stevis

Little League is what the locals make of it. Could be great, could be a cluster. Just like any youth rec stuff. Those that don't want to do that ball, don't. OP, fall ball is perfect for getting back on the horse. As said, anyone taking it seriously is a jerk and a candidate for an easy EJ. I'm throwing a lot of new kids out there in our league to get a taste of it before spring.

In a standoff situation, I usually do this with an additional comment about how "we're not getting an out that way today, gentlemen." if they persisted, I'd talk to a coach between innings if I had to. This is also what I teach my junior corps. Mind you, this has to be a true "nothing" situation. If I've got a runner struggling to stay on base from his own momentum or unbalanced position, of course I'll let that go. I wouldn't stop them from throwing to first or stepping off, but a "let's go" in the latter would be encouraged. At that level throwing to first will eventually take care of itself with a ball down the right field line.

I'd like to think I would--two guys fielding the ball, only one can be protected, the other must be obstructing. But I was primed by the headline before I watched the play, so I'm not going to give myself 100% credit either.

FWIW, 1.11 (a) 3 in the LL rulebook has a note prohibiting white long sleeves on pitchers.

While some of you wont think it much of a milestone, I worked my first LL state tournament (VA 10-11) last weekend. While it wasn't "select" in any way (the neighboring district asked for just a little outside help) it was a great time, I made some new friends, saw some good and bad baseball (21-0 and 24-1 on Saturday, OUCH) and learned from good partners. Managed my on plate game well and I was generally well received.

Mistake by the defense that hits the kid doing exactly what we want him to do? Big fat pile of nuttin'.

Well if you're going to invoke the speed of light, we have to start to get into Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, and point out that simultinaeity (i.e. a tie) is an illusion of the reference frame one happens to be in--a stationary and moving observer will perceive the time of the events (see feet & hear ball) differently. So the coaches' tie is my clear out. Someday I'm going whip that out on a coach just to see his eyes glaze over. Alright, it is time for the professional, Dr. Ump (aka @JHSump ) to settle this. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk LOL I will take the challenge @cyclonehokiece Technically, the coach and the umpire are in the same frame of reference since neither is moving with respect to each other --- assuming you are set for the call and he is standing still. So, sorry @stevis, but relativity does not come into play. And, while it's true that light travels much much faster than sound, at a distance of about 10-20 feet from the base, the difference in time of arrival of the sound and the light at the umpire is about the sound travel time: about 3 to 7 meters divided by 344 m/s, or at most about 0.02 seconds. That's the physics. I don't know too much about physiology and neurobiology, but my guess is no human can distinguish such a difference in arrival time. Anybody know? So, if you perceive a tie, it could be that the foot hit the bag before the ball hit the glove. Or, it could be the other way around. But you can't rely on physics to help you figure it out. What should you call a perceived tie? IMO, that's not a question for physics or physiology. It's a question for UE! (You mean to tell me I'm not the only Ph.D. physicist here? Guess I should check that "day job" thread.) I'm sorry, when have you ever seen a coach standing still? Especially at a close call? We umpires however are perfectly set, natch. Although of course we're all on the non-inertial reference frame known as Earth so it's all an approximation anyway. According to this wiki article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interaural_time_difference) the brain can distinguish sub-millisecond sound arrival time differences between the ears. Not sure if that applies to comparing visual and aural inputs though.

Just had this non-call a couple of weeks ago...in my judgement, the secondbaseman in question stopped charging because he wanted to set and field the ball, not because he was pulling up. If he decided to stop because of the runner, I have a hard time judging that--he didn't shy up or even turn to to glance at the runner bearing in on him. I thought about it but decided I had nothing.

Well if you're going to invoke the speed of light, we have to start to get into Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, and point out that simultinaeity (i.e. a tie) is an illusion of the reference frame one happens to be in--a stationary and moving observer will perceive the time of the events (see feet & hear ball) differently. So the coaches' tie is my clear out. Someday I'm going whip that out on a coach just to see his eyes glaze over.

I would (and have) explained to a coach about how we have to have a live ball, but I'm not going to walk them through it. If I'm clear what they're doing, I'll certainly keep a batter away from the plate for safety and confusion reasons.

Not staring at my rulebook, but I wouldn't think so...Tournament rules are for the international tournament, not league ones. Not 100% sure on that but pretty sure.

I'd gess you wouldn't have seen an athlete( or umpire who is working with you) with T1D have a hypo in the middle of the field, swerve around like he was dizzy and at risk of getting a ball in the head, and missing a easy play because he was 'zoned out' due to a low glu level. Even some all doctors can't 'see 'when a "brittle'"T1D is having a hypo unless they're aware they have T1D It has happened, and the reason I raised it is not to make the other crew members responsible for this person, but only to see if it is a valid request to know , that, if your crew partner has T1D, that you can help him get some help if needed. It's easy to get too concerned about this though...this is why Ron Santo hid his diagnosis from everyone for years when he was playing. From his wife's HOF induction speech: "Ron told the story many times about an afternoon at Wrigley Field when he was really struggling. The low sugar came over him very quickly, as it sometimes did, and suddenly he found himself in the on-deck circle. Don Kessinger, Glenn Beckert had already reached base, Billy Williams was at the plate and Ron's sugar was really low. It got so bad as Billy took his sweet time up there working the count that Ron was hoping Billy would just strike out so he could end the inning and get back to the dugout for a candy bar, but Billy walked to load the bases. Now Ron really had a problem. His vision was blurry and he was weak. His plan was to hit the first pitch but he didn't count on seeing three balls coming to him so he picked the middle of the three and swung hard. He did it. A grand slam. But as they ran the bases, Billy was jogging, enjoying the moment and Ron quickly caught up to him. Billy said, "Hey don't pass me up, what's your hurry?" Ron said, "You better get moving, Whistler, or I'm running right around you." Billy picked up the pace and they got off the field but it wasn't until years later that Ron explained why he needed to get off the field. He hid his diabetes for a decade. He was afraid they might take baseball away from him. That's a long time to keep a secret. Indeed, he was in so many ways a guinea pig." Sorry, that's just my favorite Santo anecdote. Anyway, that freshly diagnosed kid is at some risk, it being new to him, but I don't think most players or umpires are at tremendous risk--and to the extent that they are it's on them and their coaches. I'm more likely to run a little high because I'm worried about it. I also know my limits and am never going to put myself in one of these six-plates-in-a-day situations, because I wouldn't be able to handle it cleanly.

Finally de-lurking. My name is Steve Sundbeck, and I'm in Arlington, VA. I've been reading here for a few years and able to glean a lot of good advice to put into practice. I do exclusively volunteer for Little League, for about ten years now. I do this to scratch my "community involvement" itch as much as anything, and it's the right level of commitment for me right now, especially with a four-year-old at home. This year I was tapped to take over the Chief Umpire position for our league, at rather last minute, and I like to think we're doing well in part because of the lessons from here I've been able to pass on to our junior umpire corps, in as much as teenagers will listen. I'm glad I can learn from those of you with more experience and heavier involvement. Thanks for having me, and I look forward to chiming in on an occassional but more frequent basis.

Heh, this is finally going to get me to de-lurk. I am a type I diabetic, been umping Little League for 10 years now. Often I'll slip a tube of glucose tablets in my ball bag, or over with my drink if I'm in the field, for such emergencies. I do focus on staying hydrated and making sure I've eaten something before/between games. As I am an insulin pump user, I have much finer grained control as to when I deliver insulin, and can in fact delay my dinner to 9pm some nights without issue if need be. My biggest concern has actually been keeping the insulin pump safe, and the site where it connects into the body still intact (sweat plus skin adhesives don't mix all the time, but that's actually gotten better in the last ten years.) And I have asked a parent to run and get me a full-sugar gatorade from the snack bar on occassion. (Usually I have Powerade Zero or water for myself.) I usually do not clue in my partners, as most often they are a teenager and not in great position to help anyway. It's a lot to put on them. Fortunately I work in a good league and district, and have full confidence that I would get help if I need it. And luckily for me, I usually pick up on my low blood sugars well before becoming incoherent from them, so I can usually treat before my calls are compromised. (Not a judgement on other diabetics, it's just the way I personally seem to react to conditions.) I've probably just jinxed myself, natch.