The next game after this one, I had a new partner come in. With the events of the previous game fresh in my mind, and with a little time to spare between games, I figured that we'd have the most thorough pre-game possible.
The next guy was just as green as the first guy. I had never met him before, so I asked him about his experience doing softball. He tells me that he's pretty new to it...but for the past three years he has been doing a lot of
Little League Baseball! 
At least the guy was open to suggestions and seemed enthusiastic about being out there. So, our pre-game was pretty in-depth. When we got into fly ball coverages, I tried to explain every possible scenario. I told him that if he wanted to go out on a fly ball, he should make it obvious that he's going out, as opposed to just standing in one spot and watching the ball. I also told him to yell something like, "I'm going!", or "One-man!" if he did go out. We also covered, among many other things, who has "fair/foul" responsibility and when.
First batter of the game...batter hits a blooper down the right field line. Base umpire doesn't budge from the "A" position, says nothing, makes no movement toward the outfield, ignores the batter-runner heading to first and then makes a strong "foul!" call as the ball lands a few feet foul.
So much for the thorough pre-game...
After the first inning, he comes in to talk to me and says he has a question. He wants to know when it is okay for a runner to leave her base on a pitch and asks,
"Is it when the ball reaches the front of home plate?". 
Mon Oct 10, 2011, 09:02pm
Similar Threads
Hybrid Mode
