theedeuce

Big shout out to Keith Koebel... He has found my answer... thanks big guy... http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fen.allexperts.com%2Fq%2FSoftball-2562%2F2012%2F8%2Fturning-foul-ball.htm&h=uAQFeXbJ5

mstaylor... Where in OBR do you see that... That would be very gainful in my argument and something I can lean on next time... At least its a start... I'm getting some really good responses and I appreciate the input... I'm still digging and will not rest...

I will agree on the rule... A Foul is a Foul... thats a given... My partner was not asking for help on the Fair/Foul call and we knew that during our discussion... Had my partner simply said nothing it would have had no impact on the play; all the runners would still have safely advanced regardless... and I don't fault my partners mechanics either... He did everything as he was trained to do... The question I'm presenting is "Can my partner ask for help in determining if the catcher touched the ball or not"?. I have searched everywhere in case books and nowhere can I find where such a situtaion exists (which suprises me a bit)...

I'm having a difficulty with this situation and I'm getting mixed answers... I'll make it as brief as possible Girls Fastpitch (16U) tournament. I'm in the field (2 man crew) Situation: Runner on 2nd, I'm in "C" position. Batter bunts ball down 1st base line. Perfectly executed. Catcher trails ball in an effort to make play at 1st while 1st base(girl) is rushing in to make play as well. Just as catcher reaches out to field ball, the ball takes a weird hop, deflects off glove, and heads towards fair/foul line. Catcher bails on the play. 1st base(girl) realizing what just happened continues on, fields the ball just in foul territory hoping to make play at 1st but its too late... batter/runner is too fast and aborts the throw... Everyone is safe... or so we think... Problem is my partner was behind the catcher and did not see the catcher touch the ball and delcares "FOUL BALL" once the 1st base(girl) touches ball... First base coach calmly asks for "Time" (time granted) and a conversation ensues between my partner and coach... My partner then brings me in and asked the question, "Did you see the catcher touch the ball"? I replied "Yes, catcher clearly touched the ball"... My partner then upheld the appeal and reversed the call, at which point the defensive coach then wanted his explaination (and rightfully so)... It is here where I'm having my problem and need a better clarification on the rule... The question was not whether the ball was Fair or Foul, but did the catcher touch the ball... and it was obvious she did... Also, it was obvious that as the play continued there would not have been a play on the Batter/Runner once the catcher booted the ball... The defensive coach was reaching more towards the technical side of the rule claiming once you declare "FOUL BALL" the play is dead regardless of any situation... and I fear he is right... My question is: "Is this an appealable situation"? I would especially like to read this in some case book but to no avail can I find where this situation exists... Please advise...

No problems here blue... Everyone is happy when you are winning...

Welcome aboard... By the way... No offense but; I've sent my fair share of coaches to the parking lot to further refine the language... Just saying...

Mad Max... I will gainfully apply all this information... Excellent post

Typical tournament ball mentality... especially in the younger ranks (i.e. 9/10 or 11/12). If one so desires to call the younger ranks then more power to you... cause if you really want to break it down, the best teams never win in those age groups... it's the least awful. Better off calling some 5/6 or 7/8 game where the moms are younger and better looking... but then again... I'm a married man so... more power to you!

Never been to CDP... looking forward to it however; I have several uniform colors but all have different association patches on sleeve... Does CDP prefer plain sleeves or does it really matter... Please advise...

Week 2... June 8 thru 14

Good advice guys and I'll be sure to put it into good practice next time. The manager was calm but I could tell by his demeanor he was playing devils advocate with me. He asked a ligitimate question and challenged my answer. Very witty with his discussion and my hat was off to him. He never got out of hand but its stuff like this that I take home with me and learn from.

I was in the field calling my last regular season highschool game. We were in the 4th inning and I already had probably 4 or 5 banger calls. Finally I'm in the "B" postition when the catcher attempts to throw out runner on 1st stealing 2nd. Ball tails to the right and shortstop fields throw on the short hop and makes a swipe tag on the runners back. I call SAFE. Banger play no doubt but shortstop felt he had the out. Manager requests TIME (time was granted)... here comes the manager... casually walking in my direction. Manager calmly asked the question; "Tell me what you saw"? To make a long story short, the managers argument was based on two conditions... (1) If you are watching at the ball then how can you see the bag? and (2) If you are watching the bag then how can you see the tag?... ... The call stood as stated but I probably lost the argument... Please advise...

James... Here in Georgia the JV schedule ends about two weeks before the varsity. Most regions put together a single elimination bracket within there own region and the JV season stops there. It also gives varsity managers an opportunity to call up any young promising talent some bench support before the JV kids get released.

I had the dish during a JV play-off game when given this situation... Here goes; Two outs, runner on second, 2-2 count on batter. Next pitch batter swings and misses breaker in the dirt. D3K, ball bounces past catcher and ricochettes off my shin guard and rolls left of 3rd base line. Heads up catcher reacts, pounces on ball and gets 3rd out from runner on 2nd attempting to steal 3rd. Next inning manager asks me "Who leads off"? His arguement was that his batter was never officially out... My explaination was that his batter was out by virtue of a fielders choice. I hope I was right since I was shooting from the hip. Please advise.

I watched the game last night and I agree there was some really bad calls, however; the missed tag-up at 3rd IMO was a tough call to make. I can see me missing that one too and would be curious to know how that could be prevented. It's different than a play at first where you see the throw, turn to watch the bag, and hear the pop. In the case at 3rd, the umpire was in line, watching the ball being caught and unless one has independently moving eyes, it is practically impossible to see the catch / tag-up at the same time. I'm sure he picked up movement (as I would) before the ball was caught making the call more of an assumption. Even though the baserunner was clearly on the bag, where should ones eyes be? (A) On the bag. or ( watching the ball... Please advise...

That really clears it up... ... LOL... What was I thinking?... ;)

Interesting pin... LOL... but; How do we know it's a Little League pin? Just saying...

Tampa Bay vs. Toronto Home plate umpire (#1) takes a direct shot to the mask rattleing his cage and damaging his mask resulting in him being removed. Home plate umpire (#2) takes a direct foul tip to the chest. He goes down like a dropped sack of potatos resulting in his removal. Home plate umpire (#3) finishes the game but not without him taking a shot off the arm.

I appreciate you removing all doubt about it TH3... LOL... I was beginning to wonder who plays this game... (you or the kids)... Enough said with this thread...

Okay... LOL... Maybe I missed something here because I did watch the whole game. So a kid hits a home run in the 1st inning. Later in the game he comes up to bat again and the NY manager decides to intentionally walk him with runners in scoring position. (No problem). The GA manager realizes the kid pitching is getting deep into his pitch count and decides to have his kid swing at a pitch. (Not a bad idea). So the plan works on both sides. One manager gets his intentional walk to a dangerous hitter and the other manager was able to burn the opposing pitcher in return, forcing a pitching change. Now, the next batter cracks a deep home run breaking the game wide open in GA's favor. Question for TH3: Is this the part where you would "put the next pitch in his pocket"? (implying you would plunk the next batter)...

TH3... Would you be implying plunking a batter on purpose.

Yes he did swing. It was Warner Robbins vs. New York. NY was in the field and had a 3-0 count and the Warner Robbins batter swung to get the pitch count up. He wound up walking with a 4-1 count. After changing pitchers the next batter parked one deep up the banking for a home run.

Dawg-man... It was a great game. Warner Robbins beat Columbus 7-3. No, I did not work the championship game. I enjoyed it better as a casual observer. It's a shame both teams can't go to the southeast regionals because both are capable of winning the southeast regionals and going deep into the world series. Seeing what I did this week, I don't see anyone beating Warner Robbins. Their pitching staff is a coaches dream come true. I was looking for you but with so many people there... lol... we would have had to run into each other. Athens had a decent team during the week (they went 2-2). I met some folks from Athens who were at the championship game and we talked a little hoping you were in that group but to no avail, I moved on... Hopefully we will get a chance to hook up. I have to attend the State clinic in 2010 so maybe we can meet then... Until then... happy trails to you...

Toccoa, Georgia... Tonight is the finals between two colossal giants competing for one coveted title; "The 2009 Little League State Champions". This epic battle will feature two powerhouse youth baseball programs; North Columbus (2006 LL world series champions) vs. Warner Robbins (2007 LL world series champions). Winner advances to Southeastern Regionals in West Virginia. Loser heads home. It's all or nothing tonight and I have a sneaky feeling that both teams will be leaving everything on the field tonight. Early estimates have over 2500 people cramming in this tiny park to watch this epic battle. If you hear it thunder tonight, don't be alarmed... more than likely its the roar coming from Toccoa Georgia...

Dawg-man... you and I both missed each other. Our group did 2 games Saturday night and one game Sunday morning. Jeremy and Brian treated us like kings. Words can't describe the work they put into games like these and the preparation that goes into putting on events as big as this. Little League really sets the bar when it comes to youth baseball. Thanks for your comments. I plan on going back this Friday to watch the finals. Hope to meet you then. If you had a chance to see Warner Robbins then I think it's fair to say that you would agree that they are a most dangerous team. I look for Warner Robbins to win the State, Regionals and the World Series this year. They are that good...