LL Bat Question

[LilLeaguer]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Lil,

I hardly think that Tee would get eaten alive by any managers, much less Little League managers. I would submit that Tee would send any such manager packing in a heartbeat who got up the nerve to try to intimidate him.

I have yet to encounter an intimidating Little League manager. So very few of them have any knowledge of the rules whatsoever, and most wouldn't have any clue about eligibility rules. Every time I've seen an argument about eligibilty issues, they always need to consult with a director or board member to straighten it out.

I certainly don't put up with a whole lot when dropping down to work Little League, and I doubt that Tee would, if he ever worked that level just for kicks.

Well, I admit I overstretched with my original statement. The opportunity to turn-about some phrases that were thrown in my direction recently was too strong a temptation. What I mean is that Tee would mismanage a Little League game (perhaps by ejecting managers as a reaction to his mistakes). This shouldn't really be considered an insult (though I'm sure that he would, if he saw it), because Tee doesn't want to be a competent Little League umpire.

So I'll put myself in a situation. Imagine that I jump into a NFHS game, arrogantly imagining that I have the skills, and I misapply a rule. The offended Manager comes out, we argue, and when I'm starting to feel intimidated, I eject him.

Has that been good game management?

The point is, having the guts to eject a manager is not (at least in my mind) the end of game management.

The eligibility rules in the book are not the difficult. LLDan will be able to master them in a year or two, if he applies himself. I know that on the field you can't determine where Johnny actually lives or how many innings he pitched on Tuesday, but an experienced Little League umpire should be able to apply the rules to the facts. Next year, for example, I'll know what the pitch count rules are, though I won't be actually counting the pitches.