SeeingEyeDog

Greetings brothers, A neighboring county in my market just opened a 6 field (all turf) baseball and softball complex and they are hosting several Perfect Game tournaments this summer and early fall. I haven't worked them before but, I have seen some of you mention their games and tournaments here. How good is the baseball? How well organized are the tournaments and games? Are the TDs reliable? What's the overall coaching acumen? Anything else I should know about these games? ~Dawg

It's umpire judgement. The language of the rule says...blatantly and avoidably hinders a fielder's ability to field the baseball. As you describe, we have the BR "nonchalantly walking to first base". Does the on-deck batter blatantly and avoidably hinder F2's ability to field the baseball by handing him the baseball? Had to be there, but...as described I do not have interference AND I am telling the on-deck batter sotto-voce to not do that again, please. ~Dawg

What you do and say in this life...matters. The concept of impartiality and a clean slate is an ideal, an abstract and or a goal. We are all humans. Someone who says and does abusive things to another person, leaves an impression on that person. Boone is entitled to think whatever he likes. The MLB manager ejection record mark for a season is 11. He's being ejected this season once every 13 games. At that pace, he would be ejected 12 times this season...a new record. Boone's reputation is what it is. He is who he is. People are indeed capable of change. Past actions do NOT dictate future actions but, they are an indication of a likelihood of how a person reacts in a given situation, especially as an adult. As someone on this forum pointed out just yesterday, we will stare into the sun but, typically not glance in the mirror. If Boone was the type of guy who comes out of the dugout and has a reasonable tone of voice and isn't abusive? Maybe he wouldn't have received so many ejections...bees with honey versus vinegar and all that. In closing, can ONLY Yankees be "Savages in the Box"? I don't think so...in fact, I know guys who are not Yankees who are savages in the box and Yankees who are not savages in the box. Great people don't have to tell you about their greatness. True greatness speaks for itself. ~Dawg

I am sending a copy of that solicitation email from today with a note about what I think about their ad "campaign" and I encourage you to all do the same. No doubt it'll be tilting at windmills and shouting into the void but, this was a poor choice on their part. ~Dawg

Yeah, Beaker...what Max said. There's bringing your phone on the field? And then there's pulling your phone out while on the field to do stuff that can obviously wait until after the game. Solo or not, ALWAYS bring a phone with you to the field. Keep it in your cooler bag or in your pocket. (Could be a hazard if kept in pocket...) And make sure you have the non-emergency numbers saved for the police jurisdictions in which you work. Obviously, 911 is universal but, you may have a non-emergency reason to contact law enforcement, too... ~Dawg

Pardon me for speaking for more than myself and feel free to correct me, brothers... No. We DO care about all of those things that have, are and will happen to us. AND...we do it because we love it, it's a passion. AND no, there is something better. Amateur sports officiating and umpiring without all those things that the NASO claims we don't care about. ~Dawg

Agreed...I work a few turf fields with porta-mounds and the worst part about them is, all the ones I have seen have a terrible lip that frequently results in very un-baseball bounces (of course, both teams are playing on the same field so, not an advantage or disadvantage...) and in two cases, significant injuries to the pitchers. One of them to the teeth... ~Dawg

@misnomer, check with your local mentor, league leadership or association leadership. When you get bench jockeying like that where you are hearing things directed at you from the dugout, you may have the power to issue a bench warning that puts the entire team on warning for arguing judgement. You just go to the head coach and say, "Coach, that's a team warning for bench jockeying. If it continues, you will be ejected." and if it does continue you have the option of going from there to a dugout restriction or the ejection depending on what happens. Coaches are responsible for the conduct of their players, sometimes the umpires have to remind them of that. For a non-scholastic game, especially one you are working alone, you can certainly check with your authority on those games, too to determine what your options are but all we're trying to do here is administering a baseball game and keep things moving along and minimize the abuse of umpires so, as long as you can document what you did and rationally explain why you did it, the association and or league should be backing you on any progressive discipline you took. ~Dawg

It seems to me if NCAA umpires have been hammered on this, then the umpires are merely "doing as they are told" and following orders. It sounds like had this NOT been called, the crew would have been reprimanded. For those that want to find fault with this ruling, they would want to shift their attention to those writing/editing the NCAA rule book and not the umpires... ~Dawg

It's good to see there is still a coach out there who perhaps doesn't fully know the rule but, accepts the umpire's ruling even when it went against his team... ~Dawg

@The Man in Blue, well brother...I guess this means we have to throw out the old saw of, "If Gramma can tell it was a..." I give our elders some slack but, she cannot tear up an umpire like that. Good for your UIC for shutting her down. Also, probably good for her...if you had to grab your Dad hat, that could have been ugly. ~Dawg

As much as I would like to do as I'm told? Because that of course is what I live for...I don't have a choice. Since acquiring my Windpact pads, there have not been any Evoshield frame only or Adidas frame only for sale. (If there were? I missed them...) I posted previously that a Rampage leaves my jaw line exposed and is not a good fit for me which is unfortunate because it's a great mask. I'm going to try this Wilson/Windpact rig on Saturday and I'll report back...assuming I survive the trauma... ~Dawg

Give it 15 - 20 seconds and let your partner handle it. When you approach, stay far enough away that you can hear the conversation but, close enough that your partner can see you and feels supported. If there is an ejection, a non-ejecting umpire should escort the coach to the dugout so they can gather and depart while you can also identify the new manager. The ejecting umpire should withdraw to their position (plate, base). Avoid situations where a coach is talking to more than one umpire at the same time. If you have a very inexperienced umpire on your crew who is interacting with the coach and or an umpire who is a minor engaging with an adult coach, then you can approach the conversation immediately while again remaining far enough away that you can hear and close enough for your partner to see you and feel supported. ~Dawg

Don't think about what HAS happened, your inconsistencies, etc. Flush all that negativity. Grab a drink on the next change over. Do something to get out of your current rhythm and reset yourself. Then just concentrate on "winning" the next pitch and calling it correctly. Watch it from release and all the way through to the catcher's mitt. What brand of mitt does F2 have? If you don't know that, you might not be tracking it all the way. Use proper timing and sharp mechanics...everytime. ~Dawg

Yes, sir...I don't work LL but, I believe majors on down the on-deck batter uses the circle that places him behind the batter for safety, yes? ~Dawg