So I was had a co-ed slow pitch game last night and the pitcher was throwing really high about twice an inning.
So I was getting a fair workout throwing my left arm out.
About 4 innings in, between innings, the coach from one team comes up and tells me I should stop calling illegal pitches and just call them as balls when they land. He says that in 5 years in this league he's never seen an umpire call the illegal pitches the way I was doing it. He goes on about how he's a baseball umpire and I should listen to him because after 10 years people are still helping him with his mechanics. At that the conversation ended.
Now, I've certainly never heard this before but I have had a few different games where people have asked me what the penalty for an illegal pitch is.
So my questions are:
1. Does anybody here do this? If so, in what situations. (i.e., how low level does the ball have to be.)
2. Besides politely stating you were going to keep calling it the way the rule is written is there anything else you'd say to end this conversation.
3. There's a rule/comment/rs somewhere that says we can't change a rulebook rule... is this such a situation? If not can someone provide examples for me of what can be changed. I'm trying to think what is a non-rulebook rule that I could change by mutual consent.
I'm trying to make sure I'm not overly officious; but I'm not sure how far one should go.
Thanks everybody.
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