ground up by ground rules

[refjef40]

I worked a var. tournament on a field where I was not familer with the ground rules.It was a j.v. field with no fence except in right the varsity field fence was there.I told the coaches during the pre-game the outfield was all open.What I failed to realize was the area between o.b. and the var. fence was open and since is part of the varsity field its normally o.b.,this I found out later!Of course with tying and go ahead runs on base a girl hits one that rolls through that gap and I let it go for a home run.Coach comes out wanting a two base hit saying that is always o.b.My partner says he is right but now reminds me of my pre-game.I let the home run stand but told both coaches that was now o.b. which got the loser fans screaming I changed the rules right then to job them.My question is should have changed the ground rules?

[Steve M]

Sometimes, when you're on a field that you're very familiar with AND running late, you can get away with not walking the field before the game. But when you're on a field that you do not know well, walk the field before the game and save yourself all sorts of headaches - as you found out. And in a tournament, your uic should have covered the ground rules in the pre-tourney umpire gathering. If no uic, then the hosting coach should go over the ground rules with the umpires before the tournament starts. As for changing ground rules during a game, if something comes up that is not addressed by ground rules but needs to be - change them immediately.

[bluezebra]

What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Once you've established the ground rules, UNLESS there's a safety factor, stay with it the rest of the game. When you change the GRs AFTER one team has been helped by them, if you change them, you're putting the other team at a disadvantage.

Bob

[Dakota]

Originally posted by refjef40
I let the home run stand but told both coaches that was now o.b. which got the loser fans screaming I changed the rules right then to job them.My question is should have changed the ground rules?

Once you allowed the home run to stand, you were stuck with that ground rule for the rest of the game. You can't allow one team to take advantage and then change the rule.

To change to the established ground rule for the field, you should have disallowed the HR and reset the runners on base for a GR double.

[Steve M]

I agree with Dakota & Bob - and I should have been clearer about it in my earlier post. A safety issue is one that you need to address immediately, anything else should be taken care of for all following games.