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Originally Posted by danreeves1973
Have had two situations this year where I called something no one else saw. Caught grief both times and while that doesn't bother me, it's made me think about the idea of calling what you see and know vs calling what everyone else percieves.
#1. Lt handed batter, pitch is way outside, he steps in to avoid, I track the pitch and see it BRUSH the back of his leg, pants were baggy and it definitely moved the fabric. I call dead ball, kid is saying, No I didn't get hit, coach is saying he didn't get hit. I explain what I saw, take your base. Coach is mad I just put his best hitter on base.
#2 I'm in C, playing inside the base path, ball hit hard on the ground toward me, I step to avoid and it takes a strange hop and I feel it brush my leg, it keeps going, F6 misses it behind me and it's heading merrily to the outfield. I yell dead ball, eveyone stops, I announce I was hit, award bases, etc, offense is mad because bases were loaded and it was a double at least. Between innings I ask my partner what he saw, he says he thought I dodged it and he never saw the ball veer like it had richocheted off me.
Two situations where I was apparantly the only one who saw something that impacted the game. In both cases I could have ignored what I saw and felt and no one would have known. I feel though if I'm going to do this job and have any integrity as an umpire, I have to call what I see and not what is percieved by the players, coaches etc.
Any thoughts?
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Good questions. Often, you are the only one who sees something that should result in a call.
#1 Did it brush the loose fabric or hit his leg? Make a call and stick to it. Do you give a sh*t whether coach is mad about a call?
#2 Why ask your partner when you know the ball hit you? He can't add to that info. If you don't call it and are asked by defensive coach are you going to lie about it? Where do you draw the line on ethics?
And by the way, don't get hit by batted balls...