Players and Umpires - Coaches Action

Has anyone seen my glasses anywhere?

Geez....I hope to not be in the above fraternity anytime soon!!

 

Mack - We can both agree that he shouldn't be doing a game this Friday night. As to how to improve the situation, thats going to be tough. Not a lot of people willing to put in the time it takes to be really good at it for what they get paid, the time it takes away from other things, and the abuse that comes with the job. There will always be guys willing to take the money, but not nearly enough that are willing to bust it to be above average.

 

Stretchlon...I have a question and it came up last night in the East Forsyth-Watauga game....a kid left 2nd early...now earlier in the year, umpires told the EF coaches that if the ball was live all they had to do was throw the ball to the bag and tell the ump that he left early and the ump would call him out. Then last night, the ball had to be put in play and the pitcher threw the ball to second telling the umpire that he left early. So my question is...which one is right?

 

Rules and rules and rules

Players can do a live ball appeal by touching the bag or the runner and if the ball is dead the coach can even do the appeal by telling the umpire.

 

Thank you very much!

 

yea both of those are correct. if the play is still live then the bag would be the best bet. if the ball is dead step off, tell the umpire you are appealing the runner leaving early, and they make whatever call it is. look to who calls the player safe or out though- if the runner is tagging up it should be the home plate umpires call. theres no way for the field ump to signal a catch and accurately watch the runner leaving.

 

He is out in High School

That’s what I thought also. In High School you normally just ask and the guy is either safe or out. What the Field Umpire did wrong IMO last night was he wanted an official appeal that they do in lower levels of ball. Then he Told the players what he was looking for when they throw the ball to second base. And then the official appeal was done incorrectly because they simply toed the rubber and then stepped off without the Umpire signaling the ball was back in play. So actually it was appealed twice and neither correctly (for what the umpire was looking for). I got nailed that way once when I was "playing" coach, which made me look stupid and ruined my weekend. The main thing is the kid left early and even if done wrong was called out which was the right call. I have never liked the whole toe the rubber, ball put in play and then step off and throw to bag for the appeal. Either he left earlier or he didn’t!

 

Appeals

I know I will probably get corrected on this one but, from my understanding and what I was taught, leaving early can be appealed on a live ball appeal simply by throwing to the bag while play is in progress. Then the umpire (if paying attention) makes a ruling of safe or out. If the live appeal opportunity is lost and play is dead, for such as for a reason like someone asks the HP umpire for timeout or the ball is presented back to the pitcher on the mound and the new batter is in the box, the pitcher must step off the rubber in the proper manner as not to balk and throw over to the base left to early and ask for the appeal. By doing this he is making a secondary live appeal and not balking by throwing to an unnoccupied base while on the rubber. By balking he loses his opportunity to the live appeal because play has now advanced to the next play or call. RU CONFRUSED YET?

 

I know it's tough to find people who are willingly to take the time to hone their skills, but it just seems that some of these people don't have the morals to be worthy of putting on the uniform. Case in point the guy behind the plate!!!

I reffed alot of basketball (in the ABA, Ivy League, Eastern League and High School) and Ice Hockey (high school and Ivy League), with enough embarassing moments, but I always gave it my all with the players best interest in mind. I was not there for the money. But I never umped baseball because I didn't want my bad call to effect a kids life.

One Sunday afternoon, late in my career, I was reffing 3 CYO games with a guy who had just moved into our Shore Conference (in NJ) and in the last game of the afternoon he tells me that is wife is waiting for him to go to dinner, and he asks me "who's going to call the "phantom foul" because he wants to get going." I may be every niave, and had an immediate flash back to all the bad calls I had seen as a player, but I've been in business negotitations that you won't believe, and yet I was taken aback. I said I'll handle that foul. Well no foul occurred and no foul was called by me. He said "what the XXXX is going on?" My reply was "What's going on is, you will never work in the Shore Conference again."

I have reffed with the best: Mindy Rudolf, Bob Serafin, etc. and never once did we attempt to throw a game, so when these snot nose punks attempt to, and accomplish ruining a game I can't stand it and want to make sure that they never get the chance to do it again.