Rant - ON

[dittoz]

Rant ON...

Played a NORCAL ASA tourney this weekend in Folsom and had what was probably the single worst set of umpires I have ever seen in my life. After 17 years of coaching, I though I'd grown accustomed to taking the good with the bad and the simple difference in opinions, but this duo really took the top (or bottom) honor!

We started out with the usual assortment of "interesting calls" and vague interpretation of strike zones that appeared to roughly cover the nose to the toes. That's okay, it was equal both ways and you just play to the strengths and weakness's... right? Then came the kicker - it started with 1 out with a runner on 3 - coach goes for the bunt and the ball rolls out btwn F1 and F3. R3 leads a bit as F1 fields the ball and looks her back. BU is jogging over from the usual slot toward F3 for some reason, apparently trying to get a better view of the anticipated play at 1B. Okay, that was an interesting move... but then it got a whole lot better. The runner was called safe at 1B when F3 pulled her foot on the catch as she adjusted to make the obvious play back at home. R3 dives into home in a cloud of dust and is called out (properly) while BR1 jogs back toward the 3B dugout, having misunderstood she was out. She's around the plate somewhere when F2 finally hears the coach SHRIEKING to throw the ball back to F3 for the double-off. BR1 then turns and sprints back toward 1B, but is out by a couple of steps.

As the girls jog off the field, BU stands near the pitchers rubber and says hold on - he called time out just after R3 was tagged at the plate, even as the whole BR/F2/F3/BU plot was developing. Don't know that I've ever seen time called in the midst of live play in that manner, but everyone was pretty much stunned. This wasn't a slow progress of events - it was BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM(timeout)-BAM. The next 15 mins or so of umpire discussions, coaches being told to back off and cat calls from the crowd just made things worse. Finally, they arrived at the decision to keep BR1 at 1, keep the out and play on. I don't see how they could have done anything else as you really cannot unwind anything at that point. In spite of being the benefactor of this crazy set of calls, I just had to turn away and shake my head.

In the game following ours, I watched as the head coach of one of the two teams pursued this crew off the field, shouting for the BU's name and demanding the name of his supervisor. Later still, another coach was engaged in a rather spirited discussion behind the plate with this ump when he was the PU.

Crazy stuff !

Rant OFF

[as the world turns]

Triple Crown, USSSA and host friendly teams pay their umpires more money than ASA does. ASA get the leftover blues. You get what you pay for.

[wadeintothem]

Wow, sounds bad.
Well I had a situation where a coach really needed a rule book. This team was not the best, but their girls played hard and I think they will learn and do wish em the best.

While the coach earned an ejection, I didnt let him go and made him suffer through his entire shellacking, which took nearly the entire time limit to get the run rule game over.

Run rule approaching.

R1 on 2B, don't remember outs. Ball hit to the outfield, runner rounds 3, OF throws ball home, R1 caught between 3B and home, F2 catches ball.. R1 returns to 3B, F5 blocking 3b, R1 trips over F5, R1 falls to ground, F2 throws to F5, (I am holding arm out on the obvious OBS) who misses ball, ball rolls to out field, R1 gets up scores.

Defensive "manager" begins yelling from dug out, I go over and talk with him. He is wanting interference on the Runner! He is pissed off, explaining that the runner must slide and is out on interference. We go around and around. Obvious truths such as "coach, your defensive player did not have the ball and obstructed the runner" and "there is no slide rule in ASA, your defender did not even have the ball" fall on deaf ears. Soon the conversation is over and I go back. He is obviously ticked off at my misunderstanding of his invented rules.

Next batter up (there are no batter box lines), the batter is not even a slapper, a righty in a normal batting position and now that Def coach begins yelling the batter is not in the box. I state the obvious, that the batter is fine, it is all my judgment on the box and "thats enough of that."

Coach calls time, comes over and demands that I explain for him the lines of the batter box. Being the helluva guy I am, I send him back to his dugout instead of to the parking lot.

Between innings.. here he comes again!!! He calls over my partner.

Almost as if he is to be taken seriously he says:

"I want you both to know and I dont want there to be any surprises, but when you refused to tell me the lines of the batters box, that is reportable and I will have to report you."

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Again, being the wonderful human being I am, I only warn him that he is starting to disturb my zen and he is not to come out of his dugout again.


To be fair, I had these coaches two more games that day and there were no further problems from them and I did enjoy working the rest of their games, and the players were awesome in their attitude.

[dittoz]

Wade;

It would appear that after our two bozos left the park, they went a few miles south, donned coaching costumes and went into the dugout for a spell...

[wadeintothem]

Ha! Very well could have!

[Blue_F150]

Quality of umpires will always be a topic of conversation.
Many at this time of year are "Blue in Training".
They are human, and do make mistakes.
Reversing the error is the frustrating & difficult part.
Once trust is lost, so is respect.

I have been in your situation before.
One situation was an "uncalled" foul ball that actually hit 3rd base, then veared to the left, and out of play. The foul was called after the play was over, and after we scored two runs. My arguement that the ball was fair because it hit the bag was falling on deaf ears. I insisted that the UIC be called out. The bottom line, umpires supposedly stopped play (which I definately missed), and no matter how wrong their call was, there could be no going back. At least at that point my only victory was on the spot showing the UIC where these two blues did not know what they were doing, and needed a little help. UIC stayed for the rest of our game which we lost by 1 run.

[dittoz]

At least in your case they reversed the call on the hit bag.
We had one a couple years ago that was a seed that hit 1b and shot straight up about 20' and the PU called FOUL! It was a single bag and everyone in the western hemisphere hollered that it had hit the base but he simply denied that it had. After the inning, I conversationally asked him about the call and how the ball had managed to go straight up like that?

His answer...?

He denied it had gone up at all !!!

The guys this weekend were not in training - we've seen them before in seasons past...
Had hoped they would be left back in 10's when we moved to 12's, but they followed us.
Now we're in 14's and they continue to haunt !

[WildRoseCoach]

Had almost the same call when we were 10U. The "new" umpire looked younger than the players. Ball hit hard down 3rd base line, hits the front of the bag and bounces up while still travelling toward left field. Ball lands about 15 feet down the line still in fair terrority. He calls "foul ball". After a prolonged discussion he will not change the call, he insisted that any ball that hits the base is foul. It was a friendly and we were up by a lot, but I did talk to him after the game about it, to no avail, so I just told him to go home and look through the rule book.

[wadeintothem]

Had almost the same call when we were 10U. The "new" umpire looked younger than the players. Ball hit hard down 3rd base line, hits the front of the bag and bounces up while still travelling toward left field. Ball lands about 15 feet down the line still in fair terrority. He calls "foul ball". After a prolonged discussion he will not change the call, he insisted that any ball that hits the base is foul. It was a friendly and we were up by a lot, but I did talk to him after the game about it, to no avail, so I just told him to go home and look through the rule book.

Hopefully he did just that and gets it right next time. That is what 10U is used for, training umps and players this game.

On the good side, he stood up to you... and that shows potential. I'd take a young ump who stands up to a 10U coach, firm with the wrong call over a weak kneed young ump who lets 10U coaches walk all over him any day of the week.

bad call, I'd help that ump correct for next time, but thumbs up from me on handling the situation.

[Intel]

Wadeintothem:

Are you working Stockton this weekend?