grayhawk

This fallacy that an ejection shouldn't happen unless the player shows up the umpire or looks at him just needs to go away. Players and coaches use this chickenSH*# tactic all the time. They say something completely ejection worthy while staring ahead or walking away to bait the umpire. Sorry, if you say "F you" or something personal, it doesn't matter where you're looking or if you're walking away. You. Are. Done.

And 5-15a(2) in NCAA. Same penalty except the player will have also have a 1 game suspension.

Agree that you put him on the plate (as long as he's a good ball/strike guy). MUCH less for him to ponder about rotations and just a few differences between 2 man and 3 man.

It's okay to delay a couple of seconds to gather ALL of the information necessary to get the call right. Ball hit straight down, tons of spin on it, batter making no attempt to run. It's the last part, the batter not running that should seal it. Once you've made your decision... COME UP HUGE! No sense in being timid about it. Hands up, "TIME TIME TIME!!!" Keep saying it and move into the infield with urgency. Imagine the difference between that and what U3 did in this game. My guess is that he just doesn't have the experience to be confident in this situation. Reps reps reps.

I don't know but just wanted to say Umpire Auditor sucks. That account literally makes money with the sole purpose to criticize umpires. Screw 'em.

I would add that's it a good idea to reinforce the IFF after it's touched or settles fair with, "Batter's out, he's still out!" If the runners go after that, then it's doubly on them.

The difference being that one can cause the other to commit a violation. How can the pitcher cause the batter to get a warning/violation by holding the ball until .01?

I don't watch a ton of MLB, but of the games I've watched, I don't see batters doing what I'm seeing.

I've seen this comparison and it doesn't compute. Yes, the pitcher needs to be sure the batter has eyes up. It's the BS tactics that we're seeing that had never been used before. If you haven't seen it then it's hard for you to imagine. Batters that get in the box, stare at their feet for 3 seconds, SLOWLY raise their head, stare straight ahead and then SLOWLY turn their head towards the pitcher, all while hoping to induce a penalty. Then you have the ones that look up and then look down again, which is dangerous. The comparison of these tactics versus a pitcher taking the clock to 1 second just isn't the same.

We're not judging what he's thinking, we're judging his actions. How do I know it's not legitimate? Because this NEVER happened before the pitch clock was instituted. It's obvious when he's trying to induce an "eyes up" warning/violation - you can spot it a mile away. This is a safety rule that has been twisted into something it was never supposed to be. That said, I've had plenty of opposition to my stance on this (elsewhere), so either this doesn't happen in other regions or umpires don't see it as an issue. In my view, it's just one more thing the plate umpire has to focus their attention on, and I'd prefer not to have to stare at the batter's eyes for 5+ seconds to make sure he's actually looking at the pitcher rather than just staring ahead hoping to get a violation, all while keeping watch on the clock to make sure his eyes are where they're supposed to be before the clock strikes 7.

Yes, it's the same. But batters are gaming the system by entering the box with, say, 15 seconds remaining and then using delay tactics like staring back at the clock at the backstop, looking down at their feet, or staring straight ahead all with the hopes of inducing the pitcher to start his motion to get an "eyes up" warning and/or violation. We call it "playing f@ck f@ck with the clock."

The NCAA rules survey is out, with questions about: - Making the double 1st base mandatory (I supported) - Making the 10 run rule required (not by conf adoption) (I supported) - Allowing bat sensor technology (No opinion) - Making any play reviewable that may correct obvious errors that may have a significant impact on the outcome of the game (I supported) - Allowing 1 timeout per at-bat for hitters (like MLB) (I opposed) - Reducing the pitch clock from 20 to 18 seconds (I supported) - Implement a shift rule (I opposed) But here's the one they missed and that I entered in the comments section. Please do so as well if you agree: To give the umpire the ability to warn/penalize batters that intentionally enter the box and delay looking at the pitcher to get an "eyes up" warning/violation on the pitcher. I suggest that on the first instance, a team warning shall be issued. A strike shall be added to the count for any batter on that team for a second instance. It has gotten out of hand and the NCAA needs to step in and put it to a stop. Thoughts?

That would be a good start for someone 18 or over (I am guessing). I doubt a HS umpire association would allow a 15 y/o to join. The HS association in my area does have its members donate their old gear, but it's for new members. But maybe they know of someone that can help this youngster.

Looks like a typical playoff crew that's working their first 3 umpire game of the year.

Gosney argued that if the batter is in the box (absent leaning over the plate), and hinders the catcher then we would need to judge intent for there to be interference. Again, he pointed to the MLBUM cite as evidence.