Painful BOO

[Dragon29]

I just had to 'share'

LL Jrs (13-14); I've got the plate - Top of the 1st - R1 & R3 - 2 Outs.

6th batter of the inning hits a shot to left-center; both runners score - Batter ends up @ 2B. Nothing remarkable about any of this . . . yet.

DM asks for 'Time'; gets it and comes to me with, "They batted out of order. The runner on 2B is their #8 hitter."

I check my line-up, confer w/the scorekeeper to make sure I know exactly what happened, confirmed the runner @ 2B is their #8 hitter. I call their #6 hitter 'Out' ending the inning & pull both runs off the board.

The OM comes to me for an explanation - I give it to him and send him back to his dugout.

I found this interesting (read:stupid) because usually, a BOO happens with the 'next' batter. In this case, it was #8 hitting for #6 - Were they asleep in the dugout? Also, this happened in the 1st inning! I mean, how deep into the game do you have to get before you lose track of your batting order?

Throughout the game after that, it was apparent that the coaching staff for that team was clueless. I could go on and on with some of the things they said & did, but it was all about major confusion on their part. Probably the worst (or maybe 2nd-worst) group of coaches I'd ever seen on a LL Jr team, and I've seen some doozies! (kids were fine though; some good players) They ended up getting mercy-ruled in the 6th on a 2-run homer. Thanks for playing our game!

Too funny.

[DirtyDawg]

I did some mid-level girls fastpitch for the past few summers, and suprisingly there were quite a few BOOs in this league. I'd say on average about 1 per week.

[kcfan102]

I've only had one.

It was pretty simple too...

[Umpire in Chief]

Never had one, but thank you very much it will now happen my next game. :nod:

[Dragon29]

This is only the 2nd or 3rd BOO I've gotten to call an 'Out' on in the last 5 years or so. Usually, it's pointed out during the at-bat (swap hitters) or during the next at-bat (make sure the right hitter is in the box and move on)

These coaches were clueless - plain & simple.

1st sub of the game, I have a mom behind the screen (Team Mom? maybe) telling me, "Ump - #3 is going in for #25" I tell her I have to get that kind of information from the Manager. She says she got it from the Manager. I say, "I'm sorry - he has to come to me."

So, I go to him. "<Coach>, do you have a substitution?"

"No", says he, "it's a swap."

"Oh", says I, "I'm not too concerned about position swaps."

He says, "That's what I thought." and I go back to behind the plate.

The official scorekeeper calls me over and says he just put a new player in center field. "Hey <Coach>, did you just put a new player in?"

"Yes, but he's not pitching."

"<Coach>, that's a substitution."

"Oh"

Genius.

[moblue]

I called a sb game several years back where apparently "free substitution" meant from and back into any position in the batting order they so chose. The scorekeeper was not too happy when I explained the reentry rule to her. Imagine batters being 1-9, with 10-15 on the bench as subs. every bench player comes into the game, then the starters each reenter in another position in the batting order, and some other subs come back in in yet another position in the batting order. Somehow, someway, they got it all sorted out.

[blue32]

I had a good one once. Situation:

Number 9 BOO for number 8, gets to second on a double. Not a peep from DC.

Next batter they send up? Number 8, who got skipped. 2 pitches thrown to 8, making 9 official.

DC realizes they batted out of order, but they don't get it, because they are pointing at 9 hitter on 2B, saying he batted out of order and say that he should be out. I said no, because his at bat became official once a pitch was thrown to the next batter.

DC then says the batter at the plate is BOO then. I told him he was right, and ordered the number 1 hitter to the plate to assume the 1-1 count on the incorrect batter.

DC got a deer in the headlights look when I did this, and was so confused he didn't know what to say. It was a local league in my small town, and I knew the guy pretty well, so I explained to him that he blew it not once, but twice, to get an out for BOO. Not sure if he ever made that mistake again, but I am betting that he knows that rule now.

[LMSANS]

I called a sb game several years back where apparently "free substitution" meant from and back into any position in the batting order they so chose. The scorekeeper was not too happy when I explained the reentry rule to her. Imagine batters being 1-9, with 10-15 on the bench as subs. every bench player comes into the game, then the starters each reenter in another position in the batting order, and some other subs come back in in yet another position in the batting order. Somehow, someway, they got it all sorted out.

What else would "free substitution" mean?

[padist4ump]

Good call though dragon. You got it right and taught the coaches. ( I LOVE teaching coaches the rules!!) :yippie:

[Dragon29]

Good call though dragon. You got it right and taught the coaches. ( I LOVE teaching coaches the rules!!)

Thanks for the support, but I'm pretty sure this guy learned nothing!

I never expect the coaching staff to know the rules or learn anything; they consistently meet my expectations.