Quote:
Originally posted by mcrowder
This was PU's call, and PU's call alone, regardless of who the crew chief is. If you had a question, you should have brought it to him. You say it was his first game, so it's conceivable that he misinterpreted a rule - to determine that, you need to know what he saw. If he truly did see the same thing you did, and simply misruled - a simple request that he confirm that he understands that particular rule correctly (if phrased calmly and appropriately) would likely result in a discussion between PU and BU. However, it's possible he saw things differently than you did, and ruled correctly within the framework of what he saw - at which point you should simply walk back to the dugout.
In any case, BU should not comment to you at ALL on this play, even if he saw it clearly, and even if he is crewchief. This is PU's call. Period. If he needs help - it's his decision (not yours) to ask for it.
Note - if he explains to you that he saw the same thing you saw, and refuses to discuss the possible misapplication of a rule with his partner, you can protest. It would be a tough one to win - you're relying on PU's story mirroring yours, but it's an option.
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Thanks for the response. This is the answer to the situation based upon the letter of the law. In this case I should clarify that this young guy behind the plate is not really an umpire at all but an apprentice, if you will, just beginning to learn the game. Normally on this field we have the one "real" umpire behind the plate and a volunteer in the field, often a parent of one of the players involved in the game. The veteran umpire is accustomed to leading his partner by the hand in the simplest of matters. For example, he came from behind the plate to make the call that a runner was out for being out of the base line in a rundown between first and second. He would have let the volunteer, who was right on top of the play, make the call on a tag, but he made the call himself when the play became ever so slightly complicated. In the case in question, I did not want to intimidate the young guy by asking him for a call that I suspect he had absolutely no knowledge of the rule, so I went over his head thinking his boss in the field would ask him what happened and sort it out. What I am interested in now is if this is a call that is ever made in a regular season game at this level, or simply a case of "the kids ran into each other, play on."