Rainy weather, triple plays, and extra innings.
 

For those of you who do not live in NW Ohio and SE Michigan, the month of April has been one of the wettest in history which means lots of rained out baseball and softball games.

I have lost one single softball game, one single baseball game, and five baseball DH. MTD, Jr., has lost three single baseball games and two baseball DH. His two DH were with me. Lots of money has been lost this month (oh wait, we don't umpire of the money, :D).

Anyway, Mark, Jr., had a FR baseball game (he was BU) and I had an open date, so I decided to go with him and watch the game. The first four innings went quickly with the Home team taking a 1-0 lead into the top of the fifth. But the weather was miserable (cold, very windy, and on and off again drizzles). Being the smart old geezer that I am, I told Junior that I was headed back to the car. :D

While I was taking a 45 minute nap all of the fun took place. The Visitors, scored four runs in the top of the fifth for a 4-1 lead. The Home team quickly had runners on 1B and 2B with no outs, when B/R3 hit a line shot to F3 for the first out, F3 then tagged 1B for the second out, and then fired to F6 at 2B for the third out. A 3-3-6 triple play!! The sixth inning was scoreless. The Vistors scored two runs in the top of seventh for a 6-1 lead and the Home team score five runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 6-6. That is when I woke up and went back out to the diamond. LOL!

The Home team scored one run in the bottom of the eighth to win 7-6. I did buy Junior a hot chocolate at the concession stand on the way back to the parking lot.

But we did have a nice Varsity DH tgether last night.

MTD, Sr.

Interesting way to turn triple.

I had interesting game last Saturday. I was PU for HS varsity spring break tournament game. Two starting pitchers both went distance and both pitched shutouts, neither got the win. Both were replaced for 8th and in bottom of 8th with 2 outs and bases loaded the starting pitcher for home team was re-entered to bat, and got the winning hit, 1-0.

Interesting story, Mark. However, with all the rain-outs, there wasn't a game available for you? Right now, I could pick up at least a game a day to make up what we've gotten rained out. Today, I had the chance for four games in the day, but could only take one.

This is probably the reason I will not be umpiring very long in the sport of baseball. We have received the very same rain that you get. Almost every day has been a wash. I lost about 4 games this week because it rained almost every day. When we do play it is very cold and not fun sitting outside. And if I am supposed to umpire and the games are cancelled, it ruins the day as I am either waiting on a game to be cancelled or the schools wait until the final moments to work a game. Then we have schools that act like our time is not valuable by changing dates and times to try to fit a game without consideration that the time or site change might affect your availability. I think I am done with that constant game being played. I had friends tell me some time it was not worth it and one of them said they did not miss it when they retired from the sport. The games themselves are fun when it is not freezing, but all the BS leading up to it is making this not fun anymore.

Peace

Come work games in Texas...

In Houston, the last time there was at least 1/2 inch of rain was January 24th...and the forecast isn't changing anytime in the near future. Big time drought condition in Texas.

On this note -- my favorite thing is when schools reschedule games for the next day just assuming there will be umpires lining up waiting to take those games. Then they complain or send out frantic emails in a panic looking for officials.

We always get first crack at the rescheduled games, but I'm usually already working.

Also, if the schools push back start times (you know, the 10AM game that's going to start at 1PM to give the field time to dry) they just assume that's AOK with the umpires. I've turned down such changes in start times, myself. Once the game is rescheduled from my agreed-to contract, I feel no obligation to throw away my entire day while teams keep pushing back the start time (without even asking us if that would be OK with us).

Mark, how awesome the two of you can umpire together. My autistic son and I can do a lot of neat things as father and son; unfortunately, sports officiating is not one of them...

In our association for one year, we had three generations of the same family on a three man crew. They were a good crew; it was obvious that the youngest member had had some excellent mentoring from his father and grandfather. Would that more families could have this great bonding opportunity.

Steve Johnson
Eastern Maine Baseball Umpires Association

We had 21 days with rain out of 30 in April here in Chicago. What a miserable month...

If the "April showers bring May flowers" saying holds true, those flowers have enough rain for two months.

Here we deal with assignors, but I happened to work for one that thinks that these things are an obligation as well. This very thing you just described happened to me a week ago with a school and they not only first changed the time, they cancelled the game, then they decided to move the game to the other school. All of this was assuming that I was going to be around that morning (this was a Saturday DH BTW) and just answer the phone and then work the game as if no one cancelled the game the day before. Noootttt!!!!

I even got an email from the assignor assuming that I should have answered the phone from the school that Saturday morning to address the situation. Aaaahhhhnnnnooo!!! When they cancelled the game, things in my personal life changed and I made other plans. I even went out with some friends to celebrate a birthday Friday night, but these dumb schools think I was to just be around I guess and sit by the phone hoping they will play a game anyway. If this was a football or basketball game, this would have never been the case. I have had games get cancelled in those other sports for many reasons over the years and never once did anyone think the crew was supposed to just cover the game. Of if they did, they certainly learned the hard way. And then you get a phone call (not an email) from the assignor "asking" if you can cover the game and when you say no it is not a big deal or unexpected. I had that happen twice in basketball just this year where I lost games because of a snow storm and the assignors were as nice as they could be to see if I could work the rescheduled game. It was no big deal, not emails telling me I should accusing me this being an excuse or making it sound like I was wrong to turn down the game. The contract only should obligate you to the time and site that you agree to when the game was assigned, not when all the changes are made. And this is the type of BS I really am tired of. It happens too often in baseball and it is likely time to move on for me.

Peace

We have commissioners / assignors, too, but once the game is originally scheduled, they're usually out of the picture and the duty of contacting the crew and negotiating changes in time fall to the athletic directors.

Any change in time or location essentially invalidates the original contract. If I can do the games, I will, but if I can't I don't lose sleep over it.

I feel the exact same way. I just get tired "balls" that those seem to take when you say "NO."

Peace

I like baseball because the participants are smart enough to come in out of the rain, unlike those of that silly game played with nets on sticks who will play in the slop all day long. I hate that game. It has hurt baseball in the northeast.

I still managed to work 21 of the days, 9 rain outs (or "field not playable" or similar). One was a solo when partner didn't show.

Plus one "the field's playable, the weather's pleasant, but the other team can't make it."

JM

Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in our part of the country. At least they play their sport and not move things around simply because it rained. Just from an officiating standpoint, you at least know they are likely to play.

Peace

Exactly. Tonight is our first even remote chance at a rainout, although I suspect the rain will once again simply be a tease or wishful thinking on the weathermen's part. And today is the last day of the regular season - didn't think I'd EVER see an entire season go by with no rain-outs.

Had an interesting double play over the weekend between the SF Giants and Wash Nats.

Giants have a runner on second with one out. Hot ground ball up the middle that the pitcher snags and he turns to find the SF runner in no-mans land half-way between 2nd and 3rd. The pitcher runs at the runner who is trying to get in a run down. But, the pitcher did an excellent job holding the ball and running right at the runner. The runner finally breaks for third and falls now trying to go back to second. The pitcher tags him out and then quickly throws to second where the SS tags out the batter trying to stretch the play.

While 1-6 may not be that much of an unusual double play (liner, then throw out), this one was kinda cool. A run down with no throws into a double play......

PS - yes, one of the runners was the SF catcher! ;)

I, along with all the other former catchers on this board, would like to know exactly what you are insinuating with that remark!

Really? All of them?
 

OK, let's just day he wasn't the fastest or quickest on the base path. ;)

I lived in Denison when Lake Texoma flooded - it has to be 15 years ago or more. I remember the baseball season in that area being all but scrubbed that year. The rain came down for weeks and it was Texas size!

Now that the rain is gone up here, the reschedules are a nightmare. I've got eight games in seven days - with Sunday off! Seeding meetings are scheduled for the region this week. That should be fun given that some teams haven't even played ten games yet.

Speaking also as a former catcher, you know that the better majority of us are slower than maple syrup running down a tree in January in Vermont.

But, to take up for Buster Posey, he's quite a bit faster than Bengie Molina was!

There has, in fact, been a lot of rain (& a fair amount of snow) during this year's "school season" in these parts. So much so that the Chicago Tribune posted a "subhead" on the weather page characterizing it as,

"...the most rainiest ever...".

No, I am not making that up.

I've had almost twice as many games cancelled as I've actually worked.

My assignor had around 200 games to reschedule just from last week - I'd go insane.

Very frustrating having so many cancels.

JM

Same company that owns the Cubs hired that editor. Go figure. :rolleyes:

Not exactly, the Tribune does not own the Cubs. The Ricketts family bought them a couple years ago after the paper faced bankruptcy proceedings.

The newspaper puts two words under every weather caption each day. They are usually done with a flair for the obvious and often grammatically, if not logically, incorrect. It is offered in fun.

Incorrect grammar or not, someone certainly can't count.

Well, it didn't rain. However... I had to wear my jacket for the first time this season. In MAY. In TEXAS. WTH?

I mentioned that the Tribune puts unique captions under their weather icon each day - these are always two words and often silly. I'm not certain where JM saw the phrase he mentioned but the Tribune is famous for messing with the weather page - Tom Skilling often makes it boring and they try to spice it up.

I'm sorry you were confused by what I wrote.

I had plate for two games Sunday with a record high of 95 in Austin area. Had the bases the third game and the temp was 52 with 10-15 mile wind. I was sunburn, shivering, and cold all at the same time. Got home and my wife asked if I was mowing the yard. So goes our lives...

Well?
 

My answer would have been, "Yes, Dear." Just as it is most times.... (no matter what the question).

PS - I celebrated 26 yrs with my bride just last week!

It rained in Tyler and it was cold, windy, and wet. Working bases, I wish I had taken my gloves with me.

Lucky me
 

I had a HS JV game called Tuesday of last week because of rain and the make-up was on Friday. I had a youth game already scheduled so I gave that one to my son so I could keep the JV game. I got my 2-0 game in before 6:00 and drove to my son's game. It started raining on the way over and I watched him work the last 3 innings in the rain. Well, I did let him use my dry jacket (that was only 2 sizes too big for him). To his credit he never complained.

Yeah, a lot of assisgnors want the money they get for the job, but they want the easy way out. They want the schools to help them, and they expect the umpires to follow.

The ones that I get tired of is the phone calls on game day that the game has been moved up "because bad weather is on the way".

The assignor can watch the weather, he knows whats coming, he should be prepared, but he usually let the schools call us and I don't like that.

Thanks
David

It was a first today. I was able to wear a short sleeve shirt to umpire my game this afternoon.

MTD, Sr.