massive clusterf*ck / sh*tstorm

[Jocko]

Ponyboy, good job of knowing responsibilities. I agree with everything you say you did. AC gets ZERO TOLERANCE from me. Great EJ. Lemme get this straight. R2 standing on 2b, R1 standing on 1b, and R2 attempts to steal. Ok, no problem there. He's tagged, you bang the out. Cool. OC argues that R1 asked for time? Why the hell would R2 try to steal 3b if you gave R1 time? Retarded argument. If you HAD granted time and R2 ran safely to 3b, you would send him back. The same d**khead OC would berate you for calling time for no reason. He's a douchebag and you were spot on.

Whadaya say you stop sugar-coating things, huh ?? LOL

hey, that's what we're paid to do, right? Call em like ya see em!

[grayhawk]

Pony, you did an OUTSTANDING job, especially given your level of experience. I can think of several "veterans" that I know that might have screwed this one up. You are exactly right that this kind of play is definitely going to cause a controversy no matter what you do. If you don't gant the appeal, then DC is going to be upset. Something I think that you did that showed great instincts was to not grant time (why would he need it?) and then, especially, let everyone know that the ball was still live. R1, standing on second, knew damn well that the ball was live given his attempt take third by catching the defense off guard. OC doesn't have a leg to stand on and was rightly shown the door when he confronted you.

Oh, and fans are idiots. This is a universal truth. The only thing "horrible" was their sportsmanship.

[stl_ump]

...As I'm walking out onto the grass, an assistant from the offensive team confronts me, saying that he's going to call the tournament director. "You don't know what you're doing, that's bullSH*#, that's bullSH*#!", he says. At this point, I turn around and toss him (1st career ejection).

So....... Thoughts? Feedback?

Did anyone ever call the TD? And then find out that they were wrong and you were right?

[PonyUmpire]

...As I'm walking out onto the grass, an assistant from the offensive team confronts me, saying that he's going to call the tournament director. "You don't know what you're doing, that's bullSH*#, that's bullSH*#!", he says. At this point, I turn around and toss him (1st career ejection).

So....... Thoughts? Feedback?

Did anyone ever call the TD? And then find out that they were wrong and you were right?

I talked to the TD right after the game after he had talked to all the coaches. He said that I applied the rules correctly and handled myself appropriately. I'm not sure it the OC ever did see reason though (his team was eliminated so I didn't have to deal with them the next day).

[Texarkana]

You did a good job here. These kind of things seem to happen a bunch when the younger one's are playing. You have kids who get excited and run around around like a bunch of little fire ants (if you do not know what a fire ant is, consider yourself lucky), get tagged out, miss bases etc. and then you have coaches who may or may not know the rules coming uncorked which gets mom and dad involved that junior just had a misdeed done to him or her. Calling balls and strikes, safe and outs are important and I know a lot of guys that do it well but game management is HUGE and some lack here. Umpires knowing the rules and in a calm, confident way explaining them to the coaches after a crazy play happens dictates what happens after that in a lot of cases. Umpires being unsure and waffling, waving their partner over immediatly and sounding like a used car salesman breeds problems. It is critical to know the rules, pay attention to what happens on the field and confidently and proffesionally explaining the results after it happens. It is called game management. The way you show up, have your conference, conduct yourself and make sure the game moves along (hustling on-off field, warmup pitches etc) paints a pretty clear picture to the participants.

Little kids always want to slide in and raise their little hands to call time. They have been told to do this. Might not be a bad idea if you have little ones to cover it in pregame. If the game is proceeding, time will not be granted till it is the appropriate time. Might save a big problem if Little Johnny calls time, it is not granted, but he decides to step off the base thinking it is.

[PeteBooth]

I'm working a 10U little league tournament

So....... Thoughts? Feedback?

Stay away from "Rug-rat" baseball

Pete Booth

[RichMSN]

I'm working a 10U little league tournament

So....... Thoughts? Feedback?

Stay away from "Rug-rat" baseball

Pete Booth

Why, are you too good to work those games?

[Jocko]

I'm working a 10U little league tournament

So....... Thoughts? Feedback?

Stay away from "Rug-rat" baseball

Pete Booth

Why, are you too good to work those games?

I get the same game fee for 18u thru 9u. I don't give a damn what age it is as long as I get the games.

[scrounge]

I'm working a 10U little league tournament

So....... Thoughts? Feedback?

Stay away from "Rug-rat" baseball

Pete Booth

So....you recommend staying away from 'rugrat' baseball - what is the cutoff for 'rugrat' anyway? 10U? 12U? And in another thread, you say stay away from adult baseball. So what is the sweet spot for approved, recommended baseball? 13-18 yr olds from March to May?Kids deserve good umpires as well. And there are plenty of jackholes coaching/playing 13-18 yr olds too.

[clksbgump]

Maybe I'm confused but doesn't the fact that umpire did call time when coach came out to argue (his words in OP) automatically end the right to appeal the BR missing 2nd base while returning to 1st? Doesn't the ball have to remain live on the original play for the appeal to be granted? :shrug:

[noumpere]

Maybe I'm confused but doesn't the fact that umpire did call time when coach came out to argue (his words in OP) automatically end the right to appeal the BR missing 2nd base while returning to 1st? Doesn't the ball have to remain live on the original play for the appeal to be granted?

No. No.

[Jocko]

Maybe I'm confused but doesn't the fact that umpire did call time when coach came out to argue (his words in OP) automatically end the right to appeal the BR missing 2nd base while returning to 1st? Doesn't the ball have to remain live on the original play for the appeal to be granted?

no. The appeal isn't negated until a pitch, play, attempted play, or IBB. Calling time just delays it a few moments.

[mstaylor]

No, calling time doesn't kill the appeal, it just means the ball has to go to mound and get the ball put back in play before they can appeal. This is the origin of the myth that the ball has to go to the mound to do an appeal. Anybody remember the appeal fiasco at LLWS a few years ago? The manager called time to explain how to appeal, the problem was the pitcher would get the ball in play, then request time and try to appeal. It happened several times before the manager finally told to just pitch.

[NavyUmp]

This whole arguement comes down to whether or not it was continuous action. Since only one of us was there, only he can make that judgement. For the rest of us, isn't it good enought to know that if we deem it continuous action then the appeal is good and if we deem it a break in the action the appeal is no good.

[Rich Ives]

So fishman and NavyUmp have hinted at it - when is it a break in the action that would mean the throw to F5 killed the appeal?

I don't believe you can claim cointinuous action just because F6 still had the ball.

It is entirely possible that play relaxed (break) - defense started appeal - runner took off - defense threw to F5. If this is the case the appeal is dead.

How often do we suggest that the defense tag a runner instead of a base to pre-empt an appeal-killing play?

[spiritump]

I'm working a 10U little league tournament

So....... Thoughts? Feedback?

Stay away from "Rug-rat" baseball

Pete Booth

Why, are you too good to work those games?

I get the same game fee for 18u thru 9u. I don't give a damn what age it is as long as I get the games.

if you don't give a dame --do softball money is better