Working solo and the dreaded sac fly to right ....

[Guest A New Umpire]

I was working solo for what I call a semi-competitive U10 travel league. No outs, runner on third, and batter hits a sinking line drive to right.  Right fielder took an odd path to the ball so I focused on whether it was a clean catch to see if the ball was in his glove or rolled out and was trapped underneath him on the ground.  As I was taking those few seconds to determine that the ball was in his glove for the clean catch, the runner at third was tagging.  I had no idea if he left early or not … just didn’t see it.  As the right fielder comes up firing for home to make a play on the runner, the defensive team’s coaches immediately yell for the throw to go to third.  Runner beats the throw and called safe at home (not by much, which leads me to believe he probably properly tagged based on the first touch rule). Probably influenced by all the yelling for the throw to go to third, the base runner gets up from the slide and starts heading back to third. Catcher’s throw to third beats runner back.  I called him out.  I’m somewhat bothered by the fact the kid may have gotten duped by the opposing team coaches; which in turn allowed me to be duped. If that kid would have just headed to the dug out, I would have denied the appeal because I didn’t see it, but that fact that he re-entered the basepaths suddenly created the doubt in my mind that he didn’t properly tag.  I’m a pretty new umpire (and working solo) and am feeling a little guilty about this one, I was just wondering what I could have done differently.  Is there rule that I missed somewhere that says if a baserunner re-enters the basepaths after being called safe at home, he puts himself in jeopardy?

 

 

 

[BigUmpire]

I'm still a bit confused about the operner.............. semi-competitive U10 travel league.  Isn't that the purpose of travel ball?  Better competition?  Hmmmm......competition.....competitive................

 

 

I don't think mom & dad would pay out the wazoo for travel ball if lil' johnny was picking dandelions in RF.  Just my .02

Wanna bet?

[Jeapugrad]

Just explaining myself. No need to jump my SH*#

[Aging_Arbiter]

 

I'm still a bit confused about the operner.............. semi-competitive U10 travel league.  Isn't that the purpose of travel ball?  Better competition?  Hmmmm......competition.....competitive................

 

 

I don't think mom & dad would pay out the wazoo for travel ball if lil' johnny was picking dandelions in RF.  Just my .02

Wanna bet?

 

I'll bet you that .02 I threw out there.

[Mike Prince]

I was working solo for what I call a semi-competitive U10 travel league. No outs, runner on third, and batter hits a sinking line drive to right.  Right fielder took an odd path to the ball so I focused on whether it was a clean catch to see if the ball was in his glove or rolled out and was trapped underneath him on the ground.  As I was taking those few seconds to determine that the ball was in his glove for the clean catch, the runner at third was tagging.  I had no idea if he left early or not … just didn’t see it.  As the right fielder comes up firing for home to make a play on the runner, the defensive team’s coaches immediately yell for the throw to go to third.  Runner beats the throw and called safe at home (not by much, which leads me to believe he probably properly tagged based on the first touch rule). Probably influenced by all the yelling for the throw to go to third, the base runner gets up from the slide and starts heading back to third. Catcher’s throw to third beats runner back.  I called him out.  I’m somewhat bothered by the fact the kid may have gotten duped by the opposing team coaches; which in turn allowed me to be duped. If that kid would have just headed to the dug out, I would have denied the appeal because I didn’t see it, but that fact that he re-entered the basepaths suddenly created the doubt in my mind that he didn’t properly tag.  I’m a pretty new umpire (and working solo) and am feeling a little guilty about this one, I was just wondering what I could have done differently.  Is there rule that I missed somewhere that says if a baserunner re-enters the basepaths after being called safe at home, he puts himself in jeopardy?

 

You have to treat this just like 2-man when your partner has other responsibilities - you need to move up 3B line as much as practical and try to see the catch and the touch.  If you didn't see touch/no touch for sure I would not call the out on appeal.

[mstaylor]

 

If the coaches know that you are a no nonsense umpire, why the warning? I wouldn't call it a warning. It's part of my standard dialogue for one man games only. It works for me and saying what I say has not once been an issue. Reading between the lines, I'm telling them essentially OBR 9.02a without stating the rule. In 206 games work in 2012, 30-35% were one man games. I had 13 total ejections, 10 in a 19 U wooden bat league that plays 3 seasons (spring, summer, fall) and the other 3 were malicious contact ejections in 1-man games. The 10 in the same league, the LP is a giant pussy and doesn't suspend ejected coaches so there really is no penalty for an ejected coach. They just can't continue to manage their team for the rest of that game and the continue to get tossed knowing their is no real punishment for their behavior. How many times on this site have you read on a malicious contact ejection, the HC is ejected for arguing the malicious contact? They might question the ejection but I'm able to talk them off the cliff when I remind them that the player lowered his shoulder to take out another player. If they are hot, I ask them if its really worth a 4 game suspension? The player is already getting two games. Is it worth not being able to physically be in the vicinity of the field for four games? And then they chill the eff out. How I interact with players, coaches, and fans (yes, I wrote fans) is far different than how I do in a two man crew on a 90' diamond. Here everything not on a 90' is a one man game. I'm over the top friendly, I joke around with everyone, tossing in an every so often quote from a famous baseball movie, and people in general eat it up. In the third or forth inning, between innings I always walk up the line to the parents sitting in the stands on the losing team and say in an exaggerated and sarcastic tone "Sorry ladies, I'm taken. Simmer down, simmer down." And it always gets a laugh. Now i am 6' 1", i weigh close to 300 pounds, i have a face ugly enough that it can stop a clock, just for a point of reference. or then there are the times Have a good day at work when a father comes out to warm the pitcher cause the catcher was the last batted out, I always ask the father if he's properly equipped or done having kids. Umpires in general forget that we are not only there to make sure neither team gets an advantage, apply the rules, and call balls/strikes, fair/foul, safe/out, but we are also there to provide customer service to these leagues as a whole. Before Memorial Day weekend, unless I'm doing the 19U wooden bat league, I'm not on a 90' diamond. I'm the most requested umpire for 8U-12U teams. We literally have leagues here that are only 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U, and 12U. I have no problem coaching coaches to a degree at the 8U/9U/10U levels because here these teams stay in tact until the kids play high school ball. You're going to have the same players with the same coaching staffs for a few years playing one another. For example, if a player turns to his left instead of his right and the defensive coach is screaming from the dugout "tag him, tag him", I will tell him for all to hear as long as he doesn't show intent to go to second base, it doesn't matter which way he turns, provided he's going directly back to first base. Everybody gains the knowledge, players, coaches, and fans, and it provides less headaches when they reach the 90' diamond. I'm not the world class prick that I may have given you the impression that I am. I'm not asking you to subscribe to the ways the I choose to manage my game. It's my game, it works for me, and I'm going to continue to do it. Parents spend thousands of dollars a year for league registration, tournaments, gear, uniforms, umpire fees, gatorade, seeds, etc. I feel it is my duty as an umpire to prepare them for the next level. Feel free to disagree with anything or everything I've said but I'm a damn good umpire and I've earned the respect that I receive from the teams in these leagues because of how I handle myself and what I do on the field. If I've had a game where a catcher at the 12U level is catching low pitches underhanded, I'll ask both HCs if I can speak with them and any player who catches for their teams after the game, and I'll provide a mini clinic after the game. Anybody can call ball/strike, fair/foul, safe/out, and apply the interpretation of the rules. Anybody can umpire a game with a little training, but in my opinion the difference between being an average umpire and a good umpire is how you interact and handle yourself with everyone, including fans to some degree, on the ball field.

my God ....how about a paragraph or two?!

 

I understand what you are saying, and I do not disagree. I too like to have fun with participants and fans but I am also well known to not to take crap either. But I also do not think the plate warning is needed, especially since you have a reputation of being fair but firm. I have very few ejections myself but maybe it just a difference in style. I don't do warning at the plate conference, I don't tell coaches to come out to ask the calling umpire and I don't use the phrase," That's a warning." Many advocate all three but I don't feel it is a positive way to umpire. YMMV

[Guest A New Umpire]

I'm still a bit confused about the operner.............. semi-competitive U10 travel league.  Isn't that the purpose of travel ball?  Better competition?  Hmmmm......competition.....competitive................

 

 

I don't think mom & dad would pay out the wazoo for travel ball if lil' johnny was picking dandelions in RF.  Just my .02

 

I teed it up as a ‘semi-competitive’ travel league, because the teams participating are more or less the best players in their respective recreation youth leagues. Ultimately, they are the most talented kids in their recreation league who spent $100 for another uniform.  Sure, there are a few teams that take this league more serious than others; but for the most part, I get the vibe that most of them are still playing for fun and friendship, and not under the evil cabal of the over-zealous coaches and parents we’ve all seen.  I guess that’s why making the incorrect call bothered me so much because these kids haven’t been conditioned on the delayed steal of home on ball four, bat wagging, cat and mouse run-downs, coaches yelling balk to induce the balk, and all that other stuff that we’ve all seen out there.  I think that kid I called out did everything right (except for doubting himself that he actually tagged), and I let him down.  Part of why I umpire at this level is that I really enjoy the teaching aspect of the game, and the only thing I taught this kid was that when the defensive team’s coaches yell for the throw to go to third and you question yourself whether you tagged; and reenter the basepaths after being called safe at home, the umpire will fall for it, too.

[Guest Cisco]

Made the right call. Kid should have headed to the dugout after the safe call at home, which would have turned it into an appeal play, which wouldn't have been upheld due to the lack of seeing it (as previous poster pointed out ... you can't call want you don't see.)

If a runner touches an unoccupied base and then thinks the ball was caught or is decoyed into returning to the base he last touched, he may be put out running back to that base, but if he reaches the previously occupied base safely he cannot be put out while in contact with that base.

By re-entering the basepaths he put himself in a position to be called out.

[blue23ll]

Yelling and screaming working a 1-man 10U game? Not me. I tell HCs at the plate conference, especially when working alone, if you yell and scream about calls during the game, you will be ejected. Period. Set the tone at the start and they'll behave. If they don't, you run their asses and be done with it. If you want to act like a world class asshat, I'm going to treat you like one. There's no need for that BS. There aren't radar guns lined up behind the backstop, nobody on a 10U field is getting a college scholarship on game day, tell them to STFU (nicely) and let the kids play for f's sake.

So in a 2 or 3 man game, yelling and screaming at you is okay? For me, this applies to ANY game I am working. 

[mrumpiresir]

It's works for me so I do it

It has been years since I worked solo but would not threaten ejection at the plate meeting.  I usually tell the coaches I will hustle but situations may occur that will prevent me from seeing everything.

 

I know you didn't say it, but I've heard umpires suggest to a coach that they should hire two umpires.   I have said that IF there were two umpires we would have seen the play, and let it go at that.

 

Sometimes life isn't 100% fair.