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Originally posted by LDUB
Rich,
I have a few questions.
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Luke, I'm not Rich, but I think these are the questions you were frustrated with me not answering. Let me do so.
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Say the reserves are not listed on the lineup card. Just 9 names listed.
1. Is the umpire supposed to refuse to accept such a lineup card?
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By the plate meeting, I've already had a chance to discuss this with the TD. We have also, I suppose, gone over policing the stands for "ringers," etc.
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2. Is the umpire supposed to go to the dugout and count the number of players on the team?
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The TD would compare the roster sheet with her official team roster.
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3. Is he supposed to write in the names of the reserves himself?
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No.
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4. If the lineup card does not have the reserves on it, how is the umpire supposed to keep track of minimum play?
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If the manager announces a substitution with a player not on the sheet, I'll be calling the TD over. I have no idea what she would do.
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5. What if the manager tells the bad players to come to the game, not in uniform and sit in the stands? He only wants the 9 best players in uniform. Then only the best players get to play. Then if one of the players gets hurt, the manager signals to one of the kids in the stands to change into his uniform. The manager then says "Hey, Johnny just showed up. Good timing, go play left field."
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At the plate meeting, I've asked the managers to alert me if any absent player shows up. If this scenario played out, I'd drop it in the TD's lap.
I appreciate your cynicism, and I'll probably adopt some of your stance in the future. (I've actually never been the UiC when an absent player has shown up late. It's probably pretty rare.) Truly, the majority of the application of this watchfulness is to prevent an honest accident. (I'm pretty sure that such accidents are honest, since a violation is very visible, very protestable, and very serious.)
-LL