Yeah...I would believe that for a 12U coach. They have been around just long enough to pick up enough information to be dangerous to themselves! :rolleyes:

Brent, when you're engaged in a correctative task, would you flag "preventative" as unsuititable? :D

Pitcher licks their fingers on the pitching hand, and wipes them off on her uniform shirt near the left shoulder prior to holding the ball. Next pitch, pitcher does the same thing. Offensive coach from the dugout: "She can't wipe her fingers off in the same spot....thats illegal!"

You could have had way too much fun with that one. Looked at him said, "coach, when was the last time you read a rule book? They dropped that rule from the books, jeez, what was it, 10, mebbe 12 years ago." Then just wait for the reaction! :D

Or, you could have gone with, "Coach, that wasn't the same spot. She was actually about two millimeters in front of the previous spot."

7th grade game last night. Second pitcher for H is wearing a school sweatshirt over her uniform that's some kind of neonish green -- not close enough to the ball to really be a problem for somebody throwing as slow as she was.
She pitches for an inning and a half and then gets replaced with pitcher number three. Next inning pitcher three gets pulled for pitcher 4. Next inning before the inning starts V coach wanders up to me.
C: See that girl out at 3b. She was pitching a couple of innings ago and that sweatshirt is kind of the color of the ball and my players were having trouble picking it up.
Me: Okay. I guess it is kind of close.
C: Yeah, they were having trouble picking up the ball. And it's really not her uniform.
Me: Okay, well if they decide to have her pitch again, come remind me and I'll see if it's a problem.

Coach wanders off.

Not sure what she wanted me to do at that point.
________
Make Vaporizer

I hope you obliged that coach. . .by announcing the count as 0-2 after the first pitch to each batter.

If it is the "H" pitcher I am thinking of, they didn't have any trouble picking up the ball on any of the four pitches each batter saw.

*snicker**:D

didnt think of that!

This weekend on another field a coach told one of our crew that the 10 after 3 run rule was only in effect in the 3rd inning and since it was the 4th it didn't count. Of course he was explaining this as the crew was walking off the field, to go change.

Similar Story - Men's FP National, 12 after 3 run rule, visting team scores a couple of runs with one out in the top of the fourth to go ahead by 12 runs. The team starts filing out of the dugout to shake hands with the other team...That's it, right blue? We're up by 12 and it's after the 3rd inning....

I calmly explained that the home team would still get their chance to bat in the bottom of the fourth....:rolleyes:

Happens all the time in rec ball. Even had it happen in men's travel SP ball once...an USSSA NIT. That about floored me. :rolleyes:

referring to an illegal pitch call:

"Come on blue. If the other coach ain't hollering then it aint illegal."

I had to have a colleague give me an eye exam to make sure I read that right. Wow.

A batter 'has to get out of the way' of a pitched ball in order for a HbP award to be considered.

catch 22

We're missing a lot of rules, here are some interesting variations:

http://forum.officiating.com/softbal...i-learned.html

:rolleyes:

Things change.. but they all stay the same... :D

I learned last night that if the runner is "leaning" back toward 3rd base even though she hasnt moved her feet she has made her decision as to which way she is going and cant be called out for a look back violation.

My last tournament, I learned, again, that the plate umpire can overide any call by the base umpire. The fans were adamant on this point, the correct call by the base umpire not withstanding. :)

Didn't happen to be a team from Western PA with a minister/NSA umpire as their head coach, was it?

If so, one of mine already got this guy at the 18U Eastern Nationals. Did you know that you cannot eject a minister from a softball game?

Lucky for me, once fall ball ends in these parts indoor winter leagues start up. This provides me with extra learning experiences when I might otherwise be wasting time sitting in front of the fireplace sipping hot chocolate!

- Indoor league, ASA rules. R1 on first base. Batter hits fly ball to center, R1 takes off on contact. The catch is made and the runner is scrambling back to first. The throw to F3 is high and she has to go up for it. She catches the ball and lands on the colored base well ahead of the runner.

I called the out, but the offensive coach was kind enough to inform me that the defense has to use the white base on that play. I'll have to remember that...

- Same leage, different game. It's a pitcher's duel, score is 0-0 in the 6th and we're approaching the 75 minute drop dead time limit. (I hate drop deads, but it's the only way they can schedule back-to-back games from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. and not be there until midnight.)

Top of 6th, visitors break through for two runs. At the end of the half inning I remind the teams that there are only about seven minutes left. They hustle in an out. In the bottom of the inning, home team gets a couple of hits and scores a run. There is now one out and the tying run is at the plate- and the clock runs out. We revert back to the last completed inning for a 0-0 tie game. Bummer, but dems da rules.

Home team coach pleads for me to finish the inning and, when I won't, goes on a rant about how I'm, "Stealing the game from the kids".

Sorry, Coach, my bad. I forgot about the rule that says the home team can randomly dump the agreed upon time limits, depending on if doing so might or might not benefit the home team.

I seem to be missing out on a lot of rules and promise to pay better attention when our umpire meetings start up next February. Until then, I've got two more months for the coaches in this league to educate me!

Wow, that coach wasn't from McKinney, Texas, was he? I had the exact discussion with a coach from there last year, in almost the exact situation.

Probably not. I've seen this guy around my area for a few years now.

We have enough knuckle-headed coaches in Ohio that we don't have to borrow them from Texas! :D

Last night I was calling a fall 'JV league' (it was very JV to say the least)

First game of the night on the field and both coaches are 'discussing' who is the 'home' team in order to determine who 'must get the bases and place them on the field'. Finally they get their acts together, and we have a home team, bases laid out my partner calls the coaches together for a pre-game. After a quick pre-game (we are starting the game about 10 or so minutes late anyway), partner starts the game clock and informs 'home' coach to 'hit the yard, you are on the clock'.

After about 2 or 3 minutes, home team still hasn't left the dugout area, and I walk over and remind the coach that the 'game clock is running' and they 'might want to get his team out on the field'. Coach says 'okay, we are ready'.

another minute passes, and home coach walks out of the dugout and claims 'we are the home team, we bat first'. PU explains that the 'home team bats in the bottom half of innings'

Home coach asks with a puzzled look, 'When did that rule change'?

Later in the game, same coach asks me why i am not calling the other team's pitcher for pitching 'illegal'. (while this we very very JV, a called strike was a rare thing anyway). I asked him what he though she 'doing to be illegal'? he replied, 'I don't know, it just looks illegal'.

gotta love fall ball

I did learn last weekend that it's interference on the runner if she runs near the shortstop and doesn't affect the shortstop's ability to field the ball, in any way.

That has been a rule for like, ever! I think that came into the rule book about the same time as the BR is out if she doesn't run in the running lane, no matter whether a play is attempted or not by the defense.

The Fox announcers apparently believe this to be true in OBR. :rolleyes: