Ever Umpired a Beat-Down Like This? 45-0!

[billken]

The real learning opportunity here is how do deal with it?

Do you expand the strike zone? If so, how much?

Do you initiate a conference with the winning coach and suggest bunting?

Do you stay out of it and just mop up the mess when kids start getting beaned and all hell breaks loose?

Can you invoke the "travesty of the game" clause and end it when everyone has had enough?

[yawetag]

Originally Posted by billken

Do you expand the strike zone? If so, how much?

There are threads on here already about this.

Originally Posted by billken

Do you initiate a conference with the winning coach and suggest bunting?

No.

Originally Posted by billken

Do you stay out of it and just mop up the mess when kids start getting beaned and all hell breaks loose?

Yes.

Originally Posted by billken

Can you invoke the "travesty of the game" clause and end it when everyone has had enough?

No.

I hope this message was tongue-in-cheek.

[billken]

Originally Posted by yawetag

There are threads on here already about this.


No.


Yes.


No.

I hope this message was tongue-in-cheek.

What if it wasn't?

[yawetag]

Originally Posted by billken

What if it wasn't?

Fine. I'll bite.

Originally Posted by billken

Do you expand the strike zone? If so, how much?

As I mentioned, this has been hashed over several times here in my memory. For the most part, umpires will expand.

Originally Posted by billken

Do you initiate a conference with the winning coach and suggest bunting?

You have no authority to suggest anything to a coach, especially something to this regard. How he coaches his team is no business to you.

Originally Posted by billken

Do you stay out of it and just mop up the mess when kids start getting beaned and all hell breaks loose?

This is your best option. If hell breaks loose, deal with it.

Originally Posted by billken

Can you invoke the "travesty of the game" clause and end it when everyone has had enough?

I'll stick with my original answer: No.

[bniu]

there's nothing that prevents the losing coach from just pulling his team off the field and going home. In some NFHS leagues, a gentlemen's agreement between coaches has a 15 runs after 3 innings mercy rule, which I've had several times happen...when the lead swells to 15 during the bottom of the 3rd, I'd just look at the visiting coach and he'll usually say something: "screw it, we're out of here..." and I call "Ballgame!"...
I wish there was a 25 after 1 rule...

[yawetag]

Originally Posted by bniu

when the lead swells to 15 during the bottom of the 3rd, I'd just look at the visiting coach and he'll usually say something: "screw it, we're out of here..." and I call "Ballgame!"...

In Missouri, a special report is to be filed to the state in these situations. I don't know what happens after the report is filed, but, according to my rules interpreter, it's considered pulling your team off of the field.

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by billken

Can you invoke the "travesty of the game" clause and end it when everyone has had enough?

What "travesty of the game" clause?

[SethPDX]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

What "travesty of the game" clause?

The one some umpires are very quick to pull out to cover a situation that just doesn't seem "right" or "fair" to them.


And yes everyone, that was sarcasm.

[jicecone]

Originally Posted by billken

The real learning opportunity here is how do deal with it?

Do you expand the strike zone? If so, how much?

Do you initiate a conference with the winning coach and suggest bunting?

Do you stay out of it and just mop up the mess when kids start getting beaned and all hell breaks loose?

Can you invoke the "travesty of the game" clause and end it when everyone has had enough?

First of all every game is different. If you go to the game with pre-conceived idea of how it will turn out, you’re screwed from the get-go.

Secondly when officiating, although there is no rule reference for this, COMMON SENSE actually can be applied to many parts of the game.

Last night I showed up for a Varsity HS game got on the field a little early. First thing I noticed was that one team had only 10 players and the talent looked very, very thin. I had seen the home team before and knew their ability. The home team coach tells me that the last district game resulted is a 26-0 score and both teams agreed that 5 innings of play would actually end after 3 innings. My partner asks me how I was going to call the game. I told him, “one pitch at a time.” 1-1/2 hrs latter the game ended 14-0 after 5. The home team also knew that if they were going to stand at the plate and watch close pitches, they would be called strikes. They swung the bat.

Bottom line here, when all else fails use common sense. Don’t suggest anything about when a game should end, deal with it, your not going to turn into a pumpkin if you stand on the field too long. If players get beaned deal with it quickly just like any other game. And for heavens sake don’t make up rules like “travesty of the game “to end it.

Finally, (and don’t take this personnal), if officiating terrible baseball is a problem, then quit now.

[ozzy6900]

I think the real concern here is why do the coaches vote not to use the mercy rule in HS ball? Here in CT, it is voted down year after year and these beat downs just continue.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by jicecone

First of all every game is different. If you go to the game with pre-conceived idea of how it will turn out, you’re screwed from the get-go.

Secondly when officiating, although there is no rule reference for this, COMMON SENSE actually can be applied to many parts of the game.

Last night I showed up for a Varsity HS game got on the field a little early. First thing I noticed was that one team had only 10 players and the talent looked very, very thin. I had seen the home team before and knew their ability. The home team coach tells me that the last district game resulted is a 26-0 score and both teams agreed that 5 innings of play would actually end after 3 innings. My partner asks me how I was going to call the game. I told him, “one pitch at a time.” 1-1/2 hrs latter the game ended 14-0 after 5. The home team also knew that if they were going to stand at the plate and watch close pitches, they would be called strikes. They swung the bat.

Bottom line here, when all else fails use common sense. Don’t suggest anything about when a game should end, deal with it, your not going to turn into a pumpkin if you stand on the field too long. If players get beaned deal with it quickly just like any other game. And for heavens sake don’t make up rules like “travesty of the game “to end it.

Finally, (and don’t take this personnal), if officiating terrible baseball is a problem, then quit now.

Exactly.

I have a reputation (good, bad, or indifferent) and I'm not going to risk it by inserting my nose where it doesn't belong. I may call a bit bigger zone, but I'm not going to call runners out when they're obviously safe and/or vice versa. If it takes 5 hours, it takes 5 hours and I'll have a good story afterwards. On the field, I'm going to be as professional as I would in any other game.

Then again, I had a 2-0 game that took 68 minutes yesterday.

[MSPChris]

Originally Posted by billken

Do you expand the strike zone? If so, how much?

You can expand the strike zone, but that's not going to help much. If the game is a real blowout (25-2, 18-0 after 1 inning, etc) the problem usually isn't walks, it's batting practice pitches right over the heart of the plate.