All;
I was doing a game played under NCAA rules and the following situation occurred. In NCAA, there is no problem but afterwards, I got to thinking about what would have happened if this had been a game played under OBR and a crafty manager was involved. You know, like Billy Martin or Earl Weaver.
So let's assume OBR. Visitors are winning 6-4.
It was the 7th inning of a nine inning game (no runs have been scored by either team since the 4th inning) and I was the plate umpire. The weather was threatening but there was no lightning or thunder. Between innings, I consulted with the base umpire and we looked around at the sky. The trees surrounding the field blocked our view of the horizen.
Having lived in the midwest for 5 years, I knew something very bad was about to happen. The air was too still. I ordered the field cleared. The players were puzzled but they complied. Within a couple of minutes a mini-tornado was upon us and blew across the middle of the field dumping debris everywhere. (The trash and branches could have easily been cleaned up in five minutes.) An upside down wheel barrow was picked up by the wind and flipped right side up as if it were ready for use.
Things cleared for a minute or so and then a bolt of lightning knocked out the lights to the field. One of the light poles was smoking even though they all have lightning rods. In my mind, I knew the game was over at this point but then a torrential downpour started, which completely flooded the field.
Question: Did this game end because of equipment failure or weather? Is this a judgement on my part which cannot be protested? Can I say that it ended for weather even though the equipment failure came first?
If you are reading the above and don't understand why all these questions are important, shame on you. Go study your OBR book.
For the record, I ruled that it ended for weather reasons. Under the league rules, it does not matter why it ended so it was no big deal, but I got to thinking what a Billy Martin could have done with this scenario in the bigs.
Peter
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