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HBP
I've noticed that in Rec League "HBP, 1b awarded" is a given by most umps, even when the batter makes no effort to avoid the pitch. In tourny play (this is my first tourny season as an ump) I have seen fewer hit batters and more called balls without base awarded because batters don't make the effort.
Back to Rec League - I look for the effort to avoid the pitch, but I find myself often explaining that 1b is not awarded because batter made no effort to avoid. I make this explanation louder (but not yelling) than most other explanations so that the fans can hear as well - they, too, expect an automatic 1b award.
CoachSara: I've noted a few of your comments in which you express that gender affects how coaches and fans view the ump. Too true! Recently I partnered to ump a tourny game with a younger female partner - mid-30's, blond, petite, not a loud voice. She is more knowledgeable and more experienced than I and made solid calls. Her calls were questioned more often - coaches and fans challenged her more often, and at the end of the game, one coach told me he thought she was intimidated which was absolutely NOT the case. I'm older, bigger, male, and because of officiating experience in other sports, a little more authoritative-sounding so you can guess the assumptions.
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