Idiot coach

bellsjc · #1 (**permalink**) Wed May 04, 2005, 01:35pm

Varsity game. Home team far better than visiting team. Home team had pitcher who was throwing gas and obviously visitors were over matched. Score got to be home team 12 visiting team 0 after 4th or 5th inning. Yes... don't ask me why but NY State does not have a 10 run rule. Home coach has his players stepping out of batters box before every pitch to look for signs, visiting team puts in a pitcher that couldn't reach home plate. Slower than batting practice pitches and was having a really hard time throwing strikes. Home team is taking pitches until they had 2 strikes. Home team is continuing to steal and run like it is a one run game. I am getting really ticked off at all this. I never, and I mean never open up my strike zone. I finish a game with the same strike zone that I start a game with. Well I start calling the strike zone like its a little league game. Bottom of 6th I hear a player in the dugout tell the leadoff guy "swing at anything, this guy is calling everything a strike." Well I tell the batter that they are making me call everything a strike because they refuse to swing the bat. Batter tells me it is because of their jerk coach. Coach never said a word to me. Please tell me your opinion on my ever expanding strike zone and the way I handled the situation. Final score was 20-0 Home pitcher gave up one hit... infield single in the top of the 7th.

umpire29 · #2 (**permalink**) Wed May 04, 2005, 02:32pm

bellsjc

I never change my strike zone no matter what the score.
As for you talking to hitters I guess you are there I
am not. And lastly I always have heard what goes around
comes around. Then I hope I have game between the same
two teams and the outcome is reversed.I hope this helps
when you run into another game like this.

mcrowder · #3 (**permalink**) Wed May 04, 2005, 02:41pm

First - you've got my vote for the most redundant thread title ever.

Second - it's easy for me to sit here and say I would not expand my zone. I never have, and never INTEND to. I've been in sitches like yours, and never did expand my zone. But who's to know whether I'd have the convictions to stick by it when it's 25-0 in the 4th... 30-0 in the 4th... etc. I THINK I would keep my zone the same - but I was not there, and while I'd like to fault you for giving in, I can't find it in me to do so. In the blowouts I've been in, coach eventually tells the batters to swing, or losing coach cries uncle... or coach empties the bench, and the scrubs start making outs. At least ... so far.

One would hope that as coach saw his team was getting NO enjoyment out of the game, he'd loosen up the bats a bit. Perhaps it backfires --- the long long rest between innings makes his pitcher tire, and he has to go to someone else, blowing his shutout. Who knows. Or ... as the game gets longer and longer, he finally realizes the game will go past curfew (or light, if you have no lights), etc, and his AD will chew him a new one for causing him to pay the umpires twice (once now, once for the resumed game later).

Stripes1950 · #4 (**permalink**) Wed May 04, 2005, 03:14pm

Was working the bases in a 53-2 game last year. Ranked team wouldn't get an out and home team had to play all his freshman. It was ridiculous!!! It ended after 3 innings. Second game was competitive. I hope never to have anything like that happen again. Don' have any advice for you. It wasn't your fault.

LMan · #5 (**permalink**) Wed May 04, 2005, 03:43pm

games like that are a great time to try a slightly different plate stance, try not using your indicator, see how a new mechanic works out, etc

DG · #6 (**permalink**) Wed May 04, 2005, 09:43pm

Quote:

Originally posted by bellsjc
Varsity game. Home team far better than visiting team. Home team had pitcher who was throwing gas and obviously visitors were over matched. Score got to be home team 12 visiting team 0 after 4th or 5th inning. Yes... don't ask me why but NY State does not have a 10 run rule. Home coach has his players stepping out of batters box before every pitch to look for signs, visiting team puts in a pitcher that couldn't reach home plate. Slower than batting practice pitches and was having a really hard time throwing strikes. Home team is taking pitches until they had 2 strikes. Home team is continuing to steal and run like it is a one run game. I am getting really ticked off at all this. I never, and I mean never open up my strike zone. I finish a game with the same strike zone that I start a game with. Well I start calling the strike zone like its a little league game. Bottom of 6th I hear a player in the dugout tell the leadoff guy "swing at anything, this guy is calling everything a strike." Well I tell the batter that they are making me call everything a strike because they refuse to swing the bat. Batter tells me it is because of their jerk coach. Coach never said a word to me. Please tell me your opinion on my ever expanding strike zone and the way I handled the situation. Final score was 20-0 Home pitcher gave up one hit... infield single in the top of the 7th.

Interesting. You mean you would call the strike zone BIG in a LL game but would not do the same in the late innings of a blowout. That is curious. Also, you missed some good opportunities to call some strikes if the batters for the home team are stepping out of the box after pitches. And these would be legitimate strikes under the rules (FED).

jicecone · #7 (**permalink**) Thu May 05, 2005, 08:02am

Quote:

Originally posted by bellsjc
Varsity game. Home team far better than visiting team. Home team had pitcher who was throwing gas and obviously visitors were over matched. Score got to be home team 12 visiting team 0 after 4th or 5th inning. Yes... don't ask me why but NY State does not have a 10 run rule. Home coach has his players stepping out of batters box before every pitch to look for signs, visiting team puts in a pitcher that couldn't reach home plate. Slower than batting practice pitches and was having a really hard time throwing strikes. Home team is taking pitches until they had 2 strikes. Home team is continuing to steal and run like it is a one run game. I am getting really ticked off at all this. I never, and I mean never open up my strike zone. I finish a game with the same strike zone that I start a game with. Well I start calling the strike zone like its a little league game. Bottom of 6th I hear a player in the dugout tell the leadoff guy "swing at anything, this guy is calling everything a strike." Well I tell the batter that they are making me call everything a strike because they refuse to swing the bat. Batter tells me it is because of their jerk coach. Coach never said a word to me. Please tell me your opinion on my ever expanding strike zone and the way I handled the situation. Final score was 20-0 Home pitcher gave up one hit... infield single in the top of the 7th.

My first Varsity game of the year was a 25-0 game. Not only was my strike zone bigger, but I let it be known to the teams that it would be. Everyone in that park understood.

I was informed by my partner (BU), that under NO circumstances could a game be shortened. Well after 3 hrs, both coaches and myself agreed that some how we incorrectly made a mistake in the scorebook and it was really the 7th and not the 6th inning. How silly of us . My partner is still wondering how that happened. ?????????????.

Now for the purist out there, please don't waste your time lecturing about what the book reads and whether or not this was right or wrong. Common Sense prevailed.

bob jenkins · #8 (**permalink**) Thu May 05, 2005, 08:24am

Quote:

Originally posted by jicecone
I was informed by my partner (BU), that under NO circumstances could a game be shortened. Well after 3 hrs, both coaches and myself agreed that some how we incorrectly made a mistake in the scorebook and it was really the 7th and not the 6th inning. How silly of us . My partner is still wondering how that happened. ?????????????.

Now for the purist out there, please don't waste your time lecturing about what the book reads and whether or not this was right or wrong. Common Sense prevailed.

Does your state have "game ending procedures?" If not, see 4-2-4

jicecone · #9 (**permalink**) Thu May 05, 2005, 08:49am

Quote:

Originally posted by bob jenkins

Quote:

Originally posted by jicecone
I was informed by my partner (BU), that under NO circumstances could a game be shortened. Well after 3 hrs, both coaches and myself agreed that some how we incorrectly made a mistake in the scorebook and it was really the 7th and not the 6th inning. How silly of us . My partner is still wondering how that happened. ?????????????.

Now for the purist out there, please don't waste your time lecturing about what the book reads and whether or not this was right or wrong. Common Sense prevailed.

Does your state have "game ending procedures?" If not, see 4-2-4

Information from our interpretation meeting was, "Under NO circumstances" is a game to be shortened. But then again, this is CT.

danreeves1973 · #10 (**permalink**) Thu May 05, 2005, 08:51am

Haven't had to call a blowout that bad, but did witness one this year. My nephews JV team, after two innings, which took over an hour, they were up 22-0. His coach, they were home team, told his players that if it was within a foot of the plate, anywhere, they better be swinging. Ump also opened up his zone, by about a foot it seemed and the home pitcher threw nothing but right down the middle, like he was warming up. Ten run ruled it an hour later, 25-3.

ChapJim · #11 (**permalink**) Thu May 05, 2005, 02:06pm

I had a coach tell me, "You can go ahead and ring up my guys anytime you want."

scyguy · #12 (**permalink**) Thu May 05, 2005, 03:39pm

increase the zone, get it over with!!

Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. · #13 (**permalink**) Thu May 05, 2005, 07:52pm

A few years ago, I was behind the plate of a girls' H.S. jr. varsity softball game (Toledo City League) between one of the league doormate (home team) and the league power (visiting team). After two innings the V's are up 25-0. Coach V brings comes to the plate to tell me that she is going to start making line-up changes via pinch hitters who will end up staying in the game; see then told me that any time the V's pitcher got the ball to the plate without it bouncing and her batter doesn't swing at it, she wanted me to call it a strike. The first pitch to her lead-off batter was at her eyeballs and I called it a strike. The batter looked at me like I was nuts (but everybody knows I am nuts); I told her that her coach said that was a strike to which she replied: "I understand." After that not a single batter for V failed to swing at a pitch. The worst part was that they still scored 10 more runs in the top of the third while swinging at any pitch that came remotely close to the plate on the fly.

MTD, Sr.

aevans410 · #14 (**permalink**) Fri May 06, 2005, 06:14am

I had that happen in a reserve game this year. Home team down 17-0. Visitors were just pounding the ball. Top of the third, V coach comes to me and tells me his guys are swinging, if they don't, I don't care where it is, go ahead and ring it up.

He wasn't joking either, these kids were swinging over their heads, picking em off of the ground.

officialtony · #15 (**permalink**) Fri May 06, 2005, 07:25am

Mark & Allen,
While I understand your " solution ", I get concerned in those instances that the team that is getting blasted may take offense at this approach of swinging at everything. As long as the " blasters " are not making fun of or otherwise taunting the " blastees ", I have no problem with this. What concerns me is that some " blastee " gets mad because he is getting blasted and made fun of.He hears the other team laughing and hoohahing and now takes it personal. That's a bitter pill to swallow for anyone. Pride and ego get involved and I would want to be sure that all is kept in a good " spirit of the game ". With that in mind, I am presuming the " blasters " coach has his team under control and would hope that situation doesn't unfold.