Little League lawsuit

[SJA]

3.00 - GAME PRELIMINARIES

 

3.01 - Before the game begins the umpires shall -

 

(a) require strict observance of all rules governing team personnel, implements

of play and equipment of players;

 

(b) be sure that all playing lines (heavy lines in Diagrams No. l and No. 2) are

marked with non-caustic lime, chalk or other white material easily

distinguishable from the ground and grass;

 

© receive from the league a supply of softballs which meet Little League

specifications and standards. The umpire shall be the sole judge of the fitness

of the balls to be used in the game;

 

(d) be assured by the league that additional balls are immediately available for

use if required;

 

(e) have possession of at least two alternate balls and shall require

replenishment of such supply of alternate balls as needed throughout the

game. Such alternate balls shall be put in play when -

 

(1) a ball has been batted out of the playing field or into the spectator

area;

(2) a ball has become discolored or unfit for further use;

 

(3) the pitcher requests such alternate ball.

 

 

Also, in our local league, all "volunteer umpires" are required to sign a wavier that they will assume full responsibility for their actions in enforcing the LL rules or FAILURE to enforce LL rules.

 

SJA

[BigUmpire]

3.00 - GAME PRELIMINARIES

 

3.01 - Before the game begins the umpires shall -

 

(a) require strict observance of all rules governing team personnel, implements

of play and equipment of players;

 

(b) be sure that all playing lines (heavy lines in Diagrams No. l and No. 2) are

marked with non-caustic lime, chalk or other white material easily

distinguishable from the ground and grass;

 

© receive from the league a supply of softballs which meet Little League

specifications and standards. The umpire shall be the sole judge of the fitness

of the balls to be used in the game;

 

(d) be assured by the league that additional balls are immediately available for

use if required;

 

(e) have possession of at least two alternate balls and shall require

replenishment of such supply of alternate balls as needed throughout the

game. Such alternate balls shall be put in play when -

 

(1) a ball has been batted out of the playing field or into the spectator

area;

(2) a ball has become discolored or unfit for further use;

 

(3) the pitcher requests such alternate ball.

Is it the same for baseball?

[SJA]

Yes. Only difference is the word baseball instead of softball.

:-)

[grayhawk]

 

Also, in our local league, all "volunteer umpires" are required to sign a wavier that they will assume full responsibility for their actions in enforcing the LL rules or FAILURE to enforce LL rules.

 

SJA

 

Wow.  Does the league certify, in writing, that they have trained each "volunteer umpire" in every single rule and interpretation and properly tested their knowledge to demonstrate proficiency before ALLOWING them on the field?

 

No offense, but what a crock of SH*# that is.  I would never volunteer my time for a league that tried to load all of the liability on my shoulders.

[BigUmpire]

So no checking of equpment before play?

[BigUmpire]

One of the many reasons my association does NOT do little league.

 

I believe it states in their manual “There is no reason to pay an umpireâ€

[SJA]

LL offers "training" and clinics but it NOT mandatory to attend and they don't "certify" anything. "Volunteer" umps are on their own so to speak. I personally have not, nor will not sign anything regarding such. My "waiver" is that I did it for many years to help them out before all this crap was even thought of. I OFFERED to help again if needed. Simple, take me as I am or not. No biggie with me.

:-)

[Oldcrow]

 

 

Also, in our local league, all "volunteer umpires" are required to sign a wavier that they will assume full responsibility for their actions in enforcing the LL rules or FAILURE to enforce LL rules.

 

SJA

 

Wow.  Does the league certify, in writing, that they have trained each "volunteer umpire" in every single rule and interpretation and properly tested their knowledge to demonstrate proficiency before ALLOWING them on the field?

 

No offense, but what a crock of ###### that is.  I would never volunteer my time for a league that tried to load all of the liability on my shoulders.

 

 

All I can think of is that iconic Quote..."They don't pay me enough for this S*&t".....lol.........Volunteer??

[SJA]

Equipment IS SUPPOSED to be checked before EVERY GAME by the Ump(s).

(a) require strict observance of all rules governing team personnel, implements

of play and equipment of players;

aka the equipment as outlined in the rules as to size, weight, markings, etc.

:-)

[BigUmpire]

 

 

 

Also, in our local league, all "volunteer umpires" are required to sign a wavier that they will assume full responsibility for their actions in enforcing the LL rules or FAILURE to enforce LL rules.

 

SJA

 

Wow.  Does the league certify, in writing, that they have trained each "volunteer umpire" in every single rule and interpretation and properly tested their knowledge to demonstrate proficiency before ALLOWING them on the field?

 

No offense, but what a crock of ###### that is.  I would never volunteer my time for a league that tried to load all of the liability on my shoulders.

 

 

All I can think of is that iconic Quote..."They don't pay me enough for this S*&t".....lol.........Volunteer??

 

Bumper sticker:

• " I don't do this for the money BUT I won’t do it for free"- BigUmpire

[SJA]

I maybe have a slight advantage with our local league. The parents, coaches, and managers of today are the kids that I umpired for when they were LL players back in the day. They remember how I was back then as an ump and know I don't take any BS.

:-)

[BigUmpire]

Equipment IS SUPPOSED to be checked before EVERY GAME by the Ump(s).

(a) require strict observance of all rules governing team personnel, implements

of play and equipment of players;

aka the equipment as outlined in the rules as to size, weight, markings, etc.

:-)

"Equipment IS SUPPOSED to be checked before EVERY GAME by the Ump(s)."

Is this directive in writing somewhere?

 

[BigUmpire]

Let’s face it- a shaved/rolled bat would probably not be caught by most umpires in a pregame inspection.

 

BUT when an umpire suspects something AND verbalizes it here we go!

 

Ultimately the coach or parent that put this bat in play should be liable BUT we will see.

[SJA]

It's an ASSUMED (and we all know what that means) "directive" from LL regarding umps to follow and enforce the rules and guidelines as set forth in the LL Rule Book.

SJA

[BigUmpire]

Danny the man and Rich need to wade in on this as a LL experts.

 

BUT we all know what ASSUMED means in court.

[BigUmpire]

KHOU 11 News, Houston-  reports that the president of League City Little League said "the bat had been used all season long with no questions."

 

Here are my questions:

How the hell does he know that?

Has he personally watched the bat go in on every game and this one as well?

Does he have a special mark he put on it?

 

Obviously he has not retained council.

Idiot!

[JaxRolo]

So no checking of equpment before play?

It does no good to check equipment. They just won't bring the illegal bats in till after the equipment check

[SJA]

Fortunately, I haven't had that happen that I know of. If I catch it after an EQ check, the batter, and coach are gone immediately.

PS. . . If I should see or discover any "extra" eq in the dugout that wasn't there during the check, the manager is gone.

[BigUmpire]

 

So no checking of equpment before play?

It does no good to check equipment. They just won't bring the illegal bats in till after the equipment check

 

Exactly. I have seen it done.

[BigUmpire]

Fortunately, I haven't had that happen that I know of. If I catch it after an EQ check, the batter, and coach are gone immediately.

PS. . . If I should see or discover any "extra" eq in the dugout that wasn't there during the check, the manager is gone.

How would you know if it is an extra?

I have seen 10-15 bats in a dugout.

[SJA]

Initial bat count . . . and a photographic memory . . . or so I've been told. Really don't know if it's true or not, but as long as they believe it . . .

:-)

[BigUmpire]

Initial bat count . . . and a photographic memory . . . or so I've been told. Really don't know if it's true or not, but as long as they believe it . . .

:-)

Wow.

Sometimes I cant remember how to get home.

[SJA]

HA! I've had times like that too . . . usually after a long night out on the town!

BWAHAHAHA! ;-)

[carolinablue]

 

So no checking of equpment before play?

It does no good to check equipment. They just won't bring the illegal bats in till after the equipment check

 

 

 

Exactly. Checking equipment is a no win situation for the umpires and, IMO, needs to be stopped at all levels. The responsibility needs to be directly on the coaches and players.

 

I worked a district championship game last weekend, LL Seniors. We checked bats and helmets before the game and found everything legal. In about the third inning VT batter came to the plate with an illegal bat and HT reconized it and asked me to check it. I did, it was illegal, batter is out and ejected, along with the manager. Of course everyone blames us because we checked bats but that bat showed up after we inspected, no doubt in my mind.  It was a bad situation and the two teams ended up having to play again the next day at the VT field and guess who got to work that game. Tensions were high to say the least.

 

When an illegal bat shows up in the game there are just a few possible results and none of them are good for the umpire.

 

1) Somehow you don't see the bat and fail to inspect it.......Umpire's fault

 

2) You inspect the bat but don't reconize it as illegal for some reason.....Umpire's fault

 

3) Somebody pulls one out of a bag during the game that was not put out to inspect pre-game. This is the most likely scenario and you guessed it, it's going to be the UMPIRE's FAULT. No player or coach is ever going to say, " Yes, I intentionally tried to cheat.". or " Johnny showed up late and didn't have his bat out there when they checked". They are going to say that you checked it and said it was OK.

 

IMO, equipment checks are just a way to put all responsibility on the umpire and nothing else.

[SJA]

FWIW, I insist on all bags being opened during eq check with the players standing next to their bag. This is not an option. Any questionable eq is immediately removed from the dugout and eq and player noted.

 

I'd rather have it be "umps fault" for doing it than my fault for not doing it and having an injury or worse.

 

 . . . and one more thing I've said to parents. DO NOT EXPECT managers and coaches to look out for the safety of YOUR CHILDREN!

 

SJA