kylehutson

I also have a bad back (a bulging disc to be precise), and have never had any worse problems on turf than on grass. YMMV, I guess.

Pros: - Can be ready to play about any time - Lines are always well-marked and in the correct place - "Bad hops" almost never happen - Shoes and pants don't get dirty, so don't need to be cleaned as much (sweaty is a different story). Cons: - HOT - Most places have no metal cleats and no sunflower seeds rules On the whole, I like turf fields. Other opinions may differ.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2019/06/30/tigers-ron-gardenhire-perplexed-latest-ejection-i-going-out-make-pitching-change/1611599001/ He's "perplexed" that he got ejected when he came out and said "... because you missed that pitch" (UEFL sidenote: he didn't) Unreal.

It probably doesn't statistically add up to much, but my pet peeve is the catchers giving "1st and 3rd" signals that could land an airplane.

I bet the Garduno family is proud (4 of the 12 listed).

I would go to my partner, tell him everything I had seen and heard, probably rule it a dead-ball strike, unless my partner vehemently said it wasn't. Full disclosure: This was rec league 14U softball. The pitch was so far inside it would have been a HBP if she hadn't swung. Yes, I was blocked out.

So from this, a "what would you do" situation. Happened to me last week. I was PU. Nobody on base. Inside pitch batter swings, and my first thought was "that sounded just a little strange", but could be the grip and the ball dribbled out toward 3rd base (but not close enough to have a fair/foul decision). Pitcher runs over, gets the ball and throws it to first. Safe by a step or so. I, of course, had booked it out to watch for a pulled foot. BR comes back to the base and starts rubbing one hand with the other and tells the base coach "that came off my knuckles". I didn't see it hit the batter, and until the comment was made (and which was not even made to me, but which was overheard), I would not have declared the batter to have been touched by the ball (even though it didn't surprise me since it sounded funny). I decided to ignore what I'd heard and left the BR at first. Nobody from the other team said anything and we played on. Was I right or wrong to do that?

Welcome aboard!

Thanks for joining! Hope you continue to get as much good info here as I do.

1) I, too have turned down the opportunity to UIC for tourneys, because I knew scheduling would be a PITA. I do schedule umpires for the (as in "one") local rec field. 2) As for how I work, as soon as I get the schedules for the various places i work for, I tell them right away which ones I already know I can't do, and tell them I'll let them know a week ahead of time if I'll be available. Then I prioritize - if there are no overlaps, I tell them I'll be available for them. If there are, I ask the one prefer to work if they're going to have enough work for me, and then decline the others. I've never said I would and then backed out on short notice. I have had things come up for work (gotta keep the day job happy) and had to back out, but that is usually at least 2-3 weeks in advance.

I get that. I really do. That's the reason I asked the question here, too. Here's the thing. You don't want to be the guy that is different. Umpires should not stand out. Regardless of the reason... - College umpires roll their hats. I don't care about having a rolled hat, but I don't want to be the one that's different, so I roll my hat. - Umpires all come to the plate meeting with bright and shiny shoes. I know that my shoes will be dusty within 5 minutes and shining them is futile, but I don't want to be the one that's different, so I shine my shoes. - AND umpires at the higher levels are all taught to call "time" rather than dead ball. ...and you can see where I'm going with this.

@The Man in Blue - I asked that same question (why do we say "time" instead of "dead ball"?) here a few years ago. The answer basically came down to "When in Rome..." The reason for the highlight is that softball uses "dead ball" and baseball uses "time".

What was the SS doing? If he was making a play on the ball, it's probably interference. If he's blowing dandelions, it's probably obstruction.

Would he be out if the shortstop had touched with his foot? Same answer.