No, I didn't run him
 

In a game where dugouts had LL-style chain-link fences in front of them, I had a doozy.

We had R2, B-R hits safely, an outfielder chucks it homeward, but the throw is errant.

What ho! An arm comes out from the side of the fence and actually catch the bounding, still-live ball. The rock was absolutely in the field of play. The arm belonged to HC of defensive team. I saw the "catch" before my pard did, and immediately killed the play.

I ran in from my spot, furious, ready to toss this cretin. As I get near my pard (an excellent umpire, BTW), he says, "Don't run him, Ace. I'll deal with him."

I stuck around while Pard chewed the guy out, but I remained silent. R2 was awarded home, and we placed B-R on 3B--2 sacks from his spot at the release of the horsehide.

Should I have just stayed on the field and not gone after the guy? Should I have EJed him, despite what Pard said? Your move, gang.

I guess that every time we can avoid an EJ, it's a good thing, but I was fuming. The event remains one of the most knuckleheaded stunts I've ever seen a coach pull in my umpteen years of this avocation.

Ace in CT

Good heads up on your part and I like the way your partner handled it. You may have gotten caught up in the heat of the moment although I wouldn't disagree if you did run him for it. Bottom line, you guys still punished the act severely, chewed him out and saved yourself some paperwork. ;)

Why were you "fuming"? Did that coach attack you personally? Why let your emotions in?..Just make the right ruling and move on.....

Well remember Ace, you've been on the other side of the coin. I seem to recall a story in which your partner informed a coach to stop taking his warm-ups as game time was approaching. The HC replied "I'm getting screwed already!"

Partner was fuming, saying "Let me run em Ace, let me run em". And you talked him out of it.

Chances are if my partner is coming in and taking care of a situation that started with me, I'm probably too pissed to making a good judgment on the situation. That's where my thinking is taking me on this one, but I'm certainly swayable if anybody has some sound advice here.

Were they playing with your ball and think he'd steal it?

:cool:baby.

Wow I hope you're ok. From the way you were wound up I pictured your jock twisting to the point where your doo:eek:dads choked. Calm down, enforce the penality and play ball.

Ace,

As I read (and re-read) your OP...it just seems to me that the HC had a brain fart...nothing to be tossed for.

As I have moved from being "just an umpire" to "umpire and umpire association President" I tend to view these types of posts with two eyes: (1) how would I have handled it if it was me umpiring AND (2) can I (as President) defend "my umpire" with a straight face to a league President who wants to know why "my umpire" (insert: ejected a coach; or made such a ruling; etc.).

As a President of an umpire association I will say this:

Frankly, if one of my umpires did toss this coach after this play and your OP served as my umpire's ejection report...I'd have a tough time defending you to the high school league assistant director for baseball when said assistant director calls me wanting to know why the heck my umpire tossed a coach for simply touching a live ball.

Good move not tossing him (unless there were some other acts committed by the HC that were left out of your OP).

"TIME. THAT'S INTERFERENCE BY THE COACH".

I don't think any coach would want to hear that said loudly. Business is taken care of. Play ball.

A lot of this story is left to our imagination
Was the ball headed to DBT or was it going to hit the fence? Do you think he was trying to gain an advantage or was it just an instinctual move to catch the ball?
If I couldn't judge an intentional purpose to cheat then I have no more than an interference call. Certainly not an ejection. If there was a way for me to know that the coach was trying to cheat then I'd have UC and more than likely an ejection.

In neither case would I go after the guy
But in both cases I would inform him as to why a penalty is being levied.

I don't recall the exact situation, but I did have a basecoach handle a live ball this season. "Time, that's interference". NO biggie, the assitant coach was soundly thrashed by the HC, so any penalty above the out called would have been over kill.

Do not know how old you are ACE but your OP is NOTHING compared to what Woody Hayes did in a bowl game.

In cae you don't know Woody Hayes was the legendary football coach for Ohio State. He punched an opposing player for intercepting a pass.

He was subsequently fired.

Therefore, IMO you need to chill out. Your Partner was doing his job in calming you down. Unless there is more to the story simply impose the penalty and move on.


Pete Booth

Its amazing how many Clemson alumni around here (South Carolina) were at that game! I think the game attendance was 500,000!!! :D

"I ran in from my spot, furious, ready to toss this cretin"

Why would you be furious?

Do you yell at the players when they make a mistake?

Do you enjoy being yelled at by others when you make a mistake or even when you don't?

You, the official, have to keep your emotions in check and be impartial. Stick to the rules and always be professional.

And remember BOTTOM LINE your in control, You have the final say, why sweat the small stuff!!!!!

I have read and reread the rules for NCAA, FED, and OBR and I can't seem to find where it says that Interference is punishable by ejection. I'm sure the coach didn't think he would get away with doing something like that. I mean, the punishment for the INT is severe enough that the coach could not possibly have done this trying to cheat. It sounds like he just had a brain fart and reacted instinctively and grabbed the ball.

I certainly don't see how an umpire could get worked up over something like this, unless this same guy did stupid things like this all the time or something, and you had some history with him. Otherwise, way overreacting to the situation.

Take heed before you cross the bridge, you must read the posted sign.

It says;

Please don't feed the trolls.