Not calling "Foul ball"

[IamMatt]

Here I go again, looking to the book for an answer. Regarding balls and strikes, ASA says, "Every pitch is called a strike or a ball. Umpires don't remain silent when a pitch is ruled a ball."

It is a little less black-and-white with foul balls. Mostly the book discusses determining fair-or-foul on close ones down the foul lines; ASA says, "...on all foul balls, except a caught fly ball, the DEAD BALL signal is given." so I guess that says you should be signalling every foul ball, but not necessarily with the FOUL BALL signal, unless they mean that instruction to only refer to balls hit down the foul line. Glad it is so clear.

As a coach, I like decisive, consistent calls. If I don't hear a call or see a signal, I don't have to guess whether it is because I missed it, or if it was a "silent" call. We coaches aren't that smart, remember, and we need all the help we can get.

[NM FP Ump]

Early on in my experience I was calling a fp game where I was BU and the PU would not verbalize foul balls. Between innings I asked him if he would please verbalize them for me, and his reply was, "I give the signal for foul ball and I will verbalize the borderline foul ball, but on the routine foul balls, I just do a signal." I am a rookie, so I go along with his routine....until later in the game when a high inside pitch is swung at. The catcher puts her glove up and the ball touches her glove and goes to the backstop. Catcher moves to her left to retrieve the ball and PU puts his hands up because he lost balance when the catcher bumped into him. I tell the baserunner going from 2nd to 3rd, "it's a foul ball" and she goes back to 2nd. Well, I got my ear chewed by the OC for a foul ball call on a passed ball. I learned my lesson then and there: Call all foul balls "foul" as a PU, don't call any balls "foul" as a BU.

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Is this the thinking when it comes time to discuss calls the coaches disagree with? That the umpire is subserviant?

It is the attitude of most of the Div I coaches, and several of those from D II and lower. It is the attitude of most of the conference officials, and coordinators, who appear mostly worried about answering the coaches' concerns, never really adressing deplorable behavior by the coaches. Yes, it is our's to handle when it crosses the line, but we are rarely backed on anything but outrageous behavior.

In my personal opinion, far too many (in fact, damn near all) NCAA umpires attempt to ignore the consistent stream of disagreements with ball/strike judgments, fair/foul decisions, safe/out decisions. No one will tell a coach that sitting there disagreeing verbally with every call is unsportsmanlike, or that coming out to argue purely judgment calls that they KNOW from 80 feet away at a bad angle that we missed, that is "horrible", and on, and on.

No one will enforce the NCAA rules that have been newly added to require batters and pitchers to get it going; and, absolutely NO ONE has the balls to refuse to grant "time" to a batter who simply requests it to control the pitcher, despite the direction from the highest levels to NOT GRANT TIME. Rarely will any umpire refuse to award a base to a batter who is hit by a pitch while making no effort to avoid; I know some who will award first base to a batter who has obviously and clearly leaned into a pitch. Because they are afraid the coaches will blacklist them, most simply want to survive their games, and hope the adage of the umpire who isn't noticed will carry them to the promised land.

And now it is sliding down to high school, the speed up rules and don't grant time rulings. Georgia is a fall high school softball state, I have called almost 60 games this year, watched (evaluated) almost 60 more, and have never seen even one umpire other than me refuse to grant a batter time. Not even in my own association, even working with me.

Hell, yeah, we are subservient. More in NCAA than anywhere else, but overall, the umpires have no balls.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve

It is the attitude of most of the Div I coaches, and several of those from D II and lower. It is the attitude of most of the conference officials, and coordinators, who appear mostly worried about answering the coaches' concerns, never really adressing deplorable behavior by the coaches. Yes, it is our's to handle when it crosses the line, but we are rarely backed on anything but outrageous behavior.

In my personal opinion, far too many (in fact, damn near all) NCAA umpires attempt to ignore the consistent stream of disagreements with ball/strike judgments, fair/foul decisions, safe/out decisions. No one will tell a coach that sitting there disagreeing verbally with every call is unsportsmanlike, or that coming out to argue purely judgment calls that they KNOW from 80 feet away at a bad angle that we missed, that is "horrible", and on, and on.

No one will enforce the NCAA rules that have been newly added to require batters and pitchers to get it going; and, absolutely NO ONE has the balls to refuse to grant "time" to a batter who simply requests it to control the pitcher, despite the direction from the highest levels to NOT GRANT TIME. Rarely will any umpire refuse to award a base to a batter who is hit by a pitch while making no effort to avoid; I know some who will award first base to a batter who has obviously and clearly leaned into a pitch. Because they are afraid the coaches will blacklist them, most simply want to survive their games, and hope the adage of the umpire who isn't noticed will carry them to the promised land.

And now it is sliding down to high school, the speed up rules and don't grant time rulings. Georgia is a fall high school softball state, I have called almost 60 games this year, watched (evaluated) almost 60 more, and have never seen even one umpire other than me refuse to grant a batter time. Not even in my own association, even working with me.

Hell, yeah, we are subservient. More in NCAA than anywhere else, but overall, the umpires have no balls.

I couldn't survive in that world. Thanks for the reply.