Coach asks me to miss call ...
 

HS fall ball game in North Texas, ASA rules except no run rules, play 70 min. finish the inning

Team A up 22-0, Team B batting bottom of 3rd, fixing to go to the 4th, still 20 minutes to go

I'm a A position, Team A coach says "hey blue, next inning if anything's even close call my girls out."

I said "Sorry coach, do your own dirty work. Have 'em bunt back to the pitcher or something"

We knew each other, he just laughed and said OK. Turned out Team B waved the white flag after 3 so it was moot ... but, what would you have said/done?

I'll probably get railed on for this - but I'd have said, coach if you want em out - have em step off. My problem is that I'm not good enough to go against my instinct and make the wrong call on the fly. Trust me, in a 22-0 game I am looking for opportunities to get an out.

I agree with Mountaineer. Intentionally making a wrong call shows zero integrity from an umpire. Have them step off.

The coach could be my brother, and I would still refuse. No coach should ever make such a request from an umpire. There are, as has already been stated, many rules that allow them to earn the outs on their own.

I don't believe I've ever intentionally called safe/out incorrectly.

but I was asked in one blowout to make his girls swing, shoulders to ankles (Coach's words), and I did expand things a bit. I also had one game that didn't matter at all and both teams were putting in pitchers who had never pitched before. Both coaches told me at the plate conference that if the batter could reach it AT ALL, strike it. So I did. After the first 6-inches outside-shoulder-high strike, the batters simply swung at almost everything.

But this is a rarity, and I can't imagine ever extending this to calling safe runners out.

[QUOTE=Mountaineer]My problem is that I'm not good enough to go against my instinct and make the wrong call on the fly.[QUOTE]
I played on a team a couple of years back. I rarely do that. I consider myself a very good umpire, but not so good at playing.

One night, the BU did not show up. PU was making all calls from the pitch calling position, not even getting out from behind the plate. It was a friendly game and we were getting beat badly. I was coaching first one inning and decided that on the next play to first, I would move into "position" and make the call at first . . . of course calling safe for our team no matter what. The ball was a grounder over 3B. F5 made a great diving stop and came up throwing. It was bang-bang at first with B/R out by less than a half step. I sold it with a very energetic overhand out.

Oops - - I meant to call safe.

My team wouldn't let me coach anymore.

That's a great story.
It might become a sermon illustration at some point in the future.

Glad I'm not the only one who watches a ball game and has that "twitch" of making the right call. :)

Yeah, I'm usually the guy sitting on the sidelines arguing with the other parents of his DD's team that the umpire got the call right.

Unfortunately, last weekend I had to agree with all the fans that our BU couldn't seem to get a call right at 2B. The call was always out, the particulars of the situation didn't matter.

I'm sure it didn't help that he was wearing sunglasses even when under lights, but they didn't seem to help in the morning sun, either.

If I am at all identifiable as an umpire (uniform, fans know me, etc.) I do not comment on the calls at all. If it becomes a problem, I leave. Well, I may say something short and sweet to get the message across that I'm not going to comment.

Example: runner or batter is called out.
Fan: What she out?
Me: Yes.
Fan: Why?
Me: Because the umpire said so.

My pat answer for this sort of thing (whether right or wrong, in my 120 feet away opinion) is almost always, "The umpire's a heck of a lot closer than we are and has a better angle. You'd be surprised how often they are right from right there and we are wrong from way back here." Even if I thought the umpire missed it, perhaps this sort of comment will get the fan off some umpire's back in the future.

My stock answer is similar. "I've been to a lot of softball fields. I've never been on one where the view was better through the chain link.":cool:

A couple of years back, we were in a district semifinal up by more than the run limit. Our coach told the girl on 3rd to stay off the base after the pitch so she'd be rung up for the 3rd out. PU called time after the play and made her go back to 3rd. :confused: But at least he called her out for leaving early prior to the next pitch.

Then there was a JV game were we were down 19-0. Umpire must have had a hot date because as the home (winning) team is up to bat, he calls a strike on a pitch that was forehead-high. Home coach is going nuts and I'm telling my assistant (as I was acting coach that day) "It was a bad call, but I wouldn't want to make an umpire mad at me when I'm up 19-0."

I know what I would do: game over ladies. Up here we play 15 after 3, 10 after 4, 8 after 5, 1 after 7 -- fall ball, spring ball, and, during the one week, summer ball.

not in our HS fall league - we play to time ... everything else has the normal run rules