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Old Mon Feb 04, 2008, 06:56pm
azbigdawg azbigdawg is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: In the Desert....
Posts: 826
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy
Just a rant.....

18u game Saturday, ASA rules, I'm BU.

Team A replaces their pitcher in the third inning after Team B get a few hits.
Team A pitcher's footwork is peculiar looking, but not illegal in my judgement.

Between innings, as I am cleaning the pitcher's plate, Team B assistant coach, who was coaching first base, asks me if the pitcher is illegal. I tell him that I have not seen anything illegal. I was in C position the entire time she was pitching in the inning, so I was waiting to get a look from A position to see if I could see anything different. She was pushing hard off the PP, and there was minimal drag with the pivot foot until it was about 6 inches in front of the pitchers plate. She was not leaping and not replanting with a second pushoff, so I left it alone.

During the next inning she was pitching, Team B head coach calls time and comes to ask me about the pitcher's footwork. I tell him that, in my judgement, the pitcher is legal. He doesn't like that answer and keeps whining, so I tell him that the pitcher is legal and let's play. During the next two pitches, I get loud comments from both coaches: "She did it again!" "You can't see that?!?" "It's happening every pitch!" I call time and calmly approach the head coach to let him know that he has made his opinion known and there will be no further discussion of the pitcher's footwork.

The third out comes and both coaches approach my partner at the plate to further complain. I retreat to my between innings position in short right field. He tells them that they are talking to the wrong umpire, but they keep on going. As the assisstant coach is walking away, he loudly says something about how we (umpires) need to learn more, then he points at me and says: "Especially him, out there!" At this point, I excused him from the remainder of the game.

How hard to understand was "no further discussion"?
Thanks for the extra work, Andy... I'll see if I cant flood your desk with ejection reports during high school season.....
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