| Bfair |
Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:28pm |
Quote:
Originally posted by blueump
I guess this is the best place to spout, cause I wish you guys actually were close enough to do games around here. Knowing the rule book has become a curse to me!
In last night's game I made 2 major calls (lodged ball in glove and runner interference) that I really caught flack for. I know the calls were solid, but both were based on rules that "nobody else has called on us all year" (man if I had a dollar for everytime I heard that!) In fact I also called a balk for a fake pickoff to first (never stepped off...and "never called all year"), warned 2 different pitchers about not wiping off his fingers after going to his mouth ("your the first guy to mention that all year"), called about 4 other balks as well. In fact, the home team scorer told me that we were the only umps to call balks on them all year. She even had to ask the coach what a "balk" was. I get all the comments from the coaches and crowd - "why don't you just let the kids decided this game?" and the one that for some reason bugged me the most "why do you insist on being the star of the show, nobody is here to watch you!" etc...
At what point do I just shut my mouth and call what "everyone else expects you to call" and not what is right? I'd catch a lot less grief!
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Depending on level of play, some rules are, at times, overlooked.
Your ability to understand when advantages are gained through questionable acts will help guide your decisionmaking on what to call and what is overlooked. Your decisions on what and when you overlook technicalities will impact your advancement to higher levels of officiating. Don't nitpick technicalities, but address them with warnings if need be.
Unfortunately, there are officials out there that study the rules but just won't call them---even when advantages are gained through questionably illegal actions. Coaches remember calls that are made against them much longer than they remember calls that were made in their favor and calls that were not made when they should have been made. Proper decisionmaking should earn you a good reputation with the good coaches at the risk of having a poor reputation with the poor coaches.
Have pride and integrity in your performance, use good judgment to know and enforce illegal advantages gained, but don't nitpick technicalities.
Just my opinion,
Freix
(BTW, I'd be interested in hearing your sitch on the interference)
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