Appeals

[Gulf Coast Blue]

Why is that appeals give coaches fits?

I was calling in a local organization's Rec league opening day this past weekend (big fair, fund raisers, good time had by all, etc.) and during one of the games, the big hitter for one of the teams hammered one for an inside the park homer (with runners on base).

She missed first clean as day, so I was ready for when the appeal came. Not a peep from the defense.......UNTIL the 1/2 inning ended.

One of the coaches approached me (it was a 1 umpire game) and said......."blue.....on that home run.....the batter missed first"?.....in the form of a question.

I told him........"yup coach......she sure did".

He asked me how he should question that during a game......

I told him that I had seen it and expected an appeal.....He then told me that he kept his mouth shut because he was not sure how to appeal that.......

I told him the basics of a live or dead ball appeal and to read the POE #1 in the ASA book (he acknowledged he did receive his book).

I told him that he would be well ahead of the game if he read the entire POE section.........and taught his players how to excecute a proper appeal.

There has to be a jillion times I have expected appeals for missed bases to only be disappointed when they don't come.

Do ya'll run into this too......or is this just a phenomenon of youth ball. I have had this come up in high level "A" ball too........coaches and players not knowing how to appeal.........just curious.

Joel

[Steve M]

Joel,
I'm pretty sure that's one of those phe phe phe one 'o them things that players and coaches don't always know what to do with. The only levels where I have not seen this is college and the upper levels of men's fast pitch - but I'm sure that sooner or later I'll see it at these levels too.

[Gulf Coast Blue]

Steve........a few years back......we had a HS player that got a reputation with the HS umps on making the quick turn at first and getting the extra step or two on her run to 2nd or 3rd.

She got away with it some in FED because the umps were not always watching as close as they should (one of my mentors clued me into her sneakiness). I called several of her ASA games and on an extra base hit.....she cut the corner at first almost every time. But NOT ONCE did I ever have a coach make an appeal on her. I never did figure this out because the miss of first is the MOST obvious.

She was one of the best players I ever saw in this area and got a full ride to a D1 school.


Joel

[Bandit]

I went down to the local high school field just tonight to watch the local girls practice for the last time before Wednesday's opening game and saw the high school coach still teaching the girls to throw the ball to the base they wanted to appeal a runner having missed (while time had been called). How long ago has it been since that had to be done ?? PS. Spoke to the coach after practice and also pointed out the POE section. Hope she's a quick reader.