No Laughing At This One
 

Last night in local SP action. Batter gets in the right-handed batters box. One pitch goes by, batter requests time,granted, changes over to left-handed box. Defensive team goes ballistic. manager says after a pitch no switching. This one threw me for a little loop. I haven't heard this one yet. :confused: So we discuss I say batter can. Manager protests. We then call over league UIC-who is park director and not an ump-he goes with my decision.

So after game I dig out the rulebook to see if I am missing something. The only rule I can find pertaining to switching is 7-3-D.....

Am I missing something ? :confused:

How can we not laugh at something from the Sandlot Rule Book? A batter can stand in any batter's box they please as long as it is not done once the pitcher is prepared to pitch.

No, you're not; you got it right.

This myth is more commonly believed that you might think.

I am concerned about an organization who would have an Umpire in Chief who is not an umpire. How does that happen, and more importantly, what is the logic there?

This happens, more often than not, at a district/area level where a UIC is more of an administrator than an official. Sometimes it is political, sometimes it happens to be the only person who would accept the job.

Well it's a local Park and Rec league. It's your classic low level SP stuff. It's not like they are going to have on-site another umpire to be the UIC. The logic I believe is to get it done cheaply so no UIC but the director of the league. The director has gone with my decisions everytime there was a "protest". Even if he makes a decision thats wrong it would be okay with me in that it's not a perfect world. Like I said he has always gone with my decisions. Most of the players just want to play and don't protest very often.