[greymule]

I like FP better and hope soon to be doing it and modified exclusively. FP pays far more, too.

I have done SP for a long time and find that even the veteran ballplayers--even guys I played with and against decades ago--know very little about the rules. To them, SP means crush the ball and watch it disappear. The intricacies of the rules are of no interest whatsoever. I would bet that not 1 player in 100 would know how to rule on a fair batted ball that hit a runner in contact with a base. Third out on appeal for failure to tag up at 1B? Force play and nullify all runs. Everybody knows that. Most of them think it's "2 from the outfield, 1 from the infield" or "1 plus 1." That kind of stuff.

Recently in a men's SP tournament I had a batter hit a long fly to center field, and he observed the SP custom of standing in the box and admiring the flight of the ball. When he saw that it wasn't going to go out, he started back to his (3B) dugout. When he was halfway, F8 dropped the ball at the fence. BR, unaware of the sitation, had to be told by his teammates to run. So he then ran directly across the infield to 1B.

Not a single player on the defense could believe that I didn't call BR out either for "giving himself up" or for being "out of the baseline." One guy even "quoted" the rule book to me: "If he takes one step toward the bench--one step,Blue!--he's automatically out." (Protest denied.)

At another tourney five or so years ago, while waiting for my scheduled game, I watched two teams loaded with musclemen who traveled the country with teams that would routinely hit 120 or so home runs over a weekend. In other words, this was not a co-ed SP picnic game in which you can call anything and nobody knows or cares. This play occurred: Abel on 2B, Baker on 1B, 1 out. Charles hit a grounder (!) to F6. F6 tried to tag Abel, but Abel retreated toward 2B. The BU called Abel out for retreating on the basepath. F6 then threw to F4 for the force on Baker as Abel ran to 3B. Even though Abel had been called out, they played on him and threw the ball away since F5 wasn't paying attention. Abel ran home, but it was ruled a double play. Naturally, the offense argued the call, but not about the fact that Abel had every right to retreat. They argued that the ball should have been dead as soon as Abel was called out.

Last year, I had to explain to a slugger who over 30 years has played literally thousands of high-level ASA games that "6 to 12" refers to distance from the ground, not from the point of release. I also had a veteran hero tell me that I missed a "balk" the pitcher committed.

I can't speak for the rest of the country, but I have seen a lot of games here in central NJ (which at least at one time was a real hotbed of SP activity), and I can testify that many veteran SP umps don't know the rules, either. I've seen many a preposterous ruling that engendered not a peep from either team.

FP is a different story in my experience, because many coaches at least study the rules, even if they don't interpret them correctly, and teach their players to take advantage by pushing the limits. So, at least around here, while a guy who played SP and knows something about the game can probably get away with umpiring, it would not be possible to bluff your way in a FP game. And high-level girls' travel teams or college, forget it. You better know what you're doing.