Officials' Quarterly

[FVB9]

We had this happen two years ago to end a HS game with two heated cross-town rivals. Bottom 7, two outs, bases jacked and a 2-2 count on the batter. Pitcher threw a letter high curve on the inside part of the plate, and the batter leaned forward and got it with his elbow. Crown goes nuts, R3 comes running home, tied game...Home plate umpire rung his *** up to end the game.

Now he may have caught a lot of crap walking to his car, and I'm sure he did because it's a half mile to your car at that school. But he made the right call, and his stock went up as a result. Was the pitch a strike? Probably not, but it doesn't matter. There's a school of thought that penalizes the player who tries to gain an unfair advantage, especially if he's on offense.

You want the big game? Don't run from the tough call.

By the way...when's the Fed going to adopt the NCAA interp of the hit batter (if the ball is inside the vertical lines of the batter's box, he doesn't have to move)?