LLWS Girls
 

Did anyone see the shot in the 8th down the line, where the left field umpire
ran for his life looking towards the fence, then at the fence, turned and
signalled foul. His call was correct, but he never saw it.

S Carolina vs Purtorico 5-5 8th

Yep- saw it and thought the same thing.

How about the play where the kid slid across first base (touching the colored portion), went past the bag, reached back and touched the orange portion, then was tagged. The announcers were adamant that the runner should have been out because she did not return to the white portion of the bag.

Anybody know if that is a Little League interpretation? Do they not use the "one big bag after the initial play" interp, like ASA?

I saw both those plays in person. I admit, I did chuckle a little on the hit down the line. And watching live I had no idea until now what the coach was asking about on the play at first.

Whoops. I was wrong. LL does require the runner to return to the white half. I would have missed this in one of my LL games.

The crews in both semis tonight looked good to me.

Final was SC 7, PR 6 in 10. Great game.

watched both games "central vs. east" and "south vs. latin america"
Loved the baseball mechanics (not!!)
And the right field umpire running out to right field and triple signaling no catch on a ball that was at least 5 feet away from the fielder...guess he needed his 15 seconds... sigh.
And the blown out call on the girl returning to second.(dude! she was so safe)
Also I guess taking off your mask on a snap throw to second and then back to home for a tag out at the plate ..is optional.
Athough the umpires had perfect mechanics during the chicken dance. IMHO.
Yes, I know its easy to critique umpires from the comfort of my sofa.... but I fully expect the same from them when its my turn. ;)

Regardless, I have a safe runner that legally overran (overslid) first base, made no attempt to second, and I am denying the appeal as she returns to the base (she just hasn't finished returning, yet). She was not in jeopardy when she was tagged, IMO.

Did you by chance see the play?

The runner, after overslidding first, lunged back toward the orange bag. She was lying on the ground with her hand on the orange bag, making no attempt whatsoever to reach the white portion. At that point, she was tagged.

It looked to me like any effort to return was over by the time she was tagged. She just returned to the wrong bag. Definitely not an out under ASA rules, apparently an out under Little League rules.

No, just going on the play description here. I still think it is a stretch to call her in jeopardy after overrunning; put it back in those terms. A runner overruns first, heads back, and stops just short of the bag. When do you declare that runner in jeopardy,

Now, add to this case that she was stretched out (your description), and probably needed a moment to get back up. Is she in jeopardy?? Maybe, but very mucha stretch, in my mind (and not seeing the play).

I didn't see the play. Assuming there is no question that no try was made for 2B...

Suppose she had made NO effort to return? Suppose she had just lay there on the ground while she was tagged?

IOW, how do you determine that she was finished returning, and is that question even relevant?

Here is the text of LL 7.15c:

"The BR must use the colored section on his/her first attempt to tag first base. [Except when the ball is hit to the outfield, no play at first, etc., etc., and then the BR may use either half.] Should, however, the BR reach and go beyond first base, he/she can only return to the white section of the base. Penalty: BR is out."

In this play, I don't see the BR going beyond 1B if all she did was overrun/overslide. She certainly made no attempt to advance. I would not have an out on this, under LL rules or otherwise. Like Steve said, just a runner overrunning, then returning.

My first question on the 1B play would be is "oversliding" the same thing as "overrunning?" My first thought was that it is not, but I don't own a LL rule book. Can this be supported by rule? How about ASA? Occasionally I do see runners sliding into first, but this is the first time I've seen an overslide into first.

My second thought was that she had passed first, so it was one-big-bag and thus did not matter. But obviously that's an ASA rule and not LL. Big surprise there.:rolleyes:

And what's with the grass infield? Don't they have a real softball field in Portland?

Yes, they have some fine fields. They play lots of REAL softball (ASA) on them.

In the South vs. East game on now, top of the 6th.
The 1BU made what I thought was a "pulled foot" signal, and then called the runner Out.
Mechanic was confusing to say the least...IMHO

Saw that, and agree that it was a pulled foot. Why the out call not sure.

S, Carolina wins over New Jersey.

Pay back for all of the baseball that gets played on skinned infields?

Woo hoo. Go Simpsonville.

No mention of the HUGE snafu earlier in the game? Shot down the 3BL, U3 signals foul, PU signals fair and play continues. Replays show that the ball was foul by a foot.

How the manager from NJ didn't get ejected on this play is beyond me. He should have protested the game. The LL interp is once foul always foul.

Must have happened when I left to get a cup of coffee. :D

But it wasn't. It was ruled "fair" by the umpire whose call it is.

I'm not saying it was right, but it certainly isn't protestable.

I was sitting down the LF line with some other umpires. I said to my umpire friend who had stepped away that the ball bounced to the foul side. The problem was that the umpire called it fair. And four umpires and a 20-second conference for that pulled foot in the sixth? Ughhh....

What embarrassed me the most as an umpire who works mostly LL in the summer was the dancing, complete with wigs. You will not catch me dead doing anything like that. Just because we volunteer doesn't mean we can't act professional.

As for the field, it is part of Alpenrose Dairy, which has a long history of community involvement. The hosting district has played baseball and softball there for many decades and it is a natural site for a LL World Series.

The field looks nice, just not a softball field. And with all of the room it looks like they have, why have the sideline fences in the outfiled so close to the foul line?

Anyway, at this level the umpiring should be much better. Besides those already mentioned, how about blown call at 3B. It was obvious the runner beat the throw. Also, strike zone was VERY inconsistant, outside or low was anyone's guess as to strike or ball call.

Both coaches showed class and kept their cool.

NJ coach needs to learn this isn't baseball.

The call at 1B involving the safety base was a good call. If I remember though, the umpire made it look questionable with his hesitation on the safe signal. The coach's argument with the BU was absurd. It seemed the umpire explained his call, but coach wouldn't stop talking so the BU just shut down. I have no problem with that. An explanation is all the coach is due. Then the coach whined to the PU that the BU wouldn't answer his question.

When walking away with the PU, the coach kept repeating that the ball beat the runner. Yeah, so?

It may be part of the umpire requirements to do what is asked of you.
I won't be dancing like that either, cuz I will never be there in uniform.

LL (both baseball and softball) has apparently asked their WS umpires to be corny showmen for the past several years. I think it demeans both the game and the umpires, but they apparently disagree.

You are right. I know one that went, and he said that they wanted them to
be a part of "the show".
Another reason not to do LL.

From what I have heard from those in my district who have gone to other regionals/World Series (above the 11/12 level), these antics do not occur in the older divisions. Then again, there are no cameras to play to at these levels. I guess if you want to be on TV there's a trade-off.

This is a big reason I don't want to apply to the World Series in my hometown.

BS. They do an older division right here in Kirkland, WA and they demean themselves DAILY with these corny dances, even if NOT on TV.

You can chicken dance or umpire. For me, I choose to umpire. Besides, I probably can't do the chicken dance.

Damn. Sorry to hear that. I know about Kirkland, didn't know they did that.

My partners can dance. I will be tying my shoes, getting some water, polishing my indicator, cleaning the bases, anything to kill the time...