Runner assisted by coach

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by snorman75

...My order would have to be Kids, enjoyment, rules, social good(community), and then the ugly truth in the corner power...

My disagreement with you is not so much order, but definition. Apparently, you believe you are doing the kids a favor when you make incorrect calls to spare their self-esteem (or something). I strongly disagree from two points of view.

1) These kids are playing a competitive sport. It is insulting to the players and a disservice to the game to take upon yourself the role of final arbiter of protecting the player's self-esteem (caused by such things as being badly outscored or having an inadequate pitcher).

2) That is not your job as the umpire, and you do a disservice to all umpires when you make such intentionally wrong calls.

Doing our best to correctly apply the rules to the game being played by the players (as they are playing it) is our job. It is not our job to make our own unilateral adjustments to the rules out of some misguided attempt to protect the players feelings. That doesn't mean we are authoritarian ogres. But we are as impartial and as correct as we know how to be in applying the rules to the game.