Never Heard This One Before

[harmbu]

We have all heard the debate about whether a ball that is not caught by the catcher should be called a strike or not but this discussion was new to me. My team's offensive inning ended when the opponent's catcher went to his knees as if to block a pitch and then somehow caught the ball in flight. A very delayed strike three was called. As I was returning to the dugout after coaching third base, the conversation (started by PU) went like this:

PU: Sorry it took so long to call that. I was waiting for a clean catch.
Me: So did the pitch go through the strike zone?
PU: Yes it did.
Me: So, what does a clean catch have to do with it?
PU: We'll, if he didn't catch it, I might not have called it a strike.
Me: If passing through the strike zone didn't make it a strike, what would have determined whether you called it a strike or not?
PU: If the ball gets out of the dirt area, it will be a ball. If it stays in the dirt area, I will call it a strike.
Me (walking away): Wow. I have never seen that in the rule book.
PU: It's in there Coach.

After a discussion like this I decided that it would be in my best interest to not talk to this guy for the rest of the game and hope that he didn't decide to make up any more rules as we went along.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by harmbu

We have all heard the debate about whether a ball that is not caught by the catcher should be called a strike or not but this discussion was new to me. My team's offensive inning ended when the opponent's catcher went to his knees as if to block a pitch and then somehow caught the ball in flight. A very delayed strike three was called. As I was returning to the dugout after coaching third base, the conversation (started by PU) went like this:

PU: Sorry it took so long to call that. I was waiting for a clean catch.
Me: So did the pitch go through the strike zone?
PU: Yes it did.
Me: So, what does a clean catch have to do with it?
PU: We'll, if he didn't catch it, I might not have called it a strike.
Me: If passing through the strike zone didn't make it a strike, what would have determined whether you called it a strike or not?
PU: If the ball gets out of the dirt area, it will be a ball. If it stays in the dirt area, I will call it a strike.
Me (walking away): Wow. I have never seen that in the rule book.
PU: It's in there Coach.

After a discussion like this I decided that it would be in my best interest to not talk to this guy for the rest of the game and hope that he didn't decide to make up any more rules as we went along.

I assume you realize that you were baiting the hell out of PU, right? (And I'm not saying that is necessarily a bad thing.) Just remember that you're playing with fire on that.

[jicecone]

Originally Posted by Matt

I assume you realize that you were baiting the hell out of PU, right? (And I'm not saying that is necessarily a bad thing.) Just remember that you're playing with fire on that.

I would agree if he was standing in the dirt area however, if he is outside the dirt area, then inquiring about making up rules is perfectly acceptable.

Its in the book Matt.

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by Matt

I assume you realize that you were baiting the hell out of PU, right? (And I'm not saying that is necessarily a bad thing.) Just remember that you're playing with fire on that.

And he deserves it, too. He started it by saying, "I was waiting for a clean catch." Why bother making a comment at all? Just call the damn pitch, then go back and take a drink of Gatorade.

[Rich]

Umpire seems to be an idiot.

Coach seems to be a rat.

News at 11.

[bob jenkins]

Sounds like the umpire was trying to apply a high-level-ball rule-of-thumb as an absolute in a low-level game.

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

Sounds like the umpire was trying to apply a high-level-ball rule-of-thumb as an absolute in a low-level game.

How high-level-ball?

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by Rich

Umpire seems to be an idiot.

Coach seems to be a rat.

News at 11.

So how would you suggest "discussing" a jaw-dropping comment from a game official?

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Rich Ives

So how would you suggest "discussing" a jaw-dropping comment from a game official?

What purpose does it serve to do anything? He called it a strike. Walk back to the dugout.

Even the OP isn't saying he thinks the pitch WASN'T in the strike zone, was he?