Runner on first, no outs, 1-1 count, the pitch is a foul tip, runner steals second, coach tells her to go back, she goes about half way and stops continues on to first and stops. I call Look Back Rule and the runner is out. Coach tells me that on a foul tip the ball is dead, I tell him no the ball is live that I had read that in the rule book, he tells me I need to read it again as the ball is dead. Now the coach is not yelling or screaming and is in fact very nice, but he wont believe me when I tell him a rule or a ruling.
Later in the game his runner who was obstructed at third creams the obstructing third baseman. I tell him the rule covering obstruction does not allow for his runner to run into the baseperson. He tells me that it does and the if the runner is interfered with blah, blah blah. Later in the game the same thing happens again and he now insist that I call interference, I asked him if he wants me to call his runner out, no I want interference.
Also in the game with runners on base, his batter is hit by a slow rolling ball (slipped from the pitchers hand). As the batter made absolutely no attempt to get out of the way I ruled dead ball, ball, batter continues the at bat. Because of the dead ball runners return to base at the time of pitch. No no no he tells me the batter gets first, she did not attempt to get out of the way she stays here and continues the at bat, he then tells me you're wrong.
The whole game went this way. Taken by themselves each little conversation would not even be notable, but the overall tone of the game changed to the point that his parents started getting on my case for not knowing the rules. The last straw came on a pitch that hit about 10 feet in front the plate and the batter stuck at, I call strike. This time he goes a little more nuts, telling me the ball is dead when it hits the ground that far in front of the plate. No sir the ball is live. One more time he tells me I am wrong. So I banned him to the bench. I know that ASA does not have a banned to the bench protocol, but this guy sure didn't know that. He would not believe me on all the real rules, but the one rule that I invented he believed.
This is the topper of all toppers: I was in the can between games and this guy comes up to me and wants to shake my hand
to show there were no hard feelings.
Bugg