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Old Wed Jan 20, 2016, 03:30pm
AtlUmpSteve AtlUmpSteve is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Woodstock, GA; Atlanta area
Posts: 2,822
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Slick View Post
Not for me. I assign a side to each team. I'll usually hold it up, with me looking at the edge, and say: "you are the side you see" and flip it with my thumb and index finger (not just my thumb). If a team gets to the plate meeting first (and it's a youth tournament), I may ask which side she would like.

Pet Peeve with a funny story: why do people have to say "heads" or "tails"? My state flipping coin has a flag on one side and the ASA umpire logo on the other. When I allow a player to choose a side, I'll ask: "would you like the flag or the umpire" (while showing both sides). I make a joke in clinics - "strangely enough, all women players say 'flag'". It gets the usual mix of groans and laughter. I repeated that story to a women's SP team waiting to play (we switch fields due to time, and I was called into service as the UIC). The team thought it was a funny story; when it was time for the actual flip, I look at the dugout and said: "what do you want?" and they all said "the umpire!" I think they lost the flip.
I always assign, as well. My normal coins says "Heads" and "Tails"; 3rd base dugout (my left) is heads, 1st base (my right) is tails.

Same issue as to pet peeve; "The flag is heads, the skyline of Atlanta is tails", who freaking cares? Coin flips do not require translation to heads or tails, just two distinct sides. If I'm using THAT coin, "You're (3rd base) the flag, you're (1st base) the skyline. I hear the former, and a HUGE number of times it's followed by (after the toss) "Which side was heads?"

Anyone else remember when ASA felt the need to state that the flag on their coin is NEVER the tails??
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