When to correct a partner on rules?

[ErichKeane]

So typically, I don't correct a partner on a rule unless explicitly asked (or the coach comes to him to ask me), though I've been breaking in some newbies quite a bit lately, so I tend to inform them if they look flustered/unsure, or do something particularly egregious.

I have 1 partner who started this year who has a bunch of games under his belt and is developing pretty wonderfully!  I'm working a very limited schedule this year (will be sub-10 games this year!) due to my wife expecting next week, so most of my games this year were to work with him to improve.  He's also working games in our towns 14U team (NFHS ruleset), which he was assistant coach to last year (and his wife is scorekeeper for!).

He's gotten distinctly better lately so I've been more hands-off, though 2 situations come to mind that I wasn't particularly sure how to handle, but this is what I did.  Would anyone else have done much differently?

1- We were doing a double header this past weekend, with him at the plate.  Game is chugging along wonderfully, score is close, etc.  We have VT at the plate, R2, 3-1 count, and the runner takes off.  I follow the runner, and make the call (safe), then look up and see my partner has called batter interference (a point of emphasis I've had for a few years, as the local teams were REALLY bad at it for a few years, but now can all basically quote the rule to me!).

The pitch hadn't looked great, so I presumed it was ball 4, so I called time and asked him if that was the case, which it was. Then I explained to him that the Batter was a Runner, so he couldn't be guilty of batters interference.  I asked if he thought the interference was intentional (no), so we corrected it, and then explained it to the HT coach (who, as I mentioned, is VERY knowledgable about batters interference thanks to me).  He DID ask if the runner had to go back, which I said 'no' to, because it wasn't batters interference.

THAT is where I screwed up slightly, in that I didn't ask my partner WHEN he called time out vs when the runner made it to the base, and assumed afterwards (though he DOES know to wait to see if the out was made).  In our post-game, he did say he waited, so we ended up getting the call in the end.

 

2- Last night, we were doing an evening game, him at the plate again.  R2, 1 out.  HT Batter hits a DEEP fly to left field (off the line safely, but definitely out of the code) towards the orange snow-fence that is the left field fence.  I watch it a bit, and start picking up my touches/obstructions/etc on the runners, and look back to see what _I_ thought was the ball bouncing through the fence.  VT players are questioning whether it was a double, but my partner is calling HR, and it was his ball, so I left it alone.  I pick up the BR's touch of 3rd, then start my run back to A. 

As I'm most of the way over, I hear my partner calling the BR out, but was confused as to what had happened.  The HT coach and fans were all chastising the on deck batter with "you can't do that, you know that!".  I wasn't sure what happened, but the 1BC told me during the next at bat that the on deck batter "chest bumped" the BR, so he called him out for being 'touched' while being a live batter.

During post game I explained it is 'assist' that you have to be calling, and typically that is only the coaches (IIRC NFHS baseball doesn't have a generic 'assisted by teammate, just 3-2-2 and 8-4s), and that since it was a home run, he couldn't really have been assisted, since he wasn't really at risk of being put out.  He accepted the explanation, and we all got home in time for beers

 

 

SIDE NOTE: VT catcher came out at one point with a skully/F3 mask at one point, and I noticed and told him he couldn't wear it.  He protested a bit (that he wore it the inning before!), and his father protested MUCH more through the fence (saying, we've never heard that it was illegal before, and umps with 20 years experience have let him use it!), but VT coach came out and told the dad he'd been told before, and he stopped talking.  Coach apologized and said he'd told him not to bring that anymore, so the kid knew (I was sure he did, he didn't bring it out for bats, helmets, CP inspections that our league still requires).  WE left it at that, though made it clear to the coach that he'd risked ejection of both of them by bringing it out.

 

 

Anyway, curious to hear how others deal with helping out partners in these situations!

[JSam21]

When it comes to rules applications, let's get them right.

In Situation 1, even if time was called, it didn't change the pattern of play. I would leave the runner at 3rd. 

Situation 2, get together and get the rule right. If a protest came from that you would have lost. If you lost it, it doesn't just look bad on the guy who made the call, it looks bad on the crew. If you see a blatant misapplication of the rule, fix it there.

 

[StatsUmp]

2 hours ago, JSam21 said:

When it comes to rules applications, let's get them right.

Agreed. I recently had an uncaught infield fly where the R1 and R2 both advanced. Partner, a long time veteran, wanted to send the runners back. Not knowing how he might react, I met with him and reminded him runners can advance at their own risk on an IFF. The light bulb lit up over his head 💡, he said, "You're right," and then announced the runners' advance stood. Thankfully, neither HC complained and we played on.

2 hours ago, JSam21 said:

If you see a blatant misapplication of the rule, fix it there.

At least make the attempt to get it right. Doing nothing is a good way for crew credibility to drop to zero and make for a rough remainder of the game.

[Jimurray]

3 hours ago, ErichKeane said:

 

 

 

Anyway, curious to hear how others deal with helping out partners in these situations!

You are not helping your partner. You are helping your crew. You both look bad when you kick a rule and it is not corrected. I don't know if this scuttlebutt is true but supposedly if someone kicks a rule on a MiLB field the whole crew gets disciplined. 

[SeeingEyeDog]

2 hours ago, Jimurray said:

You are not helping your partner. You are helping your crew. You both look bad when you kick a rule and it is not corrected. I don't know if this scuttlebutt is true but supposedly if someone kicks a rule on a MiLB field the whole crew gets disciplined. 

^---------- This...right here.

We understand a play at the plate is PU's. We understand "most" plays at 2B are U1's. We understand certain calls are "certain umpires"...yes. But, really...all calls are the CREW'S calls.

And remember...we never reverse a call of one of our partners. We never stomp on a partner's call. We get together, the umpire who made the call asks specific questions and the other umpires simply report what they saw and it's then up to the umpire who made the call to consider what he is being told by his partners and then he makes a final call either confirming the original call or overturning the original call.

As for rules interpretations and/or applications...all you can do is cite the applicable rule to the best of your ability and again, talk it through with the crew and do your best as a crew to get the call correct. Don't turn it into a pissing contest.

~Dawg