Quote:
Originally posted by streamdoc
Greetings,
I'm curious - In the original question post, the coach says that after the umpires got together, they called the batter out. As I read his question, she was still in the box. Would this not just be a dead ball/foul ball since she was in the box? She would only be out if she and the ball came into contact once she left the box. Am I missing something in the question?
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Yes, what you missed is that she hesitated to run, then ran, and was thrown out at first. That's the issue. It was clearly a foul ball. The umpires didn't see it so didn't call it. She ran and was thrown out. Thus my question whether she should stay put and say "it hit me" and hope for the best, or take off when she will most likely be thrown out.
After it happened the week before, I coached them to run until they hear the umpire yell foul. Then, this Sunday, the batter hesitated (against my coaching: but she later told me she thought it was obvious she was hit, so didn't run) and was thrown out. Then one of our more "experienced" players said she should have made a show of it, which didn't sit well with me. So I put it here in an umpire forum to find out how umpires see this situation. Debeau quite rightly says an umpire can't call what he doesn't see.
I guess this is just one of those frustrating situations where there is no right answer. The umpires cannot see everything. Being thrown out at first on a foul ball is, however, frustrating. And "putting on a show" runs against my nature, though other coaches probably have a different view of the game. I'm not a rat. I want to win, but I want to win because we played better according to the rules, not because we cut a few corners when possible. Maybe that makes me a bad coach. But I love the game and have a good conscience.
jeffstone
goettingen