Now I know...

[catoblue]

...why most guys would prefer to do a game solo, rather than have a dad from the stands help out on the bases.

I don't want to blast the guy too bad, because it was his first time that he "got volunteered", he hustled, and asked lots of questions because he wanted to do it right, but with the whopping 2 minutes we had for pre-game, there just wasn't a whole lot I could cover with him. With a little training and a couple reads through the rule book, the guy could have potential.

Majors local league playoff game.

Situation 1: R1, less than 2 out, hit to F4 who throws to F3. Good out, BU signals out and yells safe - immediately he says "I mean out" (I'm thinking it was just a case of "first-call" nerves) Me, seeing the play from the working area, no pulled foot, also give a small echoing out signal with no verbal. His out signal with the safe call, starts sh*tstorm #1. It takes a couple minutes, but things settle down.

Things go smoothly until the bottom of the 6th. R3, 2 outs, HT down by 1. BU is in A? (I had pre-gamed when to be in A, B, & C with him, but whenever 1B and 2B were open, he headed back to A, and I wasn't going to spend the whole game positioning him - so that's where he was at TOP). Grounder to F6 who throws home to try to get R3, who was running on contact. Throw is off line and gets by F2 to the backstop - R3 scores easily. Meanwhile BR is motoring on, rounds 2B and heads for 3B while F2 is chasing the ball. I move up the line to pick up the first-to-third call. I follow the throw from F2, gets there in time, but F5 has to jump for it and BR slides under the late tag, I call and signal safe. Well... BU is hustling, following BR around the outside of the infield and calls out at the same time I call safe.

Sh*tstorm #2 gets into full gear. It's my call I had a perfect angle, and I'm 100% sure he was under the tag, so I say he's safe. DC first asks "How can you overrule him?", I tell him "I didn't overrule him, first-to-third is my call". DC asks me to check with my partner because he had him out. I oblige, just to diffuse the sh*tstorm - we walk a ways away from players and coaches, and I ask him what he saw. He tells me he was straightlined by the sliding runner, and couldn't actually see the tag or the runner's feet hitting the bag, but had called out because the throw got there ahead of the runner. I announce SAFE!

The conference seems to satisfy everyone and we get back to playing ball.

Next batter hits a grounder to F6, who this time goes to F3 and 2-hops it, the runner beats the throw by a step, R3 scores, game over.

Next comes the part that I really don't like... UIC (me) has to sign the pitching logs, meaning I can't just head for the car, rather I get to hear it from all the mommies and daddies who's sons just had their MLB careers stolen from them because they think I overruled the BU. I don't acknowledge them, I track down the two women with the pitching logs, sign them and depart.

The local league is going to be hosting a Minors tourney in July - should be fun!!!

[ukce1861]

Meanwhile BR is motoring on, rounds 2B and heads for 3B while F2 is chasing the ball. I move up the line to pick up the first-to-third call. I follow the throw from F2, gets there in time, but F5 has to jump for it and BR slides under the late tag, I call and signal safe. Well... BU is hustling, following BR around the outside of the infield and calls out at the same time I call safe.

Sh*tstorm #2 gets into full gear. It's my call I had a perfect angle, and I'm 100% sure he was under the tag, so I say he's safe. DC first asks "How can you overrule him?", I tell him "I didn't overrule him, first-to-third is my call". DC asks me to check with my partner because he had him out.

This is the BU's call as this isn't a first-to-third situation. The BU will have all calls on the BR at 3rd, unless the BU goes out on a trouble ball. First-to-third only applies to a runner who starts on 1st. You take R1, the BU takes the BR. It sounds like you made the right call, but it wasn't yours. Just something to remember...

[Rich Ives]

At the LL level most people think the PU is supposed to overrule the BU. They'll yell at the PU demanding that he do so . (But only when the call went against their team)

[Mike Prince]

At the LL level most people think the PU is supposed to overrule the BU. They'll yell at the PU demanding that he do so . (But only when the call went against their team)

If I only had a dollar (or any money ) for every time this happened this spring...

[semper_fi_72]

This is the BU's call as this isn't a first-to-third situation. The BU will have all calls on the BR at 3rd, unless the BU goes out on a trouble ball. First-to-third only applies to a runner who starts on 1st. You take R1, the BU takes the BR. It sounds like you made the right call, but it wasn't yours. Just something to remember...

Agreed...BUs Call as it was not a 1st to 3rd Sit.

Now my big question????? Why was a playoff game assigned solo?

We work LL Majors 2 man all season long.

When it comes to TOC and All Stars it is 4 Man.

We even 4 Man Minors TOC and All Stars.

All TOC and All Star games are worked as a Volunteer.

[Stan W.]

Agreed...BUs Call as it was not a 1st to 3rd Sit.

Now my big question????? Why was a playoff game assigned solo?

We work LL Majors 2 man all season long.

When it comes to TOC and All Stars it is 4 Man.

We even 4 Man Minors TOC and All Stars.

All TOC and All Star games are worked as a Volunteer.

IMHO, when a league hires one qualified umpire and then saddles him with a dad-volunteer...............they (the league) get exactly what they paid for...........

if Im going to get myself into a jam, then I would rather be doing it solo and deserve it..........

I feel for you catoblue.....

Edited June 15, 2010 by Stan W.
usual suspects, spelling and clarity

[catoblue]

Agreed...BUs Call as it was not a 1st to 3rd Sit.

Now my big question????? Why was a playoff game assigned solo?

We work LL Majors 2 man all season long.

When it comes to TOC and All Stars it is 4 Man.

We even 4 Man Minors TOC and All Stars.

All TOC and All Star games are worked as a Volunteer.

"assigned?" hehehe hahaha - not that much organization here.

No association involved, no assignors, no pay... just HT Manager is responsible for arranging umpires. I got the call Sunday night to find out if I could work Monday's game. He had another good umpire for the field as a "maybe" but turned out he couldn't do it and HT manager wanted 2 umps and so pulled a guy from the stands to help out.

As for the play at 3B, I would have stayed home had my BU started in C, but since he was in A and was staying out of the infield the whole game... well somebody needed to be in position to make a call, and him running along behind the runner, wasn't going to cut it (and I mistakenly thought of it as a 1st-3rd and rotated up the line).

To my opening thought, if I had done the game solo, there would have not been sh*tstorm #1 or #2.

For District tourney's we usually have 3 man crews. This was the first round of playoff games that will determine the local league championship.

[ukce1861]

As for the play at 3B, I would have stayed home had my BU started in C, but since he was in A and was staying out of the infield the whole game... well somebody needed to be in position to make a call, and him running along behind the runner, wasn't going to cut it (and I mistakenly thought of it as a 1st-3rd and rotated up the line).

I understand what you're saying but sometimes you just need to let your partners fall on their own calls, in my opinion... In this situation, you probably would have had less of a crapstorm if he'd incorrectly called the kid out. Know which calls are yours and make them. If it's not yours, don't make it, even if you're right and your partner's wrong...

Also, it might not have helped, but maybe saying, "I've got 3rd, I've got 3rd" would have avoided the problem. When you're working with an inexperienced partner, they're not going to know when you've got 3rd and when you don't, so they're going to make the call. Which is what happened here...

Not trying to rag on you, just giving my

And yes, I've done plenty of games where I would've rather been alone...;)

Edited June 15, 2010 by ukce1861

[catoblue]

The whole "I've got third, I've got third!!!" call is something I was thinking about afterward. Definitely would have been the right way to go. I think my biggest lesson-learned from this, is I need to be a great deal more vocal on where I'm going and what calls I'm going to be making when I'm in a situation with a non-umpire partner.

Thanks for the - good stuff.

[Mike Prince]

The whole "I've got third, I've got third!!!" call is something I was thinking about afterward. Definitely would have been the right way to go. I think my biggest lesson-learned from this, is I need to be a great deal more vocal on where I'm going and what calls I'm going to be making when I'm in a situation with a non-umpire partner.

Thanks for the - good stuff.

No reason not to do it with an umpire partner as well. Communication is never a bad thing.

[DirtyDawg]

I do it all the time whenever I cover third. My partner realizes it and then makes a v-line to the plate to watch my back if I'm unable to get there in time.

[Dragon29]

Quick (but related) story:

When I was UIC of the local LL, the BOD asked me to get a quote from the association I'm a member of on what it would cost to get paid umpires for our Majors games.

I requested quotes from my assignor for both solo & 2-man rates for each game. Well, 2-man was beyond the league's ability to pay for so they were interested only in solo work.

At their behest, I asked my assignor what the quote would be for solo games if we added a (mostly trained) volunteer from the league as base umpire. He said, "Ten dollars more per game."

I really like my assignor.

[Mr Umpire]

Having an untrained umpire can be tough. Still, if you won't take a call with a trained umpire, don't take it with an untrained/new umpire if you see him trying to get into position. If he isn't trying to, then let him know you have the call.

There is a fine line between working together and trying to over compensate. Tough situation to be in.

[willv28]

I had this year. Turned out the people (yes there were two) were from the visiting town. It was, how could I say, disruptive. Never again, unless I know they can do...something. They know now though not to do that. Not just stand there, miss half the calls, and no one knows what they called, including me. Of course all the missed calls favored their team. And I let them make their calls. I made no effort to step on them. Still, worst game I had all year. I am more accurate no matter how far I am than these guys were 5 feet away. As far as I am concerned, having an untrained person, or worse, a person who thinks they're good at it only lowers the overall quality of the umpiring.

[catoblue]

At their behest, I asked my assignor what the quote would be for solo games if we added a (mostly trained) volunteer from the league as base umpire. He said, "Ten dollars more per game."

I really like my assignor.

I like your assignor too!!!!!!