Just for fun here.

What's your favorite rule misconception/misapplication that a coach has argued/said to you?

Don't say "hands are part of the bat" or "he' gets 1+1" since those ones are the all-time champions.

I'll start with a couple-

With R1, LHP lifts leg and pauses in mid-air. I call balk. Coach says "what for?" I say "he paused his leg. he can't stop his motion". Coach says "if he lifts his leg up, he can keep it there all day!" I say "no, he can't". Assistant coach chirps in after i'm done with that coach and says "if he does that every time, it's not a balk." I say "that's not a rule," and walk away.

Batter hits a chopper off the plate and gets throw out at first. Coach says "ump, did that hit the plate?" I say "yeah, it did." He says quite angrily, "then it's a foul ball!" I said "no coach, it's not. Plate is in fair territory." He says "where'd you come up with that?" I said "from the rulebook. It's a good book, you should try reading it sometime." People snickered from the other dugout.



What are some of yours?

1) A ground ball bounces over the top of the bag (either one, it don't matter) and lands several feet foul.

2) A batter bunts the ball straight down in front of the plate it comes back up and hits the bat again while still in his hands and he is still in the box and the ball is rolling weakly to the pitcher.

3) A batter strikes out on a swing and in so doing ends up in front of the plate in the catcher's way on a throw to 2B to try and get R1 stealing.

4) And of course, FPSR when there was no chance of turning two gets 'em out to argue every time.

"He has to slide."

Base awards are always tough for coaches. This story just happend to me about a week ago.

I was calling games in a Legion All-Star tournament. The players were some of the best players in the entire country.

When I arrived at the field, I was suprised to find that neither of my 2 partners were there yet. I guess they are just not as dedicated as me to show up 2 1/2 hours before the game.

I had a bunch of time to waste, so I figured I could spend some time cleaning all my gear. After I had cleaned everything, I figured I should take a look at my uniform. I came to realize that one of my 14 pairs of plate pants needed to be pressed. I got my iron out of the trunk, but I had no where to plug it in. I then realized that there were probally outlets in the dugouts on the field. So I carried my pants, iron, and ironing board to the home team dugout. The manager was sure suprised to see me, but he was glad that at least one of the umpires would for sure be here for the game. After I had finished ironing my pants, I looked towards the parking lot, and I could see my partners had still not arrived.

I figured I might as well make myself useful, so I hopped on the teams "Gator", and dragged the infield for them. After I had finished, I decided to put down the baselines. I took the chalk machine (one of those roller things) and put down the first and third baselines. Now it was time to do the batter's and catcher's boxes. I work the GD stance, and I hate it when catchers scoot too far up to the plate. So instead of the BB being 3 feet deep from the center of the plate, I extended it to about 4.5 or 5 feet. Now if the catcher scoots up to far, he will for sure take a whacking from the batter's bat. Solved that problem.

So fast foreward to the base award issue. It was the 5th inning, with the visiting team batting, winning by 2 runs. Of course I was doing the plate, because I am just so good at calling pitches. No one was on base, and B1 hits to the right side of the infield. F5 makes a great diving stop. I can hear calls of "Great play!" from the dugout. F5 hops up and fires low to first. The ball skips past F3, and rolls into the home team's dugout. U1 sends the BR to second base.

The offensive manager, not understanding that he is being wronged, does not come out to argue. I then call out to U1 "Hey Bob, would you like to ask me anything about that play?" (Yes that is the same mechanic taught by Wiederlanders. I bet you are wondering if this game was last week, how did I already read the article? Well, because I enjoy Wiederlanders' articles so much, I have him email them to me as soon as he writes them. That way I don't have to go through the agony of waiting a whole day for his next article.)

So, U1 looks at me and he says "Huh?" So I shout back, "You messed up the base award you idiot, come and ask me for help." So the offensive manager hearing this decides to come out and talk to Bob. I went out to join in the conversation. The manager says "Bob, what is the rule on the base award." Bob repiles "Well skip.." I then cut him off and say "I'll take it from here Bob, you are an incompetent umpire. You need to study the eteamz rules myths more." I then look at the manager and say "It is a two base award from the BR's position at the time the ball entered DBT." I then send the BR to third base, for he had touched first before the ball entered the dugout. The manager replies "That is what I always though. I asked that question once on a internet umpire forum, but I just got flamed for asking a stupid question. Only one person ever answered my question. I think his name was Mitch Fives, or something like that. He also informed me that he was a coach, so I assumed his ruling was wrong. Thanks for confirming his incorrectness for me."

This of course brought out the defensive manager. He says "How does the BR get third? If it is the first play by an infielder, then the award is from TOP." I reply "But it wasn't the first play. Remember when F5 made that diving stop? You yelled from the dugout "Nice play". F5 fielding the ball was the first play, therefore the throw is the second play." The manager replies back "Whatever man. You are crazy." I told him that he better shut up or he is going to be gone. He says back "You are one of only 3 people on the field being paid. You must always act professional and have a willingness to listen to reasonable arguments WITHOUT threats from you to eject us!" I said "I have had enough of you telling me how umpires should act, you are out of this game."

I knew I would have to fill out the ejection report after the game, but I always refer to the managers as "Sir" or "Mister", I never use their names. I better figure out this guy's name quick. As he was walking away from me, it was on the back of his shirt. His uniform number was 4, and his name was Ignitor. So I pulled out my lineup card and wrote down "Ignitor4".

ROFLMAO!
 

Too Funny! I give it 1 thumb up (only because I can't use two icons above)!

-Josh

hahaha excellent story

BAAAWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! SSSSSNNNNNNOOOOORRRRRRTTTT!!!!HAHAHAHAHA SNICKER SNICKER HAHAHAHAHA SSNNOORRTT!!!

American Legion this past Wednesday.

B1 swings at pitch, bat hits the pitch then hits batter in the head knocking off his helmet and putting him on the ground. I'm U1 of a 3 man crew so I just take it all in. B1's manager is helping him up and they start to stroll up the foul line toward me. When B1 is about 10 feet from me, I put up both my hands and ask "Where are you going?". B1's manager says "He get's 1st! He was hit by the pitch!" I asked the manager, "What game were you watching? The bat hit the ball, the ball hit the batter in the head while he was still in the box! I've got a foul ball, you go back the dugout, your batter goes back to the box, we add a strike and you battter gets a lump on his head for his troubles!"

The manager told me that the PU said because B1 was hit in the head, he could take his base. I explained to the manager in front of the PU that the "hit by batted ball in the head" rule only was in effect if the DH was on 2nd in his underware and the assistant coach was doing a can-can on the dugout roof! He laughed and said if his assistant goes on the dugout roof to do a can-can, he was not hanging around!

And the value of all this, is what?

The same as a coupon.

my best one is where the coach eventually got ran from the ball game for arguen this call and after being instructed that he was restricted he stated that i couldn't restrict S**T she he found the parking lot.


play was:

batter hits the ball down third base line before the bag the fielder reaches over the line in to foul ball territory while his feet were still in fair territory and touches the ball before the bag with the ball being in foul ball territory. i call it a foul ball and the coach blows up.

he calls time walks down the third base line to argue the call. he argues the rule, i tell him that its not where the player is, the location of the ball when touched determines the fair/foul situation he didn't like that.

i told him that the conversation was over and the ruling stands. his batter strikes out and that ends the inning. the coach comes over to argue the thing again and thats where he gets restricted and utters some of his last words about the situation. his other words were that he was not going to leave because i was wrong and he was right

[Edited by ecurebel on Jul 8th, 2005 at 11:45 PM]

ummmm....
 

ecurebel-

Could you please let me know what a "she he" is? I'm just dying to know :).

-Josh

he was an idiot

I will vouch for Luke's story, (LDUB), but, I must tell you the parts he left out on purpose.

He gets to ALL his games 2-1/2 hrs early because his wife does'nt let him drink or smoke at home. He has found that by getting to the field that early, he can usually get a six-pack and a cigar in before game time. This has contributed to him being tossed out of 5 ballparks for ironing his pants in his underware, when the teams showed for batting practice.

One game, he threw out 7 players and 2 coaches by the 3rd inning and then asked them all to come back after he had sobered-up in the 4th and realized that he would'nt get a full fee if it was an incomplete game.

As bad as that game sounded though, it could of been worse if he had done the bases. He once threw the first baseman out of the game because he kept kicking dirt on the bag, Being the neat freak he is, he finally got tired of pulling his brush to clean the bag and , well, that was a differtent game, different time and place.

Keep up the good work, LUKE.

Ecurebel,

"batter hits the ball down third base line before the bag the fielder reaches over the line in to foul ball territory while his feet were still in fair territory and touches the ball before the bag with the ball being in fall ball territory. i call it a fould ball and the coach blows up."

Once a ball is called "fall", it can't be called "fould" unless it directly follows Summer Ball.

In Ct. we never let teams play Fall Ball after playing Summer Ball, unless the ball hits the bag. Then its all Fair.

look i don't try to be an english major for that is not what i am attending college for.

if you would like to poke fun at somebodies mistakes look at your own umpiring and start there

sheeesh
 

ecurebel-

easy boy. Just a little fun being had. I fully expect someone to come by and give me a ribbing if I accidentally do something wrong no matter what it is. No ill intent was meant by either of us. I apologize if we came off tht way.

-Josh

i catch enough sarcastic persons with wit and banter similer to this one's daily. if antagonism over ones spelling or gramatical mistakes is this person's cup of tea then i don't see why he would be offended by the remarks for it seems that darwinism has yet to take affect in CT.

Au Contraire Mr ecurebel,a little monkeying around is exactalactaly what we are most expertise at. Whether or not it is gramatically correctamungo or not.

Chill out and enjoy.

exactalactaly? I suspect the reference to Darwin has more to do with the fact that the stupid don't survive as long as the smart, and less to do with monkeys.

Balk
 

One of my favorites:

Typical balk: F1 engages the rubber, comes set, and separates his hands. I'm PU and, of course, call "Balk." D Coach comes out with the standard, "what did he do?" I explain the balk. Between innings I get the ole "ya gotta minute, Blue?" Me, BU, and D Coach go to the mound where Coach is trying to say he didn't actually engage the rubber. Both my partner and I saw it the same way and during his attempt to get us to either a) change our call or b) say we were wrong, actually said this (and I swear I'm NOT making this up):

"He only 'stepped' on the rubber and he only did that to deceive the runner."

Still laughing about that one!

I liked this one
 

R1 and hot shot to CF, R1 has wheels, and and rounds 2 going to 3rd, CF launches a quality throw in to the dugout. I award R1 home and BR 2nd as he was about 3/4 the way to 1st when the CF throws the ball.

Coach comes out and asks why BR is on 2 not #rd, I explain, and he says no way, he got the ball through the infield, he is "given 1st base", He got a hit so he was "given 1st base", I said, no he was given anything until the ball went out of play. The coach throws up his hands and leaves. He talk to me again after the game nicely about it, and still thinks he is right.

13 yr old PONY tourney
 

Batter squares to bunt and takes a fastball to the body....nothing odd happened, he tried to turn away from the pitch, but catches him in the body.....HBP....

Defensive coach asks for time and tells me...."the rule is when a batter squares to bunt he gives up the right to be hit by the pitch"...........

Just when you think you've heard them all........

Stan

Re: 13 yr old PONY tourney
 

As soon as I read that I thought of a situation I had that was just like that. Batter squares, pitch is inside, gets him on the knee. Defensive coach tells me he squared so he isn't allowed to go to first. I tell coach he pulled it back as he was getting out of the way, shut him right up (luckily).

Luke, if you wrote stuff that good for the paid site, I would subscribe today. Excellent work!!!!

dunt lyt themm get ewe down, bud, weee appreshiate yore kontribootshuns to the sight and awls well :)

That goes without saying. Or, at least, it could have.

Hmmmm,
 

"look i don't try to be an english major for that is not what i am attending college for."

Some things are obvious to all of us.

I wonder ????????????????
 

Could it be that "Incurable" and "Drummerboy" are related ?

They seem to have the same, ahem, "style".

Butz, I koud bee rong !!!!!!!!!!



Doug

cold cornfusion
 

Quite entertaining...

I'm also thinking that "ecurebel" might be something like ECU Rebel - East Carolina University?

It's not as much fun as the spelling thing.

Gol darnnit someteims I fergit how gol darn fun baseball cann b.

One of my favs was many moon ago, SR. Babe Ruth state tourney. Semifinals. Towns are archrivals. Pitchers are throwin BBs. Pitcher fer Team A is wearin a flesh-colored ACE sleeve on throwin elbow. Can't even tell it from my position as PU.

Team B coach decides in the fifth that he's gonna raise a S!@t storm about it. I tell him it's legal. He pulls out the rule book and says, show me.

I just happened to know which page 9.01(c)3 is located...actually it was a heavenly miracle and turned to the page. I said, "Here it is coach, read it on your way out to the bus." He said, no you read it...I told him he could just read along while I recited it.

"That doesn't say he can wear it," coach sez.

"Oh yes it does. Read it again during your minute to get off the field..."

Of course now he wants to go to the Tournament Director, files a protest. Cost him $50 to file the protest, only gets money back if he's right.

TD and I split the $50, and he went to the bus.

Looky, Looky Ecurebel went back and edited his fall ball post.

In the words of the famous and hilarious character, Roseann, Roseanna Dana,

"NEVER MIND"

ECU must offer Remedial Spelling during the summer session. Next, he can try Basic Capital Letters, except that might be too much English for a non-English major. How'd this goober get in college?

Just when you thought you had heard them all...

Adult league; American League Rules.

Batter comes to the plate and gets a walk. Defensive coach calls time and asks if R1 reported in. I said "No". The coach says that R1 should be out for batting out of order because all substitutes must report in to the umpire. I tell him that R1 is termed an "unreported substitute" and is a legal substitute once he takes his place in the batter's box; he is not required to report to me and is not out. He insists and I repeat. The coach says it's in the rule book, so I call my partner over and he says the same thing. The coach wants us to get a rule book and we say no. The coach then wants to protest the game (even though they were winning 6-1 in the bottom of the 6th). We confirmed the option to protest with the coach and announced it.

The assignor said thanks ($75 protest fee) and that we would be invited out for drinks...

Actually, that was Emily Litella, one of SNL's Gilda Radner's other famous characters.

[Edited by GarthB on Jul 18th, 2005 at 12:21 PM]

I was at a watering hole last week and an umpire was bragging about getting an out this way. I tried to convince him he was dead wrong, but Smitty knows best...

Depends. I called a 13U Super Series tourney Monday and Tuesday and an unreported sub was an out and ejected. So maybe you were the smitty in that conversation. 8-) I agree normally it would not be but in this case it was.

wait a sec...
 

MABL and MSBL (adult hardball leagues) both have this rule...

their website is: http://www.msblnational.com/main.asp...n=doc&doc_id=4
---
rule 3.h
3.h All teams must announce offensive additions, substitutions, and/or changes to the home plate umpire AND opposing team manager and/or scorekeeper. Only after this has been done will the added player be deemed a legal substitution.

If a team fails to announce an offensive addition/change, the player will be called out as soon as he occupies the batter’s box and the lineup will revert back to the lineup in effect prior to the player entering the game. The unannounced player will not have officially entered the offensive lineup and is therefore still available offensively even though an out has been assessed.

Example: Team A is batting 12 players and wishes to add a player to the bottom of the lineup (Player 13). Player 13 walks to the plate and is not announced to either the opposing team or home plate umpire. Once this player occupies his position in the batter’s box, the umpire will immediately call him out for an illegal substitution and it will then go back to the number 1 position in the lineup. Player 13 is still available to be added to the lineup legally.
---

Sometimes I think this is Calvinball and not baseball. :D

Depends. I called a 13U Super Series tourney Monday and Tuesday and an unreported sub was an out and ejected. So maybe you were the smitty in that conversation. 8-) I agree normally it would not be but in this case it was. [/B][/QUOTE]

Jim,
(Edited to remove first paragraph, as your smiley did not come through correctly, and I mistakenly took offense...sometimes just gotta read everything a couple of times)

It was a regular OBR based game with safety rules. OBR specifically in 3.06 says manager SHALL report subs, etc. However 3.08 deals with what happens if manager breaks rule 3.06 and doesn't report. An out is not an option in OBR. From MLB.com....

3.06
The manager shall immediately notify the umpire in chief of any substitution and shall state to the umpire in chief the substitute's place in the batting order. Players for whom substitutions have been made may remain with their team on the bench or may "warm up" pitchers. If a manager substitutes another player for himself, he may continue to direct his team from the bench or the coach's box. Umpires should not permit players for whom substitutes have been made, and who are permitted to remain on the bench, to address any remarks to any opposing player or manager, or to the umpires.
3.07
The umpire in chief, after having been notified, shall immediately announce, or cause to be announced, each substitution.
3.08
(a) If no announcement of a substitution is made, the substitute shall be considered as having entered the game when_ (1) If a pitcher, he takes his place on the pitcher's plate; (2) If a batter, he takes his place in the batter's box;
(3) If a fielder, he reaches the position usually occupied by the fielder he has replaced, and play commences; (4) If a runner, he takes the place of the runner he has replaced. (b) Any play made by, or on, any of the above mentioned unannounced substitutes shall be legal.


[Edited by TBBlue on Jul 21st, 2005 at 12:07 PM]