How to say it...
 

I had a play in the first inning of a game last night where a coach claimed that his player had hit the catcher's mit on his swing. When he asked my why I didn't call it, I said "he didn't hit the mit." Later, I go to thinking that it might have been better if I had said, "I didn't see him hit the mit." How should I have said it?

Tell the truth. If you saw that the bat did not hit the mitt, report that. If you just didn't see it (and perhaps heard something), report that.

Don't make stuff up.

I have called CI before on hearing it. Just like a foul tip use your hearing too, and know what youre hearing and when did you get the thhhp..ping of glove then ball, thhhp...smack of glove then the catch.

my .02
 

no problem here........just keep it short... which you did...

Many people offer that your explanations should be 5 words or less....sometimes its hard to do, but it definately works...

" He didnt hit the mitt"
" my estimation, no contact"
" had no contact with the mitt"
" I had no contact Coach"

For the most part the coach is only going to question you if his batter thinks he hit the mit.

If you heard something but were unsure take a quick glance at the "evidence" ie; expression on both B1's and F2's face.

If the batter didn't think his bat hit the mit it's a simple

"Skip in my judgement no CI" and move on. Since the batter didn't "move a muscle" the coach will stop

In summary from my experience the only time a coach will question CI or CO for FED is when his batter thinks he was interfered with because the coach is in the dugout or on the 1st / third base coaches box some 90 ft away and has no idea other than what his batter is telling him.

If you didn't hear the bat hit the mit then you simply tell the coach what you have. It will not be the last time a coach disagrees with you. Be honest (not that he will like it) and move on.

Pete Booth

I have to agree with Pete. I usually go with...Coach, I didn't see or hear it this time. The coach may or may not agree with you, however as Pete said, don't make it up, and most importantly, be honest.

Yep, I agree..don't make stuff up...simply say, you had a different angle than me, you might be right...but I have to go w/ what I saw...obviously tread lightly and be careful w/ the "you might be right" line...in some leagues that works, but in others, you'd be looking to start a s-storm

I have always found that the simpler your answer the easier it is for a coach to understand. "Estimation" would not be a word I would use witha coach. 'I didn't see it' or 'It didn't hit coach' would be the way to go in this case.

Simi- Related, I ahd a fall ball game on sunday and had the DDb out, on a CI, and when the fly ball was caught by F6 had a brain F*rt and let the out stand until I got back behind the plate and saw the 1B coach walking down the line at me.

we're all human...