[Adam]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I've worked basketball in my past too. I knew the rules pretty darn well before starting out. I knew, to make a comparable example, that if you step on the out of bounds line with the ball, that you are out of bounds and the other team gets the ball. That's about how basic the batters box rule is in baseball. Not a really tough call, and pretty much common knowledge.

I guess from my perspective, the specifics of the rule he got wrong seems a bit more complex than the OOB line in basketball. More like whether the substitute has to shoot the free throws for an injured player (as opposed to anyone on the court). It's a relatively basic rule that everyone should know, but newer officials kick it occasionally.

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Sure, officials kick rule calls at all levels of experience on occassion. Judgment calls too. But they normally don't kick such basic rules like this one. It's usually a knotty problem like the kind we argue about here, a different interpretation of a rule, for example.

Maybe, but I've seen officials kick basic rules, learn from it, and move on to become pretty damned good officials.

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

No. Before I was allowed on the baseball field in my association, I had to attend classes and clinics and learn the damn rules. It sounds like this guy just bought some gear and a uniform (or it was given to him) and called himself an umpire.

I'm lumping LL ball into, essentially, YMCA basketball; so the idea of an ill-prepared official doesn't seem all that unlikely.

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I never said anything about anybody being perfect, either before or after stepping behind the plate. Last perfect person I ever heard of ended up getting hung by the Romans. No, perfection is not a requirement, and you know it's not. But a basic working knowledge of the rules is a requirement to officiate any sport.

Fair enough. This particular rule seems, from your perspective, to be a basic; I can accept that.