Pony League rules. Batter stumbles approaching 1B, touches the bag as he falls and finishes past the bag. BU calls him safe. Batter (now runner) gets up and heads straight toward the bag, F3 tags the runner before he gets there, and BU calls him out. BU then tells him that if he would have kept a hand or foot in foul territory, it would have been OK. His explanation was that the runner forfeited any protection for overrunning 1B when he fell. Is this a legit call?

John

Totally bogus.

Don't you have a protest procedure?

Not legit, unless your league makes up their own rules.

We do have a protest mechanism, but the game was a complete mismatch, so we weren't worried about the outcome of the game. I just told the kid that the ump screwed up and that it wasn't his fault. I figured that my fallback if the call was OK was that I could take the blame as a base coach for not understanding the rule and not asking for time. I was more concerned that there was something I needed to know as a base coach.

John

There always is...but we don't have time to tell you all of it. Just remind the kid that just like he drops a flyball or swings at ball four, some young (and some old) umpires make mistakes, too.

There always is...but we don't have time to tell you all of it.

Don't I know it! Always more to learn.

As far as giving young umps a break, I try my best. The guy I coach with and I don't argue judgment calls -- period. If we have a problem with a rules interpretation, we ask what they called, tell them what we think the rule is, and live with the result. We try to emphasize to the kids that their efforts are what determines the outcome of games. The rules discussions are mostly to make sure that they know the correct rules as they move up. Bottom line: These are kids' games, and they need to learn to control what they can and deal with the rest with their heads held high.

John

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