Would you have said something?

Striker991 · #1 (**permalink**) Tue Jun 03, 2003, 10:40am

As an umpire and a parent, I do not interfere with another umpire's games when I am a spectator. However, last night I couldn't just sit there. After my son's baseball game, our league's junior softball team was playing and since my daughter has friends on the team, we decided to stay and watch for a while (LL Junior League Softball). The umpires were not allowing the batters to run on 3rd strike not caught with two outs and a runner on first. In fact, when they ran, they were stopping them and preventing further play. After the first time, I said something to our scorekeeper, who relayed the information to the umpires. The second time, it was brought up again by our coach, and I hear them tell her loudly, "well, he's wrong!". The second time would have advanced our runners and put the BR on 1st. After it happened a third time, when, again, we would have advanced runners and put the BR on 1st, I couldn't take it. Since we were at another league's field, I went over to an umpire from my association and borrowed his rulebook. Found the rule and sat quietly in my seat. When the PU walked over by where I was sitting between innings, I walked up and showed him the rule. He was greatly surprised, but didn't seem upset. However, this play didn't occur again the remainder of our time there; we had to leave for other commitments and couldn't stay for the entire game. I don't know if this happened again.

Would you have said something?

kellerumps · #2 (**permalink**) Tue Jun 03, 2003, 11:25am

No we would not have said anything during the game. Afterwards perhaps, but not during.

I wouldn't want anyone doing that to me.

Skahtboi · #3 (**permalink**) Tue Jun 03, 2003, 11:32am

I am of pretty much the same mind as the Kellerumps. During a game is not the time and place.

Mike Follett · #4 (**permalink**) Tue Jun 03, 2003, 11:41am

I would not have said anything to the umps during the game, but if I knew one of the coaches or parents, I'd have instructed them to how to lodge a protest on the spot.
JMO.........

Dakota · #5 (**permalink**) Tue Jun 03, 2003, 11:45am

Exactly what I was thinking, Mike. Give the coach a quick rules clinic and let him deal with it.

DownTownTonyBrown · #6 (**permalink**) Tue Jun 03, 2003, 03:03pm

Agreed. It is impossible to come out of the crowd and instruct the umpires... unless the umpires know you and are willing to accept your instruction. They loose face, just like you or I would if we listened to a stranger in the crowd.

I once tried to help a couple of youth umpires (probably 14 years old) by telling them that they needed to show balls on the left hand and strikes on the right. I did this between innings with no one else within earshot.They wanted to argue.

All I could do was laugh and leave.... You know, it didn't bother the 8 and 9 year old players one iota that they were doing it wrong. Your situation likely didn't bother the girls during their game either.

Obviously to change the rules in the middle of the game, even to change them to the correct ruling (after having ruled it wrong several times), would be an egregious error... leading to perceived impropriety. "You let them do it but you didn't let us do it."

SC Ump · #7 (**permalink**) Tue Jun 03, 2003, 07:07pm

I'm curious as to what happened when the coach properly protested the game. Being that it's the coach's job to know the rules I'm sure the protest was lodged. When is the protest committee is scheduled to meet?

I used to have a friend who, when I would say things like, "I hit a nine iron 145 yards and left it only three feet from the hole," would always respond with the important question: "Did you make the putt?"

Since then I have decided that whenever a coach complains about umpires I will respond with, "Did you make the protest?"

BTW, as an umpire in the stands I would not have said anything unless I knew the umpire well enough to call him at home later that night.