CJK

I think there's also the possibility of ruling OBS against F4 for dislodging the base and awarding R1 the touch at 2B.

Barnhill's delivery has 2 notable elements to it. The first one is easy and clear: the leap. Call that every time. There's not even any valid discussion to be had. I can't believe that she can throw 2 pitches without getting called on that (only because on the first one, I might be able to forgive the umpire for thinking "Holy crap, there's no way she just jumped 4 feet. I need to see that again.") The second one is the alleged replant. That's a pretty common delivery nowadays, and umpires way more experienced and doing way higher levels of ball aren't calling it. ASA even addressed it specifically. So I'd feel fine not calling that.

You're right about why A and F are 0. In B, C, and D, though, the appealed base is not the one the runner is forced to, so preceding runs score.

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/63817564/v1280523683/ladchc-hernandez-doubles-after-out-call-overturned/?game_pk=490233

Two different time this happened to me: I missed a pitch on the inside corner that I should have called for strike three, which caused the pitcher to exhale a deep breath and the catcher to ask, "Was that just in?" Both times, the batter was retired on the next pitch for the 3rd out, and I get the catcher's attention on the way back to the dugout. "Tell your pitcher that I missed that pitch, but don't tell your coach." That's resulted a big grin and a hard-working catcher for the rest of the game.

Did it cross the boundary? Every field should have ground rules that spell out explicitly where the boundary is. If your field does not have clearly-defined boundaries, determine which boundary you'll enforce (playing surface change, raised edge, continuation of a fence line) before the game, and review it with your partners and the coaches at your plate meeting before the game, so there are no surprises later.

I think there were three things that were incredibly valuable to me as a brand new umpire. 1. Read the rules. Learn the rules and recite them using the rule book language. You need to know the rules BEFORE you need to know the rules. 2. Read the Umpire Mechanics sections of the books for your organization(s) and follow them LIKE A ROBOT. When the book says to come inside, button hook, drop step, follow a runner, get to a spot, stop and set, give a signal, verbalize (or don't), wait, replay in your head, or whatever else, DO IT until it becomes comfortable. Once the right moves are second nature, you'll start to notice that you're in a good position more often, and you'll understand how to make adjustments when they're necessary. 3. Learn from other umpires. Hang around after you're done with your games and discuss weird things that happened, or things that people argued about, or whatever else seems worth talking about. Ask questions, get opinions, and evaluate them against the mechanics sections and the rule(s). The more you can learn from other people's mistakes, issues, or experiences, the less you have to learn from your own. If you hang around here, read the discussions, and ask questions when you need to, you'll be a better umpire for it.

I have also worked with a partner who did this. There is, of course, the difference that the walk is a live ball otherwise, whereas the home run is not. I suspect that his decision to call the ball dead and return the batter to 1B was an attempt to prevent an argument over whether the runner was "physically assisted," but I'm not sure.

Like I said, I'm not suggesting anyone exercise that authority lightly. It's much better if you can address it and change the behavior without confrontation. I personally have the "that's offensive" bar set pretty high, which would generally mean that if I find conduct offensive, I'm not the only one. If it reaches that point, I absolutely would explain (again, privately, sincerely, and with no intent to show anyone up) that the threshold has been crossed. I can't codify it for you ahead of time, but I know it when it happens. We often say that no umpire deserves to be abused. No player deserves that, either. I know there are a number of channels to deal with it, and I don't think the umpire belongs on the front line, but what we permit, we condone. It's OK to expect decency from other humans, even when we're geared up. In any event, I understand there's a lot of gray area, and I won't lose sleep if we don't agree. But thanks for very a civil and well-considered discussion.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting your words, but you certainly have authority to eject a coach who refuses to bring his players off the field after you've instructed him to leave. Every rule set that I've worked gives the umpire authority to issue whatever instructions s/he judges necessary to maintain a safe and sportsmanlike contest, and to eject participants/coaches/personnel who refuse to follow those instructions. I'm not suggesting that anyone exercise that authority lightly; I'm on record above as saying I'd give the coach a chance to address the problem without trying to show anyone up. But I'd stand behind the decision to follow through with ejection if the behavior persists. I'm actually really surprised at the way this discussion has gone. I don't think anyone would bat an eye at an ejection report for a coach that hollered "Timmy, that effort was f*cking pathetic!" at his 12-year-old shortstop. Likewise, it'd be "good EJ" all around if he calls him a "f*g" or a "Jew" or a "p*ssy." But we're willing to tolerate "retard"?

I agree with this wholeheartedly, but I believe it calls for both. And I am both an adult and a sports official, at the same time, which is why I wouldn't have any problem standing behind the decision to give the coach the chance to modify the inappropriate behavior, nor a problem standing behind the decision to eject anybody who chooses to offend me personally. I suspect you wouldn't think twice about acting to protect the players if you felt they were physically threatened, whether it was by weather or spectators or their own coaches. I don't see how this situation is different.

I'm pretty sure if I heard a coach call a youth player a "retard," I would find the next convenient time to express to the head coach one-on-one that I find the term offensive. "Greg, there's a history in my family that makes the word 'retard' a big problem for me, and I'm just going to ask you and your guys to pick a different word for the rest of the day. It's water under the bridge right now, forgive and forget, but if I hear it again I may take it personally. Can you get that message across in your dugout? Thanks, I appreciate it!" I wouldn't feel uncomfortable making this request, sincerely and without any hint of confrontation; I also wouldn't have a problem explaining to a TD or UIC later that I had initiated this exchange with a coach. And if personnel form that team can't comply with my request and I take it personally, Greg won't be surprised at the result. He might not like it, but he had his chance to fix it.

This wouldn't matter to many of the people here, but the glove slap on the thigh is pretty common among fast-pitch softball players. I make my judgement of whether a slap/grunt/headband/whatever is "distracting" based on one factor: "Am I (the umpire) distracted by it?" If I am not distracted, it is not distracting enough to warrant any more attention. Also, the next time I find one a slap/grunt/headband/whatever to be distracting will be the first time.

Also sort of. If I were that base guy and I were unsure of how to apply the rules correctly in this situation, I would definitely call time when runners had stopped their aggressive advance and the defense was no longer attempting a play, because neither team should benefit from my uncertainty. I view this as a different situation than, say, the "premature celebration" clip where the umpire actually made a call and the defense celebrated in spite of it. In that case, the decision was clear and the defense did not react accordingly; that's the fault of the defense. In this OP, where the confusion was caused by a failure of the umpire to actually call anything, I don't want runners running around or defenders starting a snowball fight "just in case." I would kill this as soon as there was no immediate play; work it out with my partner; explain face-to-face to each coach (probably eating whatever felt like my fairly-earned ration of sh!t from at least one of them); place runners, call outs, and score runs according to our judgement; and move on, hopefully having learned yet another valuable lesson that I'll probably never have a chance to use.