I've seen a unicorn.

[HokieUmp]

I forgot to mention this at the time it happened, but it happened while my wife was visiting from college, and our anniversary, and just a lot was going on at the time.

So I'm in a second association now, and they're almost completely scholastic.  Being new, I get a mostly-JV schedule, with the occasional varsity (private schools only, it would appear).  First week of the season, on 18 March, I've got the rare varsity game, on the plate.  I hear the coaches on the home team are 'talkers,' and their head coach is also an umpire (although not currently working).  So I've got a heightened 'security posture,' but not much is really happening.

Third inning comes along, home team's up.  First pitch, fly ball out.  Second pitch, ground ball out.  I've had exactly one 3-pitch inning (wrote about it in 2009), so I'm wondering to myself "Given the way some of these guys are, is my partner even aware there are steak dinners, etc, involved?"  Third pitch, fly ball out.

I walk out, meet my partner in the infield, and we talk about it.  Of course, he's not aware of owing dinner or anything like that.  (Or, at least he did a good job of pretending, anyway.)  It's okay;  I don't umpire to get rich - or well-fed, apparently.  I go back to my spot, and we move on.

Visitors do, well, something.  We go to the bottom of the fourth, and the 1B coach (a former MLBer - Wayne Gomes, I think, is his name) has already said something to his team about being selective, or at least waiting on something.  First pitch, ground ball out.  Now, I'm REALLY paying attention, since we're at 4-pitches-4-outs for these guys.  And F1 evidently sees no point in messing with a good thing, so he keeps throwing down the middle.  Second pitch, fly ball out.  I don't look, but I can tell the 1B coach is not happy.  And then - hand to God - third pitch, fly ball out.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have just seen a unicorn.  It's not perfectly consecutive, but I have seen a team make six outs on six pitches.  I do not believe I will see a better string than that the rest of my umpiring career.

Epilogue (like an 80s movie):

1.  No, they didn't keep going.  I think the head coach may have threatened to cut the arms off the next guy, if he swung at the first pitch.  2.  It didn't get me out of there any faster, since the visitors coughed up a 2,3 run lead in the 7th, so we got Bonus Baseball!  Two more innings, in fact.  3.  I was on it in that game. I was having a great game on the stick, and could feel it.  4.  And others could tell, as the 1B coach even stopped to compliment me on the consistency between innings in the 6th or 7th.

 

[...... Actually, one could say that I've seen seven outs on seven pitches, since the inning before that remarkable run ended on a pitch that led to an out.  But still - to have not one, but two, 3-pitch innings in the same game, by the same team at-bat, in consecutive innings?]

[Rich Ives]

1 hour ago, HokieUmp said:

I forgot to mention this at the time it happened, but it happened while my wife was visiting from college, and our anniversary, and just a lot was going on at the time.

So I'm in a second association now, and they're almost completely scholastic.  Being new, I get a mostly-JV schedule, with the occasional varsity (private schools only, it would appear).  First week of the season, on 18 March, I've got the rare varsity game, on the plate.  I hear the coaches on the home team are 'talkers,' and their head coach is also an umpire (although not currently working).  So I've got a heightened 'security posture,' but not much is really happening.

Third inning comes along, home team's up.  First pitch, fly ball out.  Second pitch, ground ball out.  I've had exactly one 3-pitch inning (wrote about it in 2009), so I'm wondering to myself "Given the way some of these guys are, is my partner even aware there are steak dinners, etc, involved?"  Third pitch, fly ball out.

I walk out, meet my partner in the infield, and we talk about it.  Of course, he's not aware of owing dinner or anything like that.  (Or, at least he did a good job of pretending, anyway.)  It's okay;  I don't umpire to get rich - or well-fed, apparently.  I go back to my spot, and we move on.

Visitors do, well, something.  We go to the bottom of the fourth, and the 1B coach (a former MLBer - Wayne Gomes, I think, is his name) has already said something to his team about being selective, or at least waiting on something.  First pitch, ground ball out.  Now, I'm REALLY paying attention, since we're at 4-pitches-4-outs for these guys.  And F1 evidently sees no point in messing with a good thing, so he keeps throwing down the middle.  Second pitch, fly ball out.  I don't look, but I can tell the 1B coach is not happy.  And then - hand to God - third pitch, fly ball out.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have just seen a unicorn.  It's not perfectly consecutive, but I have seen a team make six outs on six pitches.  I do not believe I will see a better string than that the rest of my umpiring career.

Epilogue (like an 80s movie):

1.  No, they didn't keep going.  I think the head coach may have threatened to cut the arms off the next guy, if he swung at the first pitch.  2.  It didn't get me out of there any faster, since the visitors coughed up a 2,3 run lead in the 7th, so we got Bonus Baseball!  Two more innings, in fact.  3.  I was on it in that game. I was having a great game on the stick, and could feel it.  4.  And others could tell, as the 1B coach even stopped to compliment me on the consistency between innings in the 6th or 7th.

 

[...... Actually, one could say that I've seen seven outs on seven pitches, since the inning before that remarkable run ended on a pitch that led to an out.  But still - to have not one, but two, 3-pitch innings in the same game, by the same team at-bat, in consecutive innings?]

Coach was an inning late with his threat. 

[HokieUmp]

5 hours ago, Rich Ives said:

Coach was an inning late with his threat. 

Absolutely.  Frankly, I was surprised there wasn't more emphasis on "taking a $%^$#$ pitch" before they came up the second time.  Or a "offensive conference," if you will, during the inning.

On the other hand, since we umpires like strikes and outs, I couldn't really complain.  When they're making outs by swinging, they can't blame me!

[Tksjewelry]

Wow, not a bad day on the diamond. Did the partner even offer you a concession stand burger at least?

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[HokieUmp]

31 minutes ago, Tksjewelry said:

Wow, not a bad day on the diamond. Did the partner even offer you a concession stand burger at least?

Nope.  Nothing.  (Considering I was told by other umpires in the new association the park is also known as "Pervert Park," where the way one parks one's car indicates if one desires ..... let's say "companionship" ..... for a short period of time, I'm not sure I would stay around too long after game.)

[Replacematt]

1 hour ago, HokieUmp said:

Nope.  Nothing.  (Considering I was told by other umpires in the new association the park is also known as "Pervert Park," where the way one parks one's car indicates if one desires ..... let's say "companionship" ..... for a short period of time, I'm not sure I would stay around too long after game.)

That's why your partner played dumb when you started talking about him owing you meat after the game.

[HokieUmp]

20 hours ago, Matt said:

That's why your partner played dumb when you started talking about him owing you meat after the game.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.....

Yesterday, I had the other team from that game - the one's that knew how to take a pitch - as the road team at a different place.  This time, THEY had a 3-pitch inning.  That's now three for me in a month, after having one in 13 years.