A Matter of Coaching or Conscience?

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by Dakota

Kill the ball, no pitch. There is no rule to back that up, but it is a safety issue.

As a matter of rule, the umpire is authorized to stop play any time he judges conditions justify it; ASA 10.4-A. And the prohibition to stop play after the pitcher starts delivery only applies if the offense requests it. So the rules do support your authority to make that judgment.

I think we are all more or less knowing that killing it takes away a possible advantage that the offense has, one given them by the (stupid) defense. At a championship level (and certainly including high level NCAA play), I think we have to let it play out. While safety is a concern, we aren't supposed to affect the competitive edge legally gained. Our function is to keep it legal, keep it fair; the NCAA rule book lists umpire duties a thru o; only letter o even suggests our concern for player safety, and even limits that to allowing additional warmup time after an injury or inclement weather conditions. The Umpire Code of Conduct doesn't mention safety at all, instead reiterating fair and unbiased as the basis for all decisions.

I can only suggest that, if you decide to kill that play at that level, you state something about YOU not being ready, or that sweat dripped in your eyes. If you willingly state you stopped play in NCAA to protect the clueless team when the other team had an advantage, you will wear that offended coach like a new set of underwear, until you likely have to warn or eject.

At rec levels, it is more accepted to consider player safety. And, I would, too. At the same time, it isn't stated in the ASA rules, Rule Supplements, Umpire Code of Ethics, nor Umpire Manual that game decisions should or could be based on safety considerations (at least, not that I can find!!). I could be wrong, but show me any rule or direction in those documents that tell us to consider anything beyond "fair and unbiased" in making judgments.