I have to agree with SC here.

On one hand the team claims that the batter is completely out of site. The next sentence states that the PU spots him.

Well...either he is out of site or in site, not both. Plus, calling the ump pi$$ poor should warrant the ejection anyway.

Plus, even if the PU gave the team a warning - Get that guy out or you forfeit, I am sure the team left that out in future conversations.

Like I had said, the team that was telling me what happened was the team not at fault (they were the ones who won by forfeit), so the bias factor is actually pretty low. Otherwise, I always take what teams say with a grain of salt. :)

My understanding is that the player was initially out of sight behind the tower, but he apparently moved (statement of the obvious). Either way, he did not leave like he was supposed to. The PU spotted this and declared a forfeit.

There have been more than a few times that by ASA Rule, I should have forfeited the game.. and I just don't. Its our nuclear weapon and its not a weapon I enjoy using (I have a couple of times in bad situations). Instead I just give more post ejection warnings "coach get your guy out of here" or whatever.

This umpire probably is a jerk.

But ya know, many of the people we deal with could use a good run in or two with him.

And..

The rules are very clear.

Two points:

When talking to a SP softball team about an umpire, the conversation is always going to be biased when it refers to an umpire's ruling even when it is in their favor. Many of these folks aren't too smart and just cannot help from running at the mouth about any break they get from an umpire's call. They WILL go out of their way to make an umpire look bad in the eyes of their fellow players.

A forfeit should be the last tool in an umpire's arsenal. I have tossed people before who have worked themselves into the crowd to watch the game. I don't care, as long as they are quiet and do not communicate with their team. I'm not on the field to not play the game.

Noted.

Though having worked with this umpire a number of times myself (and heard dozens of complaints from other umpires, too), I think the captain's story was probably pretty close to reality. At bare minimum, everyone has the same perception of this guy's priorities: to get home early and get paid regularly.

Maybe three other letters...