled up a bit, but it's fine now. Worst part was, I was considering calling it a strike - right up until the point it hit me...

I always tell them at the plate meeting that I'll consult with myself and let them know... Most of them seem to get it. I did have one check swing - I knew both the coaches very well and the DM joked, "can't you get help?" Without missing a beat, I pointed at the 3 base coach and said, "Did he go?" Surprisingly, he agreed with the no swing call...

So I was doing a Jr. LL game the other night. 1st batter in the bottom of the first. I’m BU. Ball hit to F8. As I pivot in, I turn to see F8 tumbling head over heels with the ball rolling on the ground. I’ve got BR rounding first and we’re running into second. And I’ve got the PU running into the infield, “That’s a catch! That’s a catch! That’s a catch!†Obviously, the OM (who’s on the 3rd base side) comes out to ask what the heck he’s talking about. He says something to the effect of, “He caught the ball and then dropped it when he made contact with the ground, so it’s a catch.†They went back and forth a little bit and I hung out in the working area to make sure things didn’t get out of hand. Shockingly, the OM didn’t protest or ask him to get help, so I went back to the A position, and as I’m running back, the 1st Base Coach says, “Is that the rule?†I just ignored that question, so he asks, “Doesn’t he have to have control?†I said, “He ruled he did have controlâ€. So he said, “OK, whatever†and turned around, pretty miffed, but he let it go. Funny thing is, I’d ejected him a couple of months ago and really thought I was going to have to do it again. My question is, absent a protest, there’s nothing to do in this situation is there? How would you answer the “Is that the rule†question? I tried to talk about it with the PU after the game, but he kind of brushed me off with a combination of “I thought he was showing me the ball/I just sold itâ€, so I let it go. Good news is, they won with a walk-off double in the bottom of the 7th with two out.

Not to be rude, but I would strongly suggest you spend some time reading the rule book. Start with 2.00 - your question is specifically answered there.

An appeal must be unmistakeable (e.g. it can't be accidental, like a catcher stepping on home plate as he throws the ball back to the pitcher). This is pretty unmistakeable in my book, unless he was tagging everybody in sight. That being said, you should never "coach" the players as to what they are appealing. If they throw the ball to a base and just stand there (or tag a runner and just look at you), you can ask if they're appealing, and if so, what but don't ask, "Are you appealing that runner X missed base Y?" They could be appealing a different runner if they're on a base or they could be appealing a different base if they're tagging a runner. Too many variables, and you don't want to help them out. Also, remember in LL, the ball must be live for them to appeal.

Jeff, I don't disagree with you completely. However, I think you have to be very careful with this approach - especially if you don't know the coach well. Once you initiate a conversation with this coach, what happens if he commences to unload on you (albeit quietly)? Now, you have to eject him because of a conversation that you initiated, and nobody but you and him know why. Who looks bad?

Sorry, don't know what I did. Think it's fixed now...

I usually add a step to Bike's process. Ignore, Acknowledge, Warn, Eject is what I use, but to each his own. Definitely need to shut it down pretty early though. I would also point you to OBR's General Instructions to Umpires - "Finally, be courteous, impartial and firm, and so compel respect from all." You've got the courteous part down, but I'd work on the firmness a bit. As Michael and Bike stated, we're not there to be buddies, we're there to umpire a game.

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In a Jr LL game, I had a 3-pitch, a 4-pitch and a 5-pitch half inning... 2-1 final; we were done with 7 in 1:20 minutes.

Thanks for the clarificiation guys - I definitely wouldn't have made that jump, but it makes sense when explained.

Sounds like one of those kids who's STILL never caught before... Yeah, I've had a few of those.

Why would you interpret it this way? I would assume that a pinch hitter for the catcher would be the catcher, so he would be eligible for a CR - absent anything different from the rule or the casebook. I'm not trying to be a smart-aleck, I'm just trying to confirm that this is actually the way it's to be interpreted. This seems like it would be a relatively common occurence, and - to me - your interpretation would not be the most intuitive one. So, if that's the way they want it interpreted, I would think they would've clarified this in the case book. Thanks.

Forest, I thought you called the runner safe first, and then called the out?

Any time the ball hits the batter, it becomes dead. "Time! That's a strike! Batter's out." Had this once to end the championship game of a tournament. The tying run was on second and the batter was the winning run...

Good EJ, just sounds like it was too late. Your son needs to learn (like I did) that you don't need to take three innings of "commentary" on your strike zone. I understand the comments were not "severe" enough to "warrant further action", but the Ignore, Acknowledge, Warn, Eject procedure should have been initiated pretty early on. Let the first couple of comments go, then acknowledge them with a stare. After that, give the warning. I've found as I started using this that coaches rarely got out of control to begin with. I think this is a combination of a few things (one, I got better, so there was less to gripe about), but a lot of it has to do with, if you don't let them get away with the little stuff, they never try the big stuff... What??? Why?

Wouldn't be the first time... This is how I seem to operate; ask stupid questions over and over, even though the answer's right in my face. And then - finally - a light bulb goes off and I get it... Better to do it here than on the field, right? Thanks for the continued responses - even if you are just saying the same thing. True. But this is LL, you know how coaches can be. I've seen BOO appealed 5 times in my umpiring tenure. Twice it was just an unannounced sub, twice they did it while the improper batter was at bat (and got mad when I wouldn't give them an out), and now after a pitch so he couldn't get an out. They're not exactly expert at playing this to their advantage...