[LDUB]

Originally posted by chuckfan1
I had a "stealing signs" situation recently. And although all those who have commented on this will probably still hold their opinion, theres a little twist I could use your opinion on.
This was a championship game for 13 year-olds here in So Calif, at the recent USSSA week long World Series.
It was 4-man, and I had 1B. First base coach would look into F2 to try and see what the sign was. Now, when he was doing this, he was maybe 1 step out of the box. Nothing out of the ordinary. This obviously gave him a better view, but even if he was in the box, he would have been able to see the signs, as F2 didnt do a good job at that at all.
Coach would see the sign, and then discretly hold down 1 or 2 fingers in his pocket. Then, coach standing in first base dugout, would see this, and start saying "One One One" or "Two Two Two." Loud enough for the batter to hear. And of course F2. Why F2 never caught on, who knows.
This was the first time I ever have seen something this blatant. I thought for a while about saying something, as inside, it bothered me. But then I thought, as mentioned above, its not my place. And although coach is not really "IN" the box, coaches stand outside it, behind it, in front of it, all the time. He wasnt blocking my view, etc.
Now, after the game, I asked my partners about it, and they all agreed, I should have told coach to get in the box. Tell him..."Hey coach, North-South is ok, but I need you in the box." I countered with the fact arnt, I giving tips, or "coaching" which isnt my place?
They mentioned the batter "getting one in the ear". They agreed that a batter getting doinked is probably going to happen at a higher level, but why not do some "preventive umpiring" now?
Im still on the fence on this. Anybody?

If it was so obvious to everyone, why did no one on the defensive team point out that the coach was out of the coach's box, and they would like you to make him stay in it?

I think there is no reason to tell the base coach to stay in the box, without someone complaining first. You are not protecting any batter by doing this. If F1 realizes that signs are being stolen, he is not going to throw the next pitch at the batter's head. He is going to call time, and tell his idiot catcher to hide the signs better. And if F2 can't hide the signs, then if they are smart, they will go to a full set of signs. So I think you did the right thing by saying nothing.