Was I being a B!tch?

[waltjp]

NF 3-3-1
A coach, player, substitute, attendant or other bench personnel shall not:

g. commit any unsportsmanlike acts to include, but not limited to,

5. be in live ball territory (excluding team's bullpen area) during the opponent's infield practice prior to the start of the game.

Sounds like this covers it.

[LMan]

Originally Posted by waltjp

NF 3-3-1
A coach, player, substitute, attendant or other bench personnel shall not:

g. commit any unsportsmanlike acts to include, but not limited to,

5. be in live ball territory (excluding team's bullpen area) during the opponent's infield practice prior to the start of the game.

Sounds like this covers it.

I have never seen/had a team take infield after Ive arrived at a field. They do outfield drills, calestentics (sp), and long toss, but not traditional infield. So, I guess this hasn't come up for me (yet).

Having said that, I will encounter it in my next game

[waltjp]

Knowing what the rule states and applying it with some logic are two different things. I'm not at the field to be a traffic cop before the game. I like to arrive early enough to take my time getting my gear on and going over a pre-game with my partner. I usually try to time my entrance to the field area to coincide with the teams wrapping up fielding practice ~ 10 minutes before the start of the game. This allows time to check equipment and prior to the plate conference.

A few years back I was scheduled to work a Babe Ruth game. I entered the field about 10 minutes before game time and asked the coach to wrap up his fielding practice. He initially ignored me so I repeated my request. He starts to get pissy and tells me that they just got on the field because the other team took too long. He then said that I should have been there earlier to get the other team off the field. I politely told him (okay, not so politely) that it wasn't my job to babysit. "I'm here to umpire a baseball game that WILL START IN 5 MINUTES. BRING THEM IN."