HokieUmp

From what I read of the post, I'm going to take a (semi) contrarian view. To start - I get that IF there's interference, then what maven is said is spot on. Having said that, here's what's making me stick my neck out: The way I read that, F5 is making that declaration, but not really moving around at all, trying to find it. No other players come over to try, either. So the runner, while not necessarily entitled by rule to stand his ground, hasn't interfered with the act of fielding. I realize I'll get rebuttals that, obviously, F5 was circling around. Maybe so. But a) not from the description in the post, and b) we all know the levels we work at on this board. My immediate mental picture of this is of an F5 rooted to the ground like a lightpole, just saying "can't see it!" So, my gut reaction is that this is nothing, but mostly HTBT - unless you want to rule that the ball hadn't passed an infielder. However, the umpire at the game gave a horseSH*# rationale, so he is awarded no stars.

Please tell me this isn't a regular thing.

#WeAreAllTodd #AllToddsMatter

I can't ... you .... that's just awful. That paragraph alone would take me longer than my usual plate meeting, even for places that have some weird ground rules.

Well, according to Pete Rose, anyway.... (Yes, I know that's not the same spelling.)

If that's for me, I knew what it meant. I was asking the question more to ask Matt's background.

I like the rest of the post, but this makes me ask: Government? Military (specifically USAF)? I see this term ALL. the. time. in work context, and almost never any other time.

Well, it is .... I'm not going to disagree. But I do a range of ages every year - I'm certainly not unique on this board in that regard, just pointing it out. And in the lower age groups, you can tell early in a game if there's a coach wound too tight. And you just stay prepared. All you can do. Like others have said, I don't go looking to start, or provoke, and I'll certainly be affable to participants, but will deal with people appropriately as needed.

stkjock: I believe I understand the point you want to make. But here's the thing: as I said to Rich Ives once, a while ago, there's this place where the down-trodden coach can hide from the tyranny of we umpires: it's called the rest of the Internet. Ever read comment blocks out there? Deadspin, Yahoo! Sports, CNNSI, etc, etc, etc, etc. Any time there's a controversy, it's either blamed on the umpires directly in the articles, or at least in the aforementioned comment blocks. Because the coaches and players can't POSSIBLY be wrong, and not know the rules of the sport they play. Example: Kinsler letting the ball drop yesterday. So, it's a ground ball now, right? Well, not if you're an announcer - one of them called it an infield fly, and went on about it. And not if you're a manager - both managers had to come out to talk to the umpires. As to your quote list: thing is, it IS the case that players/coaches WILL turn on you in a second. They WILL twist what you say. They DON'T want consistency, unless by "consistency," you mean "always going MY way." Not all of them, by any means - the vast majority are neutral or virtually ignore us; I think those are my favorites. But because there are those guys that are ready to turn everything into a giant s--tstorm, it's far better to be wary and just on your guard at all times. Like it or not, the relationship IS adversarial, so it's best to be a realist and approach it that way.

But see, that's the thing - your second paragraph doesn't happen near that much if they actually bothered to learn the rules. Do they need to know ALL of them? Probably not. But if they were more knowledgeable than they are, then they wouldn't make said assumptions.

Not that there's anything wrong with that..... Yesterday, I had the other team from that game - the one's that knew how to take a pitch - as the road team at a different place. This time, THEY had a 3-pitch inning. That's now three for me in a month, after having one in 13 years.

What do you do if the coaches approach YOU to shake hands as you're trying to leave? I would hope that you don't blank them.

Nope. Nothing. (Considering I was told by other umpires in the new association the park is also known as "Pervert Park," where the way one parks one's car indicates if one desires ..... let's say "companionship" ..... for a short period of time, I'm not sure I would stay around too long after game.)

Nope. Just because.

Absolutely. Frankly, I was surprised there wasn't more emphasis on "taking a $%^$#$ pitch" before they came up the second time. Or a "offensive conference," if you will, during the inning. On the other hand, since we umpires like strikes and outs, I couldn't really complain. When they're making outs by swinging, they can't blame me!

I forgot to mention this at the time it happened, but it happened while my wife was visiting from college, and our anniversary, and just a lot was going on at the time. So I'm in a second association now, and they're almost completely scholastic. Being new, I get a mostly-JV schedule, with the occasional varsity (private schools only, it would appear). First week of the season, on 18 March, I've got the rare varsity game, on the plate. I hear the coaches on the home team are 'talkers,' and their head coach is also an umpire (although not currently working). So I've got a heightened 'security posture,' but not much is really happening. Third inning comes along, home team's up. First pitch, fly ball out. Second pitch, ground ball out. I've had exactly one 3-pitch inning (wrote about it in 2009), so I'm wondering to myself "Given the way some of these guys are, is my partner even aware there are steak dinners, etc, involved?" Third pitch, fly ball out. I walk out, meet my partner in the infield, and we talk about it. Of course, he's not aware of owing dinner or anything like that. (Or, at least he did a good job of pretending, anyway.) It's okay; I don't umpire to get rich - or well-fed, apparently. I go back to my spot, and we move on. Visitors do, well, something. We go to the bottom of the fourth, and the 1B coach (a former MLBer - Wayne Gomes, I think, is his name) has already said something to his team about being selective, or at least waiting on something. First pitch, ground ball out. Now, I'm REALLY paying attention, since we're at 4-pitches-4-outs for these guys. And F1 evidently sees no point in messing with a good thing, so he keeps throwing down the middle. Second pitch, fly ball out. I don't look, but I can tell the 1B coach is not happy. And then - hand to God - third pitch, fly ball out. Ladies and gentlemen, I have just seen a unicorn. It's not perfectly consecutive, but I have seen a team make six outs on six pitches. I do not believe I will see a better string than that the rest of my umpiring career. Epilogue (like an 80s movie): 1. No, they didn't keep going. I think the head coach may have threatened to cut the arms off the next guy, if he swung at the first pitch. 2. It didn't get me out of there any faster, since the visitors coughed up a 2,3 run lead in the 7th, so we got Bonus Baseball! Two more innings, in fact. 3. I was on it in that game. I was having a great game on the stick, and could feel it. 4. And others could tell, as the 1B coach even stopped to compliment me on the consistency between innings in the 6th or 7th. [...... Actually, one could say that I've seen seven outs on seven pitches, since the inning before that remarkable run ended on a pitch that led to an out. But still - to have not one, but two, 3-pitch innings in the same game, by the same team at-bat, in consecutive innings?]

Found it!!!! Rule 19.01: "Items not specifically covered shall be referred to the USSSA Baseball State Director with guidance from the Association’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations." Meaning: the case of kid-so-late-or-team-batted-around-that-he-missed-the-first-run-through-the-order isn't called out. If I had to bet money, I'm guessing the OP's team lost this weekend, and the search is on for how the system/opponent/umpire/God screwed them? Isn't it awfully early in the year for this to affect rankings, or standings, or however USSSA does things? (I don't track this stuff, and I don't know that I've ever umpired a game under this jurisdiction. Knowingly, at least - I just go to the field Arbiter sends me to.) .......I was bored at work today. <sarcastica font> I'm sure, ricka, that you're pleased I dug that up - glad I could help! </sarcastica>

I had nothing better to do last night, and searched U-E for that phrase. (When I say I had nothing better to do, I had Nothing. Better. To. Do. For reals.) Turns out, I used it in a thread with "umpire scott," for those that remember him, in about 2012 or 2013. I don't know that I used it all the way back in the last century, and I can't imagine I've typed it anywhere, but it's been a favorite phrase of mine for a while. It's suddenly dawned on me that, apparently, I have nothing better to do tonight, too.

Where the do you umpire - the Alcatraz Senior League, for God's sake??!? I've carried a phone on the field once. It was this year, actually, because some places I work JV games have a time limit, and I had nothing else for a timepiece. I've never considered having a phone on the field, otherwise. Having it to call over out of control idiots has never been a thought.

Wait a minute here - I plan to hijack this thread, now. It's "When it's you against the world, take the world AND the points." And I'm SURE I've used that here before. I'll take PayPal for the royalty fee, thanks.

Soccer anywhere, any time, is rarely interesting.....

You would think that, and I don't disagree. But if I had a dollar for every time I've been asked "What's the count, blue?" literally within seconds of saying (and signaling) out loud what it is, I'd have a nice little bonus fund over a season. And not just a batter, who might have the excuse of trying to read a sign, or readjusting every piece of gear not stapled to his body - but the catcher, too - the dude less than a foot from me. So, I CAN see this happening.

I don't usually pre-game this. I figure he's supposed to know his job, and this is part of his job. And on the bus-tossing you mention.... I'm torn. I dread that happening to me, since I can sort of see that happening with some people. On the other hand, part of me would almost relish the situation; I mean, if the guy has the stones to say "that's your call" from that distance for all to hear, then he should have the stones to get back my response, also for all to hear.

He cannot find it because a) it's not there, and b) he's a terrible umpire. Spoiler alert - "HAWT TAEK" coming..... If you get an out here, under any attempt to call 'desertion' or 'abandonment', you are a TERRIBLE umpire. You make bad calls, and should feel bad. Proper answer: "Time! Gentlemen, the count is 2 and 2. You [point to runner], second base. You [make sweeping gesture at defense], back on the field." A snarky comment or two, while encouraged and worth bonus points, is not required. I realize there was some facetiousness in the other answers, but there are no outs available here, unless the poor dummy that couldn't count his own strikes simply refuses to come back out. Please don't let bad umpires do this without at least a metaphorical swat on the nose with a newspaper.

Why not just say "No catch"? That's the teaching I've seen - at least, that's what I remember, and I don't think any recent clinics have contradicted that.