Source of a rules myth?
 

Got to call a real serious, high pressure, high stakes tournament this weekend.

Dixie 7-8 machine pitch allstars.

In all seriousness, it was fun, kids played hard and besides one coach acting like it was game 7 of the world series on out/safe calls, things went fine.

After my last game I was told by our district director that he had a protest lodged on a game at another 7-8 tournament in another town. The protesting coach claimed that a player should have been out because he slid into first base. In Dixie we do have the no head first slide rule so I asked if this was the situation and was told no, kid simply slid in at first base, feet first, legal slide, clearly safe, etc, etc. Protest was of course denied. The other coach was livid and insistent that it was a rule that you could not slide into first base. .

So..does anyone know where this myth came from? is there a rule set somewhere, maybe a form of softball or something, that says no sliding at first, or is this just something that has developed on its own accord over the years? :confused:

Add that one to the list of rules myths...I haven't heard that one in a few years. I don't know where is came from however. LL coaches are great for pulling out myths and using them as facts.

-Josh

Special place in Hell
 

There is a special entrance to the gates of HELL for anyone who ever PROTESTED a 7 year old baseball game. I wish I could see it... Peter at gates of heaven, NEXT... guy walks up, staff going over life.. ok, seems fine, no major problems.. WAIT! WHAT'S THIS? You PROTESTED a 7 year old baseball game? Off you go to ETERNAL DAMNATION and HELL FIRE!

Anyway.. I'm pretty sure that's the way it goes...

It'll be a crowded line. :D

I was tournament director for our local league a few years back when we hosted a T-Ball allstar tournament, all 5 and 6 yr olds. In the course of 4 days we had 7 protests lodged. One was valid and accepted.

The beginning of the problem as I see it is "T-BALL All-Stars" in the first place. Give me a break!!

Another myth is that the world needs machine-pitch All-Star tournaments.

Do I dare ask what the valid protest was?

-Josh

Umpires for 5 and 6 year olds, huh? I can imagine what the game fees are for that. I'd rather gouge my own eyes out with a pointed stick than umpire something like that or even watch someone umpire something like that.

It will be a crowded line, for certain.

Freshened that up a bit for you. ;)

If I remember correctly the BU called R1 out when a batted ball hit R1 going to second AFTER the ball had gone between the legs of F3 who tried to catch the grounder and missed. Coach protested it, call overturned and R1 put back on second.

Again, I have slept since then.

LOVE IT!

Back to the original post. My thought would be the myth comes from ignorant coaches who were ignorant players. When they were a wee lil lad their coach told them "You don't slide into first" This being a logical statement as you will maintain your speed while overrunning the base. Over the years their pea sized braind substituted the word don't from their coaches with the word can't and have not thought about the logic behind what their coach told them years ago.

Even Tim McCarver wouldn't say something that dumb.

bite your tongue

I don't know about that. We have them out here (Pinto League) and some of these kids can really play some ball. Their All-Star games are usually very competitive and even exciting to watch/umpire. Many Pinto All-Stars go on to be standout HS players later on.

I think machine pitch is much better than coach pitch or heaven forbid, kid pitch at this age, as the kids get to see much more consistent pitches to help groove their swings.

And the coaches are often real butts, but aren't they all?

To be fair, I actually had a 18 year old F3 ask me last week, after a steal in which I banged out R1 (kid never slid, little bit hesitant on the new rubber astroturf stuff, but I digress), "He was out because he didn't slide right".

At first, I thought he meant if the kid had sliden he might have gotten in there. I replied "Guess we'll never know...".

He replied, "No, its a rule right?"

:confused:

Like players and coaches read the rules? 5-6 yr. olds can't read anyway, they're excused, but for the rest of them.... :(