[Carl Childress]

Originally posted by PeteBooth
Papa C I think the issue for at least myself is this: What happens in the PRO Game when lets say Joe Torre lodges a protest? What's the procedure? Do they go to the book first?, then to coin a lawyers term - case law? (authoritative opinion).

They go to authoritative opinion. For years -- and still by rule -- that was the President of the League, which office no longer exists. (The owners so hated the umpires' union, they abolished the last part of professional baseball connected with umpires.) Now, that AO resides in the office of the Commissioner, most likely: Sandy Alderson. He will probably decide the next protest, and he will no doubt get the authoritative opinions of others to assist him. Pete: Whoever, however, whenever any protest is decided, it's decided by authoritative opinion. That's why you don't seem to grasp. The Congress passes a law, and the Supreme Court tells us what it means. But nothing gets done without the Executive Power of the President. The rulebook and official interpretations cannot rule on anything.

I gather from my time on the internet that you, Jim P, Warren and Bob are avid readers of not only the rules but just about any authoritative opinion out there. One of my shortcomings is unfortunately I am not. Give me 1 source in which I can go and find the answer.

You can find nearly everything about a FED game by reading: the rule book, the case book, and the quarterly bulletin, specifically the one in February/March that lists interpretations for the current year. I have them going back to the first one, in 1976. (They're on the Internet now.) For the NCAA you can read the interpretations of Bill Thurston and -- next year -- those of Dave Fetchiet in the BRD, as you can those of the PBUC that do not make their umpires' manual. You really can't do a good job in an OBR game if you don't have and follow the interpretations in that manual. Finally, you're in the only spot to get the latest nuances of official and authoritatiive opinion, here at the Official Forum. Because of our working relationship with the higher levels, we get the information first. Twenty years of honest dealings with those Committees counts for something.

Believe or not, there are some umpies who post on the Internet who believe they need to listen to no one; everything they need to know about the OBR they themselves find directly in the book. Their reading of the rules suffices. Happily, there are remaining only a few who reject authoritative opinion altogether though there is a larger group perfectly willing to reject it whenever it does not jibe with their preconceived notions.

One other thing is that (and correct me if I'm wrong), the opinions by JR, Evans etc. all deal with the professional athlete, yet most of us umpire the amateur game. Therefore, if we umpire an amateur game shouldn't their be opinions designed specifically for that level? as opposed to the PRO game?

Pete: LL has its own book, as does Babe Ruth, Pony, the American Legion, Connie Mack, Mickey Mantle, etc. Everybody has their own set of interpretations made specifically for their age group, their field size, their program. But the base of all those groups is the OBR, with all its imperfections, errors, omissions, prejudices, and archaic language. When I have problems with that book, I always go, in order, to:

1. the BRD
2. the PBUC umpire's manual
3. the JEA
4. the J/R
5. Baseball's Knotty Problems
6. By the Rules
7. It's Your Call
8. my email community, UT
9. the Internet discussion Boards (Forum, eteamz, URC, and now NFHS Officials Community)

If I haven't found official or authoritative support for my position after going through all those sources, then I have truly found a new Point Not Covered, and my opinion will be authoritative enough for me.

Note: I grew very excited when Jim Booth announced that Cris Jones had ruled a player could return from the dugout to touch the plate. Silly me: The same ruling appeared in It's Your Call, (1989) explained by Harry Wendelstedt. That's why I no longer overlook that most interesting book. If you're familiar with the movie Long Gone, the names Tampico Stogies, Dothan Cardinals, Joe Louis Brown, Stud Cantrell, and Jamie Don Weeks are well-known to you, as they were to the panel of experts who wrote the plays discussed in It's Your Call.