StrikeToWin

I was a member of my local association for HS ball. I do have an issue of not being able to get to early starts but even when I made myself available a couple of nights per week, I wouldn't get scheduled. I gave up trying to get off early to be at games and now don't call HS ball at all unless it's summer ball or showcase ball. I also chose to take time off this year after a fall ball game that I got yelled at for calls that were very easy and not even controversial other than they went against little Johnny's team. After that game, i went to the assignor and told him I was done for the fall season and wouldn't be available for the spring season either. Just tired of the BS. I will probably start umpiring again later this year, but the time off has been nice.

We have this rule in USSSA tournaments that I work. I tell coaches at the plate meeting when discussing courtesy runners that it is the last player to record an out whether it was a player that was forced or tagged on the bases or the one that popped out to the catcher. The whole idea of the rule is to get your catchers back in the dugout so they are ready to go when it is their turn to go out on defense. I have had teams searching their scorebooks trying to figure out who was the last batted out. It takes more time than just letting the catcher run. Never had a coach get upset about it as long as they know up front.

Only time I have ever called this was when the batter squared to bunt and lunged out across the plate to make contact. Otherwise I tell the coach I will watch for it but my main focus is the pitch.

12U USSSA Tournament. Top of the 6th. HT pitcher has pitched the previous 5 innings and comes out at the top of 6 and throws a couple of warm up pitches. At that time HTHC comes out and motions for the 3rd baseman to come in and pitch. I am BU and see this happen and PU and I are discussing which one of us is going to go and tell the coach that his original pitcher has to throw to the first batter of the inning. Before we could do that, I hear, "He can't do that. You do realize that the kid that just went to 3rd already took two warm up pitches?" I turned at this thinking it was a coach and see someone that has not been on the field before this time. I asked him "Are you a coach?" He replied to me, "No, I'm just trying to make sure you are doing your job." I looked at the VTHC and said "He has to go." VTHC looked at him and told me he had no idea who the guy even is. Mystery guy then tells me he is (insert local high school association here) umpire and that I needed to do my job. I immediately ejected him and told him to leave. He yelled about me not doing my job and I needed to learn the rules. Now here is the really weird thing. The mystery guy did not have anything to do with the current game we were in, he was waiting to watch his nephew in the next game. My question is this, why would any umpire at any level think it is their responsibility to step onto a field that they were not in any official capacity to loudly tell another umpire that they are doing something wrong? I also told the head coach for the next game that he was not allowed to be at the field for then next game either since it was one of his fans that physically walked onto the field. That head coach had no problem enforcing it. Not that it matters, HTHC was already on his way over to tell me that his original pitcher was injured and that's why they made the change mid warm up. VTHC was fine with the explanation.

I kept waiting for Kinsler's bat to contact Hernandez with the way he was pointing with it in their "up close" discussion. Just out of curiosity, what would have been the punishment in that case with a bat striking the umpire in these circumstances?

I thought I read somewhere that the Marlins pitcher complained that Beltre was in his line of sight while trying to pitch. Another article or something. I could be wrong.

My biggest complaint was the fact that he told me MY mechanics were bad if I thought he had any responsibility at 2B on that play, meaning to me, if the roles had been reversed and I had been PU and had seen this play with interference at 2B and called it, then he quite possibly would have been upset with me stepping on his call and responsibility. You all have answered my questions about the mechanics though and I appreciate the input.

I had two situations come up this weekend that my partner and I didn't agree on mechanics. Sit. 1 - Bases loaded 2 outs ball hit to F6 and R2 while running to 3B stops in front of F6 and throws hands in the air, dances around trying to distract F6. I'm in C position and have turned to watch the ball for clean p/u and throw while and see R2's antics. I immediately call time and announce "That's interference!" No one complained about the call and everyone was yelling at R2 that he couldn't do that. My partner however when we were grabbing a drink of water between innings told me that it was a delayed dead ball and I should've allowed the play to continue. I argued that interference was immediately a dead ball. Who is right? Sit. 2 - R1, nobody out, I'm in B position ball hit to F5 who fields and throws to F4 for the force, I make the out notification and begin to turn for the relay throw to F3 and out of the corner of my eye, I see what looks like hands thrown in the air and a late slide into F4 (throw was high to F3 and runner was safe), I looked at my partner for any indication of interference and he is watching the play at 1st. Between innings while getting our water (it was 95 degrees and we were on turf), I asked if he saw anything at 2nd on that play. His response to me was "I never have any responsibility at 2nd, that's all you". I told him I think it's part of his responsibility to watch for interference at 2nd and he told me that I had bad mechanics if he thought that. He said his responsibilities in that situation are a potential rotate to 3rd and absent that possibility, then watching for a pulled foot at 1st and then told me I needed to read up on mechanics again. Am I wrong in thinking that he should help with a possible interference at 2B?

We have more ejections in coach pitch than any other games at our park (we go up to high school age). The coaches don't know the rules, the parents think their kids are being scouted by big time scouts and everyone thinks they can yell at the umpire without penalty. I don't work coach pitch but i can hear what's going down in that part of the park and it is crazy. I also know most of the umpires that work down there (mostly younger guys just starting) and it is great experience in learning game management for them.

Maybe I have missed it but in USSSA rules is a slash/bunt not allowed?

Getting out of there is all good except when you have to have both coaches sign score cards and they usually won't do that until after the handshakes are done. BU usually handles those duties for us (we don't keep lineup cards because most teams do continuous batting order) and PU is told to wait on partner so we can still walk off the field together. Not the most optimum of situations, but it is what it is.

As we were told in a recent clinic that I attended in Springfield, there is no magic spot that determines a swing or check-swing, the question as base umpire is "did he offer at the pitch?" Doesn't matter if you are in A, B, or C, as base umpire you can judge whether or not the batter offered, if he didn't, signal safe, if he did give them the hammer. Paraphrased from the actual instructor that explained it to us.

I'm glad all of our fall ball is 1:30 drop dead. We call it in the middle of an at bat. Coaches ask to let his guy finish the at bat but we tell them, sorry coach, next game starts in 15 minutes, got to keep it on time.

For our fall ball this weekend, we are expecting temps of 89 degrees Sunday and clear as a bell.

I felt like sitting there talking with the evaluators was very educational, almost as much or more as the actual game experience we received. Just having someone give you feedback on your live games was invaluable and doesn't happen at our level very often. Definitely worth the time and money invested in the weekend.