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Mon Jul 21, 2003, 12:34pm
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Think I may have hosed this yesterday...
Left handed batter. Pitch is coming. Batter is moving forward in the box. Batter stretches and reaches well across the plate (hands are above the middle of the plate). Bat is out in front of the plate due to the batter's forward motion. Slightly before the pitch arrives, the batter pulls back the bat. Resultant pitch is low and probably a foot outside. I say "YES! You went." Nobody said a peep. If questioned, I would have justified my call based upon the stretch of the batter to reach the incoming ball's location (the position of the bat was such that it could have hit the ball). However, immediately after the play, I felt I could have also justified that he didn't attempt to hit the ball because his bat was plainly back before the ball arrived. This was a men's league and if there is any level where players like to argue calls, I think this it is this level; there was no argument or even a sideways glance. So I guess my call was okay? Perhaps this is a Had To Be There situation but based upon my attempt at explaining the timing of the play, does anyone have any comments?
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"There are no superstar calls. We don't root for certain teams. We don't cheat. But sometimes we just miss calls." - Joe Crawford 
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Mon Jul 21, 2003, 02:22pm
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Judge it as you see it........
I've seen some good but also some awfully poor players in mens leagues. I've seen players who "poke" at the ball in their bunt attempts. The poke attempts occur moreso on pitches outside the zone because the batter quickly jabs the bat out to reach the necessary distance. Although the bat may be moving backward after they missed the ball with their poke, without a doubt they intended to strike the ball. Their poor ability simply didn't allow them to come close. Just because a bat is moving backward doesn't mean that an attempt to bunt the ball did not already occur. It's your judgment call if you think it's a strike attempt, but if you don't, then it could become the BU's call....... Freix
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Mon Jul 21, 2003, 03:11pm
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"Slightly before the pitch arrives, the batter pulls back the bat."
No attempt. I see it at almost every Class A, Cal League game. Never called a strike, UNLESS the pitch is in the strike zone. Bob
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Mon Jul 21, 2003, 05:45pm
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Quote:
Depending on what constitutes "slightly before" Steve (BFair) may also be right. By the criteria applied by many officials, Jerry is also undoubtedly right. There you have the whole breadth of opinion - Yes, No and Maybe. So what do you do if faced with that situation again? Most times it is best to go with your instincts. You don't have the time, and can't afford the aggravation, to be second-guessing your own calls on the diamond. By all means try to improve your performance by conducting your own post-mortem on issues that stuck in your mind, but don't be too hard on yourself in such circumstances. Events always seem to be more sharply defined in the harsh glare of hindsight. It will help to have a positive mind-set: eg. "every pitch is a strike until it becomes a ball" - managers love umpires who call strikes - and every runner is out until he proves he was safe - or "never make the unexpected call". An old protagonist of mine, T. Alan Christensen (aka Tee), will tell you that the game revolves around Strikes and Outs! It may have seemed otherwise to some, but we agreed more than we disagreed and that point was no exception. Was it a strike? Look in the book, Tony, look in the book!  Cheers
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Warren Willson
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