I think I crossed over to the dark side tonight. Called my first Mens AAA slow pitch game tonight. I learned several things that might prove valuable in the future:

1) When using a double base, the defensive player may never touch any part of the orange or the runner is automatically safe.

2) Any pitch that hits the ground within two feet of the back of home plate has to be a strike.

3) Obstruction rules do not apply to the first baseman in slow pitch.

I guess I better study up before next Monday. Oh . . . and thanks to Don "oppool" for talking me into calling slow pitch this spring.


Gary

I love your #2 (hmmm....sounds kinda funny).

Had a SP game one time where a batter made a mark on the ground right behind home plate just after I had called a strike. When I asked him what was that, he replied, "That's where the ball landed."

I went to the front of the plate (like I was going to brush off the plate) and waved my hand in a circular motion right above home plate, waist high.

When he asked me what did I just do, I replied, "That's where the ball crossed the plate. Any questions?"

Never heard a peep out of him the rest of the night.

Yup, gotta love it.,

Gary, since you mentioned AAA, I'm assuming you worked USSSA? If so, some fools who play USSSA don't understand that the strike can be called differently than in ASA because of the different pitching rules. Drives me nuts when I work USSSA ball sometimes.

Sergio, liked your stitch. I'll have to try that sometimes. I think I'll try it on the lower level idolts before I try it on the upper level big boys.

You should have drawn an arrow in the dirt pointing to the parking lot. :D

Draw that arrow and say, that's where you're going next time you decide to be an artist while standing in the batter's box!

No, no, no! If you are going to draw the arrow, you better get rid of the player then. If not, you have basically challenged the player and as we all know, we are not supposed to get in pi**ing contests with them.

In what way does obstruction not apply to the first baseman?

When the first baseman is a former college football lineman who is about 50 pounds above his playing weight with a bulging waistline, and there's no room to run.

I did way too much slo-pitch back north for years.
The local "players" would stand there and look at
two perfectly good pitches that come in looking
like a basketball and quickly get to an 0-2 count.
Then procede to swing at anything coming from
the pitcher's hand !!
Also all the outfielders think they have the arm to
gun a runner crossing the plate instead of throwing
to the cut off and keeping the batter/runner at first !!
When I got down here, I quickly tired of those and
batters argunig balls and strikes. Imagine------
arguing balls and strikes in "freaking" slo-pitch !!!
Pathetic.
I finally walked away from it and I'm glad !
Work girl's high school ball --- still fun !!

Gary
 

Glad to see you got some real ball finally instead of those EZ $$ co-ed games you had the first couple of weeks. Remember we did tell you will have those kinda of nights every once in a while and even with your experience your new blood to these guys and some night they will cry over everything wrong or right. If they whine too much or say the wrong things just send em home for the night remember in the suppose Adult leagues mostly just ignore if they continue send em HOME.

This was ASA ball but our league ranks teams using the A for the lowest leagues up to AAA and then Majors instead of the books a,b,c & d levels

Why is it early in the season I see it every year the pitchers just have a fit when they through that 10-12' arc and the ball hits 2' behind home and at the batter head when crosses the plate and they cant believe you dont call it a strike but call that same pitch a strike when they were up to bat and they would come unglued on ya.

Stick with it GARY you will reliaze these nights by most part or not that common either that are you will learn to ignore the dumbness quickly

Have a good one

Don

I'm just the opposite. I walked away from what little HS ball I worked because it was so easy, I felt I was stealing money. However, it was so, SOOOOO boring, I preferred to watch the paint dry on my house.

BTW, anyone who lets the ballplayers and coaches dictate your game is not using the rules to their full advantage.

And I walked away from the SP I was doing, because it was so boring that I would rather watch grass grow. Of course, as I have mentioned, around here they play beer ball, so as the night wears on the games get sloppier and the whining becomes more frequent. I might feel different about it if they would outlaw the intoxicants until after play was over.

I took up FP because back then there was a deficit in the number of umpires needed to call the game. I fell in love with it almost immediately, and haven't looked back since.

And as I tell the umpires who work in my area, if you allow that to happen, you have no one to blame, but yourself.

If ASA, use 10.9.A & B. Other than the ADA rule, there is nothing which requires you, as the umpire, to allow someone to partake in the game especially if you feel it is a valid safety issue.
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Too many times umpires feel like they need to be buddies or a "good joe" when dealing with teams. Umpires let players and coaches get away with things they wouldn't allow from their own families. If a player or coach believes "working", arguing, harassing a sports official is part of the game and should be tolerated, tell them to play basketball, football or baseball. And no, the excuse that it was, "in the heat of the battle" doesn't work.

There is absolutely no excuse to allow disparaging remarks or questionable actions toward a game official or anyone else on the field. If you as an umpire or your association as your representing body permits this type of behavior, you will get abused on a regular basis and never be able to retain good umpires.
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JMHO,

Well I am glad I havent gotten to the point where I feel either is boring. I just had a great HS FP game last night and my first HS SP game is Tuesday. Here the private schools are playing SP while the public schools play FP and in August it swaps and public is playing SP while private is playing FP. Keeps variety going and no need to worry about the "beer factor" when you are only dealing with HS girls :) But then again I guess that comes this summer.

HS in this area is more like rec ball than competitive travel ball. However, the college game has picked up offensively the past few years. Isn't it amazing what those extra 3' can do for a ball game.