Roped into officiating?

[M&M Guy]

As anyone ever been asked to officiate another sport solely on the basis that "You're already an official; how hard can it be?"

I was reading the thread regarding the NBA Finals, but I couldn't comment on the game because I didn't get a chance to see it. That's because my wife and I went to go watch my nephew's Little League game (10-13 yr.olds). We ended up waiting for the game to start because no umpires showed up. Finally, my brother-in-law came up to me and asked if I could help umpire, along with one of the coaches from the other team. I mean after all, I officiate basketball, right? I meet the other guy, and he tells me I'm doing the plate. Huh? I've never umpired a baseball game before, I'm wearing shorts, t-shirt, and SANDALS, and I'm trying to figure out how to get my lawn chair behind the plate. So my wife runs home to get me a better pair of shoes, I'm trying to put on the shin guards and mask, and people want to get the game started because it's being broadcast on the local radio station, and they're running out of commercials waiting for the game to start.

Ok, even though I've never done a baseball game, I have umpired slow-pitch softball in my younger days, so I have a partial clue about rules, 2-person mechanics, etc. We had a ten second pre-game, which involved me saying I'll take plays at third, and what's the rule on "must-slide"? But getting down and calling a strike zone? With a mask on? They want to get started, so I tell the catcher his most important job is to keep the ball from getting anywhere near my feet. If my toes get smashed by a foul tip, he will be the first one tossed. And the game starts, with me learning how to call a strike zone the same way I learned to drive a stick-shift: on the job. It was interesting trying to concentrate on the pitches while the mask was too loose and slipping down on me. And I found my toes were curling into a fetal position just waiting for the impact.

Well, the wife makes it back by the end of the top of the first, I get better shoes on, I figure out how to tighten up the mask, and things work out the rest of the game. I only had to worry about a couple of close fair/foul calls, and a tag play at third, but everything else was "routine". The fans/parents from both teams were great; they thanked me for doing it (even during the game) and got me water. The closest thing I got to a complaint was a collective "Ooooooh!" on a close 2-2 pitch at the end of the game that I called a ball. The next pitch was a swinging strike three to end the 17-0 game.

My only complaint is my thighs are sore this morning, but I realized I was lucky it wasn't close and intense. But it got me to thinking if other officials ever got put in the same boat of being asked to step in someplace outside their expertise.