While I'm waiting on my illegal pitch question to be answered by someone, let me ask one more question.

When the umpire decided that the pitcher was delivering an illegal pitch, should the umpire have called the coach to the mound while talking to the pitcher or does the umpire have the right to talk to the player in the coaches absence?

My point that I was trying to get across to the umpire was that I respected her opinion on the fact that she thought it was an illegal pitch but that next time I prefer that she tell me about it so that I can correct the player as her coach. But she took offense and said that she had played softball for years and that the umpire didn't have to tell the coach anything that she can correct a player at any point. I wasn't trying to get her feathers ruffled at all, it was just the point that she messed with my pitchers mind in the middle of a game. She already told the pitcher she wasn't going to call it an illegal pitch but that she wanted her to know it wasn't legal for her tournament play. If that was the case then why not wait until after the game to confront the player instead of getting the pitcher messed up in the middle of a game for something that didn't matter in the first place??

Player / Coach Courtesy
 

If the umpire was not going to call it...then yes there would be a dozen better ways to go about it then stopping the game and approaching the player. What was the opponents thought on the umpire thinking it was illegal and then not calling it. Does your league have a "warning" type procedure for pitchers because the rule book does not. I think the infraction, timing of the infraction, level of play, all have to go into weather or not you intentionally call the coach out and explain what your calling when it has to do with illegal pitching. I would never stop a coach from asking or coming out to confirm. Why start an attitude when I don't need to ?

I think it just all boiled down to the fact that my mom was this umpire's high school softball coach that didn't give her much play time so now she was trying to get some feathers ruffled. Usually my mom (who is a highschool coach and an ASA certified umpire) is at the games to try and help out the younger umpires but last night she wasn't able to be there and this young umpired tried to take advantage of the situation. She set out to ruffle my feathers and it almost worked. I just let it go because I knew that she was doing correctly and that it was all just a ploy to get at my pitcher (who is also my daughter). I just need some reassurance that it was a legal pitch. I've asked a few and all say she is pitching correctly and accurately......4 innings and 16 strike outs (DTS rule kills me because of my catcher not being able to hold on to the ball because its coming in so fast)

If the league was such that I was not going to call IP (wreck leagues, younger pitchers, etc), I would have talked with the coach the first time I saw it (likely, after the very first warmup pitch, before the inning started).

Regardless of the level, however, I can think of no circumstance where I'm discussing an illegal pitch with the player (unless, I suppose, the pitcher was also the coach).

The umpire has no business coaching. Her job is to call the game as she sees it, not to correct players. If she was not going to call it, then keep her mouth shut.

If your umpire assoication is a good one, you may want to call the UIC and let him know that this umpire is trying to coach during the game.

Exception: for developmental leagues, I will discuss technical pitching violations by young pitchers with the coach and I take pains to ensure the pitcher is out of earshot. The purpose is to tell the coach what needs to be worked on at the next practice, and to avoid rattling the pitcher during the game.

My point exactly Tom!!!! Thank you!! I feel better now!

Discussion / Explaination ?
 

If you call an illegal pitch, you don't ever explain what you just called to the player/pitcher ? Do you walk immediatly to the bench and explain it to the coach ?

If I'm not going to call an IP, I certainly am not going to stop a game and explain why. I may mention to the coach on the side, but not coach them.

If I do call an IP and feel the need to explain it (I'd rather see something misunderstood corrected than call three dozen IPs in a game), I would address the pitcher with the coach. I want to make sure both hear what I am saying and not rely on a coach not passing along the proper information. At the same time, I'm not talking to this child without the coach hearing the conversation.

I said discuss. Maybe I should have been more clear.

If pitcher says, "What did I do?" I'll tell her - one sentence. Most of the time, they don't ask me, they ask coach. And most of those times, Coach knows. If coach doesn't know, and asks, I'll tell him/her. If catcher asks, I'll tell her.

But no discussion or argument with a player ever ensues. I never want to say to a pitcher, "You can't do such-and-such." That's coaching.

and that's exactly what happened last night...this umpire went out to my pitcher on her warm up before the 3rd inning and said she looked up in the rule book and that she couldn't pitch the way she was pitching because she was going past her hip too many times....I just happended to look up to see it when it was all over and saw the discusted look on my pitcher's face and went out and asked what was going on.....I just told my pitcher to continue doing as she has always done and I would handle it. After that inning was over as I was headed out to first base, I past by home plate and KINDLY told her that next time she had a problem with the way my pitcher was pitching to please run it by me before trying to teach her a differnt movement...that's when the ump got all blown up and yelled at me "I don't have to tell you NOTHING....I've played ball my entire life and played in tournaments my entire life and I know those umpires go out and tell those girls whatever they want to. I don't have to tell you as her coach anything"..... I just shook my head and walked away.....and she wonders why she didn't make it to college ball!!! Attitude!! Attitude!!! Attitude!!!

I do mostly baseball, with some fast pitch mixed in. Whenever I balk a pitcher in baseball, I do not explain it during that inning. I handle it like Tom and Mike handle IP's. I tell the coach the technical violation (in reserve and below games, in varsity they're on their own).
I can tell you most baseball coaches get downright upset if you try to talk directly to their pitcher.

I only made that mistake once.

I'm one of those type of coaches when it comes to my pitcher.....but I held my cool because I don't want my girls to see me throw a fit because I didn't get my way but I do it in a way that the umpire knows what I'm feeling without having to yell. I think it's just common courtesy. I'm not going to get out there and tell them how to umpire a game or get out there and call balls and strikes so therefore I don't expect them to tell me how to coach or to do my job for me either.

Most rec. leagues give us a chalk line, not a pitching rubber. From time to time the pitcher gets too wide & I run out to skoot them back to the middle. I don't take the coach with me for that, but if I have a pitching issue..I always take the coach with me..,even 14-18 age.
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It always comes up that for 4 weeks they pitch illegally then I get their game, and it's the 1st time they ever heard the ball had to be in both hands, or something like that.

well, we are lucky enough to have pitching rubbers to pitch off of and if we travel to a different field to play and the pitching area isn't safe (which we have had.....they wanted us to pitch on a baseball mound once) then I won't allow my pitcher to even take the field. Her safety comes first....league or no league..... Wish we had more umpires with you guys opinions.....sounds to me like my last 2 games are going to be interesting if she doesn't wisen up.....

When I call an illegal pitch, I will tell the pitcher what she did wrong if she wants t know. If the coach asks, I have no problem telling him/her also. I would rather they know what the pitcher is doing wrong so she can corrrect it. But if neither asks what she did wrong, I do not say anything.