Quote:
Originally Posted by mbcrowder
OK. I admit I significantly dumbed down the situation to get at the heart of the matter. (And Johnny, you're wrong - an appeal must be AN APPEAL. This was not - the touch was accidental, AND the fielder tried to go get the runner out after contact with the bag ... even more blatantly so in the REAL situation below).
Here's the actual situation that happened on Sunday.
Runner on first, stealing. Looping liner/low fly ball to F3. R1 keeps going past 2nd as F3 makes a shoestring catch, stumbles - hitting the bag on the way - then fires to third to get the out, throwing it over the fence.
I award home, DC requests time and comes out to argue that there was an appeal at 1st. I get with BU, he confirms we have the same thing - no appeal, contact with the bag was accidental. He continues to have a fit and eventually ejects himself.
UIC, who was there, tells me we blew the call three times - once on the touch of first (His words: "it's not an appeal, it's a force"), 2nd - the award should have been 2nd base, since "the runner legally had to return... and his two bases were 1st and 2nd; and 3rd for not calling the out on the appeal during the argument (DC never says, "runner left early" or any words I could stretch into a dead ball appeal - just "my fielder touched the bag", etc.)
I promised UIC I would post this here, and that I would post in this way - first as "what I was calling an accidental appeal", then with the full sitch. He promised he'd check here to see the "verdict". This was my first time working for this UIC.
And with no worry of offense, honestly ... my last. (Sorry sir ... I can't work in an area where the UIC's rules knowledge is this far off.)
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Coach is an absolute idiot. Just make a proper appeal when the ball is put back into play. You get the out, take the run off the board and you get to stay in the game.
Mr. UIC, if you read this, please note. If you are going to be the "UIC", umpire in charge, please know the rules. If you don't know the rules, don't have such a position. As UIC, many times at a tournament, you are the final arbiter and interpreter of the rules. By not knowing the rules, even the simplest ones, you do a disservice to all officials and undermine their credibility when you demonstrate your ingorance of said rules. If you were to come up to me with such dribble, I would tell you to read the rule book, pound sand, get your gear and work the rest of the games in my spot.