BrianC14

"may ask".... key phrase there. Your reply could also fit well with the post about the base umpire that overruled his partner on a "no bunt attempt" call.

Yeah, I agree; it could end up like another MLB union debacle like in 1999. But the treatment those umpires got from the GHSA..... it sucks big time.

We equate a UIC with a crew chief where I work; heck, there's only two of us, and with a very wide range of experience. If I go to get help on a call, and my partner happens to be the plate umpire (the default where I work is that plate ump = UIC = crew chief), then he gets that option given to him, but he's free to pass it back to me if he wants. Another example (and this was the one I was thinking of when I posted above): Couple of weeks ago I worked with a guy who usually does D1 and D2 work. We were in a pinch, and so he agreed to partner with me on a high school double header. I've worked with him just once before, but knew of his experience. Out of deference to his experience, I asked if he wanted to take the dish for game 1. He said thanks, and accepted. About the middle of game one was when I was asked by DC to get help on a pulled foot. Again, with his experience in mind, I phrased the question just as I did in the my prior reply. We wrapped it up very quickly, I asked about the signaling, and he says, "Go ahead, we don't have a change, you take it." Which in effect signaled to everyone that he was in agreement with my call. He could have opted to take the signal, and as it was an unchanged call, who would have cared? The DC said "OK, thanks for asking". All that was done in about 30 seconds. Just keeping it simple. And respectful.

Look at this video (go ahead, save the time and skip to the end) - but tell me who makes the signal to overturn the call ? In my example, I am assuming that the UIC is the home plate umpire; that's how things are handled in my state. It's a matter of giving him the option to make the signal if the call is overturned; he can tell me to do it if he wants. I don't have a problem with you being in disagreement, because maybe this is not how things roll where you work. Fine. Now you tell me - in this video, where do you think these guys receive their training?

Agreed. My shipment is due .... Thursday ! That'll give a couple of days to set up the mask & new pads. Woo hoo ! Looking forward to a big change there.

Personally, I don't like opening the discussion with "here's what I've got". The reason being is that my partner knows full well what I've got based on the call that I just made. The last thing I want to do is to try and influence his line of thought. I'll just ask a very specific question based on what the appeal has been. Example: "Joe, he (appealing manager) is asking about a pulled foot. What did you see?" Joe answers with whatever input he has. If it's going to overturn the call, I ask Joe "Do you want me to give the "safe signal" after we finish here? Joe can decide if he'll do that, but honestly, I would rather do that, but will defer if he wants it. If there's no overturn of the call, then I just say, "Ok, I'll give a confirmation signal of 'out' when we're done here. Are we good to go?" Joe: "Yup, let's go." That conversation takes about 30 seconds, tops.

"Skip (or first name, better): we already discussed that play, and it's not getting revisited."

What's bizarre is that the Board of Trustees president has admitted that it's unusual. Of course, he also claims to have been supportive of the officials over the past 20 years. And then he threw them under the bus, anyway, and actually stated that it was a "bad call" . Unreal.

I don't know Gil. Never met him. I was considering the date(s) posted. Is there an earlier thread that you can point out, then we can all join in and sing 'Kumbaya'? (or Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown....?)

I think that UEFL is where it all got started...

Headline in Colorado: 'Big Cat' mows 'em down for first career perfect game!

So it sounds like the coach from JC was going to get what he wanted (and likely knew it) by playing off the existing feud between Phillips and White. So much for "doing the right thing".

How I miss hearing Vin Scully...... this one is a classic.

That's understood, Ken, but the base umpire forcing himself into it was wrong, and I MO makes them both look bad.

Yes.

I'm sensing a hush falling over the pool room. ...

Are you saying you never tugged on Superman's cape? Never even TRIED to pull the mask off the Lone Ranger?

I saw that video over the weekend and was also wondering who those two "outside persons" are on the field... ?

Agree that it "shouldn't be" but it was made that way by the actions of the base umpire.

He wouldn't get a second chance if I were that plate umpire. And I would make sure that this lack of knowledge and unwanted opinions (both of which are on the field problems) were brought to light at the next meeting of the umpires' association. Holy moly. I know that getting ANY number of umpires has been difficult in the recent years, but has the situation really gotten this bad? Apparently it has in some areas. Shameful.

I don't see FED having the backbone to do anything. No less than this BoT weaseling their own rules, and then throwing the umpire crew right under the bus. And then backing up the bus for a second run-over.

See also: Georgia High School Association and what they just did to their umpires.

More BS from the BoT President: “Normally I would support our baseball officials, and I’ve done that for years, but in this situation after listening to both Johns Creek and Lee County and their administrators and coaches, and then the summary from the GHSA office, it swayed me to believe that the wrong call was made and that it was not in the best interest of students to support that call,” This guy should be running for political office; he seems to be well experienced in speaking from both sides of his face.

Get a load of this Baloney Sandwich, from the BoT President: (my comments in red) White acknowledged that overturning a judgment call sets an uneasy precedent. It’s not unusual for the GHSA to alter results based on the failure of officials to apply rules correctly. But in this case, the board of trustees effectively changed the outcome of a game based on the judgment that the runner didn’t not reach third base. ‘’It’s just not practical to review every missed call and every kid that was [called] safe but was actually out,’’ White said. ‘’We have set a precedent, so we need to get ready because there will probably be other people coming to see us.’’ Right - and this includes any coach that simply doesn't like the result of a particular call, for ANY reason. But White argued that the Johns Creek-Lee County situation was highly unusual because consequences of the call, if wrong, were clear-cut – Johns Creek wins the game if the runner is ruled to have reached third. That would have been the final play of a 4-3 Johns Creek victory. It's been reported that TWO umpires saw the missed touch of 3B. ‘’If it’s the second inning of a baseball game or second quarter of a football game, you’ve got plenty of time to overcome a bad call,’’ White said. ‘’This situation is a different. It’s a semifinal state playoff game in baseball, and it’s the end of the game. I just see that differently. That had lot to do with swaying my opinion.” What "bad call" is he referring to? And speaking of time to overcome it - the game was ruled immediately in one team's favor... they played an additional inning in which the alleged "bad call" COULD have been overcome. And again, why is this bureaucrat deciding what call is 'bad' from the confines of his office? Why is he ruling on what shouldn't have been allowed at all - BASED ON THE ASSOCIATION's own rules?!? Travesty.

I'm thinking that any of them that speak up now will be in danger of losing THEIR playoff assignments. As an organization, they should say SOMETHING, because this ruling is a travesty, and dumping the umpire crew from further playoff work is an insult.