What do you say to the coach?
 

Pre-season high school scrimmage last week. I'm at the plate and there is a ground ball to the shortstop. There's a play at first, but F3 drops the ball, so the runner is safe. The coach asks my partner - "Would he have been safe or out if he had caught the ball?" I don't think my partner heard him, so he didn't answer. What would you say? The ball was clearly there before the runner, so if you say he is out, the coach says - "My player had possession." If you say he was safe, the coach has a right to complain. It seems that he's trying to bait us into saying something stupid. What do you do?

Did the coach (head coach) call "Time" to question the call?

If "Time" was granted to the head coach and he asked me that question as BU, most likely I would have said something like "I call what I see based on the play - I have no answer to the "what if" question you asked".

Sam

We always seem to think of better things to say after the fact, but the first thing that came to my mind was, "unfortunately we'll never know coach".

Sorry coach, that's not how I saw it.

You don't speculate on might-have-beens....don't answer it.

"Sorry coach, I left my crystal ball in the car."

I just would have said "But coach, he dropped the ball". :) Really, that is what I would have said.

I would answer his question and then deal with him if he wanted to be a jerk about it.

I would say he should ask my partner, boyinblue.

"Sorry coach! Would be, could be, might be means nothing. The call is over - let's move on!"

"Yes Coach, he would have been either safe or out if he caught the ball."

Personally, I don't get into such hypothetical situations if I can help it.

Batters from time to time ask about pitches they swung at. I quite honestly tell them I stop tracking a pitch once I'm relieved of the responsibility of calling the pitch. Sometimes, it's obvious whether the pitch was a ball or a strike, but other times I really don't know. He swung, so who cares?

In this situation, I'd probably tell the coach. Who cares what he says afterwards? It's judgment and the call wouldn't change even if he did think the player had possession.

Somewhat interesting that of the 11 comments so far, most seem to be a little flippant toward the coach's question (safe or out, IF HE CAUGHT THE BALL). The coach just implied that F3 didnt catch it, plus its only a scrimmage, so why not just answer the Q in a civil way (if the Q was asked that way).
I agree with durham, so why make more out of it then it is, ego maybe?
Yes, we all know that coaches try to pull tricks, gain an edge at our expense, but I certainly have no problem with being civil , if treated the same way, and will immedialely deal with coaches who arent...

This hypothetical reminds me of the batter who swings at a pitch then asks, "Would that have been a strike if I didn't swing?" I answer "yes" every time, regardless of where the pitch was, just to get them to swing the frickin' bat and stop asking me such questions. :D

If the ball was 'clearly there before the runner,' as the OP states, why is the coach asking? Can he not see? Is he implying you can't see?

That's like me asking him why he's batting his .195 guy in the 4-hole. Nunmybizness.

Sorry, but if a coach is asking this kind of question on an obvious call, I'm thinking he has a motive. Why give him ammo? I didn't say be rude about it, I'm saying 'decline to enter' into such a discussion during the game. Civilly.

Yup, it's ego. Always ego. Asked and answered.

I't's against my better judgement to give an answer to the coaches question. I am in agreement with a previous post that sitting here at my computer I may have a different response than I would on the field but my gut tells me not to answer directly. For me, a good response would be "what do you think coach?"
Whether he responds out or safe I can just shrug it off. If he persists i can ask why it matters and at that point the discussions over.
There is no upside to answering this directly only a downside. An indirect 'civil' response is the way to go IMO.

A perfectly civil "what did you think, coach?" followed by a shrug = ego.


:rolleyes: ooooooohhhhkaaaaaaaaayyyy.

I am probably way off here, and god knows that I am wrong all the time, but how many times a year does someone ask this type of question. I get it once maybe twice a year, and a hitters ask maybe once or twice a game on swinging strike. Everyone is capable of handling these stiuations in their own way, but for me the way is to answer their question as long as it is a question. I am not a mind reader, but as for me and my system of handling situations, I do my job professionally, and then deal with unprofessional behavior in turn.

Everyone of us can and will deal with this stuff in their own way, but if anyone is looking for a different way to deal with it I suggest trying this one. I have rarely had trouble dealing with it in this fashion, and if I would have had an ejection in this type of situation, I would be backed by the fact that I was "being approachable" and answering the question and they coach/player became an ***. And not labeled in a different light by not answering the question or answering in a vague unclear fashion.

Perhaps,
Was it the shrug or the question that bothered you?
I can honestly say that my intention was not to 1up the coach or to display absolute authority in this situation, simply to defer giving a direct answer to a possibly legit question.

The coach would have to call time and come out to ask me such a stupid question. I would just ignore him the rest of the time.

Peace

Any time a coach or player asks a hypothetical question about a play, I repsond truthfully, civily and concisely: "I'd have to see that."

Sorry, my response was directed to archangel, not you. I'm in your camp on this one, believe me.


I think Garth's answer is best. A coach cannot string you up on "I'd have to see that/it," no matter how hard he tries.

This is where your personality has to come into play. If I were to say something I would likely be a smart azz and the tone would not be right. So I just prefer to ignore stupidity with silence.

Peace

I also had this happen to me...
 

I just told the coach:

"I'm not sure, I didn't have time to flip my coin on the play.":cool:

Had this happen last week
 

I was doing a Mustang game last Sunday. The kid swung at strike 3 and ended the inning. The kids dad, who is about 30 feet away ask me if that last one was a ball or a strike. I responded back “I don't remember". I said it in a slow but deliberate manner. Honestly, I didn’t remember. It was a strike as far I was concerned and I had moved on to other business. The dad says "Don't remember, huh" with the inflection in his voice that I knew but was not going to provide that info. Then someone said "good answer, blue". So that may be my response from now on. Every situation is different.

If the kid's dad was I spectator, I wouldn't have responded at all, if he was a coach I would have told him it was strike, it was, it ended the inning.

I say the same thing...if they swing at one that they know is a ball they don't ask if they ask, it's probably close to being a strike so i just say yes and move on...to answer the coach's question here...if the coach wants to be a prick and try to bait you...then you can decide how to deal with him in the future...if you don't know the coach, don't play games back at him...if he asks for time and he's not showing you up...answer the question that was asked...if he would've caught the ball and all other things being equal...he would've been either safe or out...leave it at that...if he chooses to be a prick, you'll know that next time he tries...

My standard answer to questions like this is "I've already forgotten!"

"what was the question again, coach?"

Maybe the Robert D. phrase from the "Taxi Driver" movie would work: "You talking to me?" :rolleyes:

"What would you say?"

Ah, yeah' he'd a been out by a mile.

Maybe, I'll get a new SS that can get the ball there?