Worst call in the history of softball!

[SnocatzDad]

Runners on first and second, 1 out, down 2 runs at State tournament my DD up to bat. Pitcher throws the ball, while my daughter is swinging umpire yells illegal pitch, she hits it weakly to 2B and is put out at 1B. DD looks to get back in the batter's box because she knows the rule, umpire says "No your out" she says "Are you kidding me?" and he ejects her from the game when she throws her helmet down in the dugout. He did have the right to do that, it was the only call he got right.

According to the umpire on an illegal pitch call the batter can swing but they are at risk to be put out. This is a slow pitch rule which makes sense when an illegal pitch is generally a flat meatball and you have 2 seconds to weigh you decision.

In fastpitch an illegal pitch is similar to an offside in football. If you read ASA Rule 6 at the end it has the "EFFECT" of an illegal pitch and clearly states that if everyone advanaces one base then the illegal pitch is nullified, otherwise the manager has the option to take the result of the play or the illegal pitch which is a ball on the batter and all runners advance one base. The intent of this rule is to not penalize the offense for the illegal defensive play (i.e. if batter hits home run or is put out, but scores runs in the process you can choose to keep the result)

We came back and won the game anyway. Best result out of this situation was my daughter learned early that losing your temper can cost your team and take you out of the game. She's never so much as looked sideways at an umpire since.

[wadeintothem]

Runners on first and second, 1 out, down 2 runs at State tournament my DD up to bat. Pitcher throws the ball, while my daughter is swinging umpire yells illegal pitch, she hits it weakly to 2B and is put out at 1B. DD looks to get back in the batter's box because she knows the rule, umpire says "No your out" she says "Are you kidding me?" and he ejects her from the game when she throws her helmet down in the dugout. He did have the right to do that, it was the only call he got right.

According to the umpire on an illegal pitch call the batter can swing but they are at risk to be put out. This is a slow pitch rule which makes sense when an illegal pitch is generally a flat meatball and you have 2 seconds to weigh you decision.

In fastpitch an illegal pitch is similar to an offside in football. If you read ASA Rule 6 at the end it has the "EFFECT" of an illegal pitch and clearly states that if everyone advanaces one base then the illegal pitch is nullified, otherwise the manager has the option to take the result of the play or the illegal pitch which is a ball on the batter and all runners advance one base. The intent of this rule is to not penalize the offense for the illegal defensive play (i.e. if batter hits home run or is put out, but scores runs in the process you can choose to keep the result)

We came back and won the game anyway. Best result out of this situation was my daughter learned early that losing your temper can cost your team and take you out of the game. She's never so much as looked sideways at an umpire since.

point's to you for being one of the few in this entire thread with a quantifiable bad call and bad umpire situation in an important game.

[2bucketdad]

Oh Oh, I remember one...USSSA if it matters...top of seven as usual as thats when most of us precieve calls as bad calls, but I believe this one quallifies...2 outs...the blues had both been doing a very good job up until this point...I'm coaching first and talking to my runner and we have a runner on 3 also...appearently the pitcher in the circle and coach are talking and the blue tells them to hurry it up or call time and take a trip out there...at this point it gets my attention because they would have had to change the pitcher if they took another visit...the coach continues talking and kinda blows off what PU is saying...a few seconds later the PU says "BALL 2"and awards a ball to the batter...I call time and approach blue and ask "don't my runners get to advance one bag when a ball is awarded for an illegal pitch?" PU tells me no only on an actual illegal pitch...I ask her isn't it considered an illegal pitch any time a ball is awarded? she tells me that a time violation is not an illegal pitch...I tell her that I don't believe that she is inforcing the rule correctly and ask if she would mind asking her partner if that the way he knows the rule...she tells me yes she would mind...I ask her if she would mind stoping the game so we can get the UIC, she tells me we are the last game that is being played everyone else is gone so she is the UIC...I've not pissed her off and given the pitcher a rest to get her shoit together, out batter gets a questionalbe called strike from now PO'D lady blue, wiffs at number 3 and we lose the meaningless but still championship game by the one run that should have came home on the illegal pitch she awarded the ball but not the bases for...

[MTR]

Oh Oh, I remember one...USSSA if it matters...top of seven as usual as thats when most of us precieve calls as bad calls, but I believe this one quallifies...2 outs...the blues had both been doing a very good job up until this point...I'm coaching first and talking to my runner and we have a runner on 3 also...appearently the pitcher in the circle and coach are talking and the blue tells them to hurry it up or call time and take a trip out there...at this point it gets my attention because they would have had to change the pitcher if they took another visit...the coach continues talking and kinda blows off what PU is saying...a few seconds later the PU says "BALL 2"and awards a ball to the batter...I call time and approach blue and ask "don't my runners get to advance one bag when a ball is awarded for an illegal pitch?" PU tells me no only on an actual illegal pitch...I ask her isn't it considered an illegal pitch any time a ball is awarded? she tells me that a time violation is not an illegal pitch...I tell her that I don't believe that she is inforcing the rule correctly and ask if she would mind asking her partner if that the way he knows the rule...she tells me yes she would mind...I ask her if she would mind stoping the game so we can get the UIC, she tells me we are the last game that is being played everyone else is gone so she is the UIC...I've not pissed her off and given the pitcher a rest to get her shoit together, out batter gets a questionalbe called strike from now PO'D lady blue, wiffs at number 3 and we lose the meaningless but still championship game by the one run that should have came home on the illegal pitch she awarded the ball but not the bases for...

I guess it does matter if U-trip since in every other set of rules of which I am aware, the umpire was right.

[Comp]

Not sure about Utrip rules, but in ASA this rule was clarified for 2009 as follows.

Rule 6 Section 3 O Fast Pitch and N Modified: Effect: A ball called on
the batter.
Comment: The Effect of Letter O in Fast Pitch and N in Modified was an Illegal pitch and were always intended to be a ball on the batter only.

The rule was never intended to advance the runners, but the way it was written caused some confusion and I believe some umpires were advancing runners.

[skahtboi]

Oh Oh, I remember one...USSSA if it matters...top of seven as usual as thats when most of us precieve calls as bad calls, but I believe this one quallifies...2 outs...the blues had both been doing a very good job up until this point...I'm coaching first and talking to my runner and we have a runner on 3 also...appearently the pitcher in the circle and coach are talking and the blue tells them to hurry it up or call time and take a trip out there...at this point it gets my attention because they would have had to change the pitcher if they took another visit...the coach continues talking and kinda blows off what PU is saying...a few seconds later the PU says "BALL 2"and awards a ball to the batter...I call time and approach blue and ask "don't my runners get to advance one bag when a ball is awarded for an illegal pitch?" PU tells me no only on an actual illegal pitch...I ask her isn't it considered an illegal pitch any time a ball is awarded? she tells me that a time violation is not an illegal pitch...I tell her that I don't believe that she is inforcing the rule correctly and ask if she would mind asking her partner if that the way he knows the rule...she tells me yes she would mind...I ask her if she would mind stoping the game so we can get the UIC, she tells me we are the last game that is being played everyone else is gone so she is the UIC...I've not pissed her off and given the pitcher a rest to get her shoit together, out batter gets a questionalbe called strike from now PO'D lady blue, wiffs at number 3 and we lose the meaningless but still championship game by the one run that should have came home on the illegal pitch she awarded the ball but not the bases for...

I guess it does matter if U-trip since in every other set of rules of which I am aware, the umpire was right.

USSSA is the same.

[wadeintothem]

USSSA is the same.

You sure? Last night I downloaded the Utrip rules just to see and the appeared to read that the runners advance on the 20 sec rule vio.

I dont know if there is a clarification some where.

[Colo Blue]

Right from the USSSA Rule book:

Rule 6: Pitching Rule
Sec. 1. A legal pitch shall conform to the following:
K. Once the ball has been returned to the pitcher, the pitcher has 20 seconds
to release the next pitch, “after the umpire says play”.
Effect Sec. 1. A - K
An illegal pitch is called immediately. It is a delayed dead ball and
should be signaled by the umpire calling the illegal pitch and verbalized
so a player could hear the call. The pitch is declared a ball and
base runners are awarded one base without liability to be put out if the
ball is not hit. If the pitch is hit then the coach will have the option of
taking the results of the play or accepting the penalty.

[wadeintothem]

Right from the USSSA Rule book:

Rule 6: Pitching Rule
Sec. 1. A legal pitch shall conform to the following:
K. Once the ball has been returned to the pitcher, the pitcher has 20 seconds
to release the next pitch, “after the umpire says play”.
Effect Sec. 1. A - K
An illegal pitch is called immediately. It is a delayed dead ball and
should be signaled by the umpire calling the illegal pitch and verbalized
so a player could hear the call. The pitch is declared a ball and
base runners are awarded one base without liability to be put out if the
ball is not hit. If the pitch is hit then the coach will have the option of
taking the results of the play or accepting the penalty.

Hopefully if they change to a more reasonable rule, they don't state "We always intended it to be ruled as follows and since some umpires are calling it incorrectly we'd like to clarify it by changing it entirely..."

like some do..

[Donnie]

Last season I had a girl from the opposing team think that the umpire said strike three and he actually said ball four. She then went into the dugout and took her helmet off before one of her coaches told her to get out to first base. I called time and went to talk to the first base ump, he told me he didnt see a thing so I then asked all the umpires to come together to get the call right and all 4 said they didnt see her enter the dugout. Even though I was yelling the second she went in. This runner proceeded to score the tying run in a district championship semi-final game that we lost the same inning. Without that mistake by the umps we win that game. Beat that one