| dhargaman |
Tue Jun 17, 2008 04:19pm |
been there, done that..
Well, sure looks to me like it's intentional. Catcher dropped his body and head when the pitch went straight ahead. Had this happen to me in HS varsity game couple years ago.
Pitcher thought I squeezed his zone inning before, lost his shut-out. After warm-up pitches, catcher went to mound. First pitch catcher flopped on ground and pitch went past my right ear. Had heard stories, but first time having it happen. Took a few seconds figuring out "did that just happen" and didn't dump anyone. Probably would have if pitch had hit me. All I can plead is inexperience. Told the catcher "that better not ever happen again" and finished the game. After talking to fellow umps over next couple of days, realized how I should have handled it and contacted my assignor. On his advice, I contacted the AD at the school and he wound up suspending the players for the next game. I'd definitely dump the battery if I had it to do again, especially since I got my collar bone broken by a foul ball a week ago while doing 14 year olds! If 14's can break bones, high school varsity and up could seriously hurt or kill someone!
Nice to see that the state assoc. is stepping up to the plate with max penalties. Also that the catcher is paying a price for his actions even though he's graduated already. Don't know if I agree if the PU decides to sue unless he was injured, might come under the category of frivolous/unnecessary lawsuit unless it's to pay for medical bills.
Definitely think that partners should have been aware of situation and stepped in to let PU know what had happened and give him more time/support/encouragement to dump players. Another case of "we all gotta stick together." Especially doing state playoffs, they should be experienced umps and know how to handle a situation like this better. Also think that young umps need a little bit more education on how to handle situations like this before they see them live and have to make that decision in real time.
Just my 2 (or 20) cents worth!
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