Being Brain Dead....at times

[therefump]

Hey,

I see too much (as Bill O'Reilly would say) bloviating amonst us. We all screw up at one time or another. Some of us hide it well but if we're honest we admit it. I get the feeling that some of us try and hide it here rather than admit it.

I would love to see and hear some real honest screw ups now that the season is past and fall ball is in full swing.

Personally, I would point out that I've had to throw out 3 guys in September. That's almost as many as I have tossed from March through August (averaging 4 games a week). I'm frustrated. I have been told by coordinators that it's deserved but why now. I'm not tired of baseball, I'm enjoying the "fall" side of it. On the other hand, I see a lot of arrogance right now with some posters. Seems like the familiar faces who gave good opinions in the spring. Any ideas?

Take care,

Roy

[BrianC14]

Hey,

I see too much (as Bill O'Reilly would say) bloviating amonst us. We all screw up at one time or another. Some of us hide it well but if we're honest we admit it. I get the feeling that some of us try and hide it here rather than admit it.

I would love to see and hear some real honest screw ups now that the season is past and fall ball is in full swing.

Personally, I would point out that I've had to throw out 3 guys in September. That's almost as many as I have tossed from March through August (averaging 4 games a week). I'm frustrated. I have been told by coordinators that it's deserved but why now. I'm not tired of baseball, I'm enjoying the "fall" side of it. On the other hand, I see a lot of arrogance right now with some posters. Seems like the familiar faces who gave good opinions in the spring. Any ideas?

Take care,

Roy

Here's one of mine:

Summer ball - wood bat tournament, Legion A.

We're working 3-man crew. I'm U1.

R1, 1 out, middle innings, close game.

B3 hits a slow roller up the 1B line.

It's going to be close, as F4 comes over to cover, as F3 initially went to field the ball, but F1 ends up fielding it. So F3 decides to come back to the bag to take the throw, so now there are 3 players converging on the bag, (F4, F3, and B3) and F1 is not more than 10-12 feet away.

F1 flips the ball to... who? Crap - whose glove is that? Who just stepped on the bag... and then B3 hits the bag. I decided that F4 stepped on the bag, even though F3 took the throw (there was no "whack" in the mitt, as it was an easy underhand toss).

After B2 hit the bag, I called "Safe!"

Then I see that F3 did have the ball and... oh crap - that was his foot, not the foot of F4.

Manager comes out (he WOULD be in the 1B dugout) and wants to know what the heck I saw, because, as he says, "I'm sure we had that guy by a good step or two."

He was calm about it, and professional, and I explained what I had.

I was wrong, but I'm not going to change my call now.

Next pitch, the new R1 gets to 2B on a WP, and R2 gets 3B.

Lucky for me, no runs were scored on it, but man, if I'd given that play just 2 seconds more to settle in my brain, the call would have been "Out."

Didn't have eject, but a lot of other coaches might have pressed it and gotten really out of line, so who knows - it could have been ugly, all because of my bad timing.

[blindumpire99]

I have no problem admitting that I am human. Man has been destined to fail since Eve ate an apple in the Garden of Eden...

So here's my latest "greatest":

Last Thursday in the Fall Ball HS league. BASE UMP (THAT in itself factors into the story). Bases loaded, 2 outs. Batter swings at one in the dirt that gets away from the catcher. Runners are all moving on the pitch anyways, but now they're really carrying the mail.

Runner from third scores easily and here comes the runner from 2nd sliding. Meanwhile catcher fires a bullet to 1st base for out 3.

So some moron umpire on the bases announces "Batter's out, score the first run but not the second!":bang:

So out comes the defensive coach:WTF--ect ect ect you can fill in the blanks here..

Ever wanted Scotty to REALLY beam you up??

[Mr Umpire]

While I have no problem admitting I missed one(though I won't do it to a coach or player), I don't have any to tell from this year. None of mine have been any major ones. Maybe a few pitches or a close one which could have gone either way. I've been lucky this year I guess.

I had one several years ago. I was on the bases. Ball hit to an infielder. He throws to 1B. It was close. While I got the call right verbally, I didn't physically. I called "Out" while my arms signaled "Safe". Everyone saw it. All I did was look at the ground and change the signal to "Out". The runner knew it was right but he had to give me a little grief anyway. I knew this only b/c I had his team lots of times and he admitted that after the fact.

[Umpete]

HS game this spring, 2-man crew with R1 and I am BU in B. DP Ground ball to F4 who makes a poor throw to F6 and pulls him off the bag before the catch. I'm (over) selling the safe call at 2B when I hear F3 say, "Hey, what about over here?" Luckily, my partner was out from behind the plate and picked up my slack, for which I was obliged to buy the drinks after the game. Since this was my first year on the big diamond, I chalked it up to inexperience, but it was very embarrassing at the time - and it was a mistake I made sure not to make for the rest of the summer.

Pete

[mstaylor]

I'm not coming up with any major braincramps this year, I'm sure there were, but I had one in a first round HS play-off a couple of years ago. Final out of the game, routine 6/3 groundout but F6 makes a bad throw, one of many. F3 catches the ball and goes to tag the runner, he hits the runner in a violet manner, enough to change his direction. I call MC on the fielder and ejected him, awarded the BR first. We go to restart after my discussion with the very unhappy DM. I realize the I should have called the out anyway according to rule. I call time and pull my partners in in for a discussion. They were not sure I was correct so decided not enforce it. Of course, the home team can't get an out and end up losing the game. I looked it up later and was mad all week-end because I was right and it caused the wrong team to move on.

[Umpire in Chief]

While I have no problem admitting I missed one(though I won't do it to a coach or player), I don't have any to tell from this year. None of mine have been any major ones. Maybe a few pitches or a close one which could have gone either way. I've been lucky this year I guess.

I had one several years ago. I was on the bases. Ball hit to an infielder. He throws to 1B. It was close. While I got the call right verbally, I didn't physically. I called "Out" while my arms signaled "Safe". Everyone saw it. All I did was look at the ground and change the signal to "Out". The runner knew it was right but he had to give me a little grief anyway. I knew this only b/c I had his team lots of times and he admitted that after the fact.

Been there done that...

Here's my best from this year.

I'm in an Adult league evaluation game with ump81 and am BU. Runner on second w/ 2 outs I'm in C position. The ball hit sharply to F5 who is charging and made a big scooping "catch."

I yell, "That's a catch." However, as we all know a fielder charging to the plate is the PU's responsibility. As the words are still coming out of my big mouth I can see my partner signaling no catch.

F5 hearing me didn't attempt a throw for what probably would have been an easy out.

My partner and I get together and discuss the call and I knew I was in the wrong for making a call in the first place.

We announce no catch, then I deservedly caught a bunch of flack from F5 & F1.

I tell them both I not only kicked the call, but shouldn't have even made one in the first place.

F1 then asked me, "What are we supposed to do when you make the out call and then we don't attempt the play because we think we've got the out."

I told him, "Be pissed at me and curse me under your breath."

[carolinablue]

Last season, my rookie season, Big League championship game. Tie game sixth inning bases loaded with two outs. I'm PU. The batter at the plate had made a habbit of calling time out if the pitcher delayed all game and I was allowing it because he was doing it before the pitcher started.

Anyway, this time as the pitcher starts to deliver, I hear " Time Out Blue." I just stayed down in my stance as I was not going to grant it this time. However, pitcher hears it and stops dead. I hear my partner immediately yell " That's a balk." The DC comes out and says pointing to me " He called time." I'm like no, it was the batter, I wasn't going to grant time.

To make a long story short, we charged the balk and that turned out to be the winning run. I found out shortly thereafter that we totally kicked that one. Should have been a no pitch. It bugged me for awhile, but I learned something.

[tommy]

I had one this weekend, no one on base two outs im on the plate. ball hit down the third base line tips the end of the third basemens glove into foul territory. Close to the line but clearly a fair ball. I in perfect position, see the ball is fair and I come up with both hands blazing over my head and yell foul ball and just to be clear I yell it again. Then I stop and try to figure out what in the world did I just do. Well the third base coach was asking me the same question only a little more animated. I simply gave a little time out signal to my partner, slowly walked towards the coach and when we came together I quietly told him that I missed that one and there is nothing I could do about it now. didnt hear another word about it.

Not my best day, but probubly not my worst either.

[Dragon29]

My dumbest move from this past season . . .

LL 9-10 Semi-Final game - Fairly good ball for this age group - Close game in the middle innings - I'm PU

R1 - Less than 2 out - I don't remember the count on the batter

Pitch comes in behind the LHB; I clearly hear the 'tick' sound of the ball hitting at least a part of the batter's uniform; it definitely did not hit his bat - F2 does not glove the ball (I know - big surprise!)

What do I do? Look at the hitter and say, "Did that hit you?"

The player looks at me for a moment and before he can answer, I announce, "Time! That hit him - take your base"

The managers say nothing - they know what happened - I'm obviously a bit flustered by this so I take a quick walk around to dust the plate and take a breath; I look up to see the District Chief Umpire and our lead evaluator sitting in the stands. To their credit, they didn't kill me over this in post-game. (They were actually there to evaluate my partner; a young man I've been bringing up through our league for the past two seasons)

Not that I'm going to live or die by what happens in a 9-10 All-Star game, but I felt like an idiot.

[JamesC]

Ok, I have one for you guys. I don't think I have told the story on here before, so here it goes:

It was about mid-way through the High School season, and I was calling a game for a "less than mediocre" 2A school in which they were playing a pretty salty class B school. Well, the class C school was at bat with no outs and none on. I am PU in this game and have had a pretty good game up until this point. 3 balls, 2 strikes on the batter, and the pitcher throws a pitch right on the corner and about knee-high. IMO, a perfect pitch. I honestly do not know what happened. I knew it was a strike, and still know it was a strike, but just didn't ring the guy up.

I say, "three..." in a low voice for some reason. Only person that heard me was the catcher (maybe), but I think he just knew it was a strike too, and stood up and threw to the 3rd baseman to throw it around the horn. I sent the guy on to first base because too much time has elapsed to just ring him up out of nowhere.

Catcher is like, "What happened blue, I though that was strike 3?" I had to make up some BS so I told him, "No, it was a little low on him since he is a taller kid."

For the rest of the game I am wondering why in the world I did not ring that kid up?! I have a traditional "punch out" style, so just saying "three..." is not my approach, so I do not know why it happened and still do not. Just one of those brain fart situations I suppose! I ended up calling about 5-6 games for that team that season, and never had any other problems. But WOW!!