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I am fortunate that the fields I work do not have mirrors. I have done most of the worst things that have happened in my games, but at least I did not have to see myself do them.
I will share one of them. It was a regular season game between two private high schools who are always in contention for the State title. It was the 3rd game of a three game set, and they had split the two previous games. The winner got the Regional championship.
The visiting team was batting in the top of the 5th. They led 2 to 1 and had R1 with no outs. The runner broke for 2nd, the batter squared to bunt, and the pitcher threw a fastball high and tight. The batter bailed and the catcher missed the pitch. The backstop is bricked up about three feet, then is screened. I heard the ball hit brick. As I cleared the catcher, I glanced at the runner and saw him cruise into 2nd. The catcher turned and caught the ball as it rebounded back toward us. I could tell from the arc that the ball hit the edge of the bricks and was probably cut pretty bad. I called time and asked for the ball. The catcher looked at me as if I was an idiot (he was right), then fired the ball to 1st base in time for the 1st baseman to tag R1 who thought the ball had been popped up and was returning to 1st. In my haste to prove I was an umpire who was on top of things and was aware of the posibility of a cut ball, I deprived the defense of the opportunity to get an out.
The worst I have seen was in a HS regional last year. The home team was ranked #1 in the state and the visiting team was ranked in the top 10. The visiting team had runners at 1st and 3rd with one out. I'm at A. The runner from 1st went on a hit and run. The batter swung and missed and his momentum carried him across the plate where he hit the catcher so hard he almost fell. I waited for the interference call, but it never came. The coach came out and discussed the play with my partner, then returned to the dugout. The two runs eventually scored and the visiting team won the game. After the game, my partner explained he did not call interference because "you cannot have interference without a throw".
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