Game is a BLOW-OUT

BuggBob

Game last night Visitors are ahead 27-0 after 3 innings, both very friendly teams so I open the strike zone UP! As the visitor batter comes to the plate I tell him, "Its pretty much going to be a strike." The pitched ball lands about six inches in front of the plate. "Strike." They only scored five runs that half inning. When the home team got back in their dugout one of the players joked, "You got to love that eleventh guy." Home team bats with a normal strike zone and scores three, which was three more than they have scored in their last two games combined. Visitors are happy, home team is happy. Game ends both sides thank me for making the game fun.

I think a big part of umpiring is the ability to read the teams. Had this been a contest between two competitive teams where one was having the game of a lifetime and the other a very bad night, there is no way I could have gotten away with that. But this was a game between two Church league teams that are all good friends.

So the question is what do you guys do when the game is clearly over but you still have game time and have not yet reached a run rule point?

Bugg

NCASAUmp

If a game is a total blow-out (33-0, etc.), I might let close plays get a little closer. Strike zone might gain a couple of inches, but nothing too disproportionate.

NCASAUmp

I actually had a co-wreck (spelling is intentional) game where the home team was down 33-1 after only two innings, but 40 minutes into the game. When it was the home team's turn at bat, the only decent female hitter on the team struck out swinging at the first 3 pitches. Unfortunately, the team is a mix of competitive players and recreational players, which is never a good combination.

So the female goes back to the dugout, and I start to brush off the plate between batters. All of a sudden, I hear a flurry of profanity coming from the home team dugout... "F you, mother F... You son of a..." She's hitting all the bases. Apparently, one of her teammates accused her of striking out intentionally (which she probably did, as she was their best hitter, for what's that worth), and that's why they were losing.

Anyway, so she grabs her bat, and I'm thinking that she's going to haul off and whack him, when I see her slam the bat into the bat bag and stomp off, boyfriend/husband following her 20 feet behind to the car.

Later, I found out the guy she cussed out was her boss. That team never came back to finish the season.

Yikes!

mcrowder

Unless it's an extremely casual league, I think you open yourself up to a can of worms if you start changing things disproportionately or ridiculously (i.e. the strike that bounced in front of the plate). If you have to widen it a ballwidth for one team, widen it for both. And, it can also be perceived as an insult to the losing team - LESS sportsmanlike rather than what you're trying to accomplish here (Blue thinks we suck so bad he's giving us strikes when they bounce in there ... what an @$$).

Extremely Wreck league? Yeah - perhaps. But be careful doing this at anything resembling a competitive situation, and if you do ANYTHING, do it both ways.

NCASAUmp

mcrowder wrote
Unless it's an extremely casual league, I think you open yourself up to a can of worms if you start changing things disproportionately or ridiculously (i.e. the strike that bounced in front of the plate). If you have to widen it a ballwidth for one team, widen it for both. And, it can also be perceived as an insult to the losing team - LESS sportsmanlike rather than what you're trying to accomplish here (Blue thinks we suck so bad he's giving us strikes when they bounce in there ... what an @$$).

Extremely Wreck league? Yeah - perhaps. But be careful doing this at anything resembling a competitive situation, and if you do ANYTHING, do it both ways.

Mike's right. Last time I played (about 4 years ago), our team was horrible. We went 1-13, and the one win was due to forfeit. Same case as the team I mentioned above - half rec, half competitive. Someone found out that I was an umpire, so I was made captain. *groan*

I had to miss one game (no, I wasn't tossed!), but heard the reports later that the umpire had made those aforementioned adjustments. When he called a strike on the opposing team that was an obvious ball, the batter gave him a confused look. The ump had the audacity to say, "well, under these conditions, it's a strike."

My next phone call was to the league organizer, and he got the proper chewing out.

IamMatt

This coach's opinion is don't do it--I don't think it is part of the job description.

If the winning coach wants to let up, that is up to him.

bigsig

IamMatt wrote
This coach's opinion is don't do it--I don't think it is part of the job description.

If the winning coach wants to let up, that is up to him.

Acting as a professional. Acting as a role model. Teaching and practicing good sportsmanship. That is part of everyone’s “ job description”.
I’ve umpired JV to REC games that were 32-0 after 2 hours and still in the 3rd inning. I’ve seen coaches winning by 25 runs and still pulling double steals. In every one of these games I‘ve seen the losing coaches, players, and parents getting more and more frustrated as the other coach keeps “pouring it on”. I believe that good preventive umpiring requires me to have a private discussion with the coach between innings before tempers get out of hand. In every case, to the coaches credit they did change their tactics. I’ve had discussions with coaches about expanding the strike zone, and with their permission have done so. I also remind every batter that if a pitch is close it will be a strike, again without a single complaint. (I don’t call balls over their head or in the dirt strikes).
I have never in 5 years had a complaint about this. The key is to ask their permission, remind each batter, and only call it a strike if they have a chance to hit it.

IamMatt

bigsig wrote
The key is to ask their permission...

That's different. What do you do when you ask, and the winning coach declines your suggestion, saying, "I don't want my players to pick up lazy playing habits" or something similar?

NCASAUmp

IamMatt wrote
That's different. What do you do when you ask, and the winning coach declines your suggestion, saying, "I don't want my players to pick up lazy playing habits" or something similar?

Well, then there you have it. You can't use two strike zones for two different teams playing the same game. Consistency is a must.

bigsig

IamMatt wrote
That's different. What do you do when you ask, and the winning coach declines your suggestion, saying, "I don't want my players to pick up lazy playing habits" or something similar?

In 5 years it's never happened. (If he/she did say that my response would be, "You're right Coach, what we all want is for them to develop good sportsmanship"). I ask when the game is out of hand. The coaches don't want 10 walks an inning either. And when they do agree there are two different strike zones. The team that's way ahead knows to swing at any pitch thats close (I remind each batter as they step into the box). The team that's behind continues to see the same strike zone they've seen all game.

Just a suggestion but it's worked well for me.

Dakota

Not a critique; just a comment about me. I would never use a "sham" strike zone or 2 different strike zones in any game where I was actually in uniform. After all, if the coach wants his players to get strikes on pitches in the dirt, he can always have them offer on a bunt attempt or something harmless.

I did once "umpire" a friendly pickup game with a bunch of friends where I did some of that stuff - just to pick and poke, etc.

NCASAUmp

Dakota wrote
I did once "umpire" a friendly pickup game with a bunch of friends where I did some of that stuff - just to pick and poke, etc.

I know we often get blamed for "taking the bat out of the batter's hands," but in a game where a stacked team (mix of national champ players with other ringers) was playing a very weak team, it literally happened. The umpire, as the pitcher was getting ready to pitch, reached forward and took the bat out of the batter's hands and called the pitch a strike!

Skahtboi

BuggBob wrote
The pitched ball lands about six inches in front of the plate. "Strike."

Assuming SP here, how can you have a strike on a dead ball?

IRISHMAFIA

Skahtboi wrote
Assuming SP here, how can you have a strike on a dead ball?

Didn't you see the batter swing? 😉

BuggBob

Skahtboi wrote
Assuming SP here, how can you have a strike on a dead ball?

USSSA rules. Since they can hit the ball on the bounce, it must be live at that point.

Skahtboi

BuggBob wrote
USSSA rules. Since they can hit the ball on the bounce, it must be live at that point.

From last year's USSSA SP rulebook, (don't have a new one as I don't work SP):

"A ball is called by the umpire on each pitch not swung at by the batter if:

A. The pitched ball does not enter the strike zone.
B. The ball strikes the ground before passing completely over the plate or any part of the plate.

Effect: The pitched ball is dead after each ball, strike, or illegal pitcher action and must be returned immediately to the pitcher(unless an out occurs.)"