I Guess I Deserved it, or Maybe Not.....

[kraine27]

IMO, there is absolutely no excuse for any umpire (or official for that matter)at any level to take the field/court of play and not have an understanding of the rules. We all have or will make mistakes in judgement but to simply not know or understand the rules is simply lazy. In the original game, where was the PU to help with the balk call (or lack of in this case)? The illegal move got by both of them?

I am now a parent/umpire watching my daughter play softball. It is very difficult watching umpires work softball games that are very clearly in it for the money. There is no excuse for lack of rules knowledge. I can understand a bad positioning or bad judgement, those things happen, but not bad rules knowledge.

I am curious if the BU's association or crew chief or UIC (whatever they are called in your area) had a conversation and training time with this young umpire. I wonder if the BU would have even been receptive of another umpire talking to him about his screw up?

IMHO, two wrongs in this story. I believe the poster has learned and growen from his mistake, has the BU?

[PeteBooth]

There is no excuse for lack of rules knowledge. I can understand a bad positioning or bad judgement, those things happen, but not bad rules knowledge.

How easily people forget

Remember the Indian / O's game.

The point is "it happens to the best of them"

One is judged or let me re-phrase should be judged on a COMPLETE body of work not ONE call or Lack of a call. Look at Mr. Denkinger who received death threats and will be forever remembered for that call at first base, but if one looks at Mr. Denikinger's complete body of work he was regarded by his peers as one of the best.

Balks even blatent one's sometimes are missed. They happen in a heartbeat not because we do not know the rule but just like being out of position we simply "missed it" There are times when I believe most of us said to ourselves "I cannot believe I missed that one - He balked" but we didn't call it.

In Tim's OP we do not know how the ENTIRE game played out. Was this BU who made the no call in position the majority of times to make "other' calls. It's one thing to "get on the official" it's quite another to say You are not worth the $55.00

Pete Booth