love to ump

This sound intriguing....I do Men's Rec Ball, and many of the players are "Vintage"...but this takes it to a whole new level! So do the batters get to signal their preferred pitch location?

5 pitches in!!....well at least you had his name from the "plate meeting" when you threw him out!!

I second 834k3r's post. Value the discussion and stories. Have done 200+ games over past two seasons, zero ejections, one dugout restriction....maybe it's true that Canadians are just too damn polite!!

Great advice from DAWG....and it even works in higher age groups...be consistent, and coaches catch on pretty quick that you are hunting strikes....helps if you have a good partner, who reinforces that with the base coaches. Get the bats swinging becomes everybody's goal.

drives me nuts when coaches are more concerned about the kid running on U3K that them actually trying to hit the ball!!

My description of "behind" him was poorly worded.. pitch was still coming to plate, going to pass behind him...you have to just Umpire...can't allow someone to make a travesty of the rules. Yes, have seen the NCAA clip, and most will agree the Ump blew the call.

not trying to change topic...but got to disagree....a swing in not always a strike, because it has to be an offer to hit the pitch...had it come up in a U13 game, where the "savvy" batter swings over the plate at a pitch that is behind him.

here's a weird sidetrack....anybody here play some serious poker...cash or tourney? I do on occassion. I can clearly remember (from several years back) the action and results of big hands I lost....big wins, not so much, cause I got it right. Same with the Umpire calls that I coulda/woulda/shoulda made...that may have led to game changing results...remember them clearly even if a few seasons back. Yes....the next play is the most important....but some time the call sticks in the back of the mind....it's not which team won, but maybe why they won. my 2 cents worth

and yes I want the earlier beer and BBQ....but not all strikes lead to quicker outs!!!!

second line of Maven's answer..."gaming the game"...is the antidote to the "a swing is a swing is a swing' The LL player thought he was so smart....left hand batter. pitch is behind him in dirt....swings over the plate and sprints to first....

Thank you Maven...that is what I was trying to explain to my partner last night," offer at the pitch"...as he is scrolling thru definitions of what makes a strike....

Have had it happen twice in past ten days, once in LL & once in Men's League. Batter wants a swing called a strike, even though they had no intention or even remote possibility of hitting the pitch...different reasons for doing it, one wants dropped third strike, one wants to avoid taking walk. What rule or definition am I calling on to deny it?

Sorta like the strike zone...what the rules say and what you call are age and skill dependent. I do LL & Men's League....little Johnny dropping a F-bomb is one thing....big John yells f--k after being called out is another....profane okay, just don't be personal or persistent...I will drop the f-bomb myself when the foul nails me!

to add more to Beerguy's reply....I think that is almost a standard play in some little league games I do!!

stop it....I know I am old.....but reading all this is just too much of a reminder....you guys are old too!! We are a bunch of old farts who want to stay a part of the kids game!