Opinions requested

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by Big Slick

If I were Andy:

I'm stopping PU before he gets there with the phrase: "you called it a strike." Quite possibly an emphatic point.

But would that actually stop him? Saying that out loud sounds like publicly rubbing it in to the PU that he made a bad call! He knows what he called it. Isn't there some more diplomatic way to put it, such as, "By rule your call of strike must stand."?

I'm assuming this was a crew of 2, therefore one of them would've been the umpire in chief. Does it matter which one of them is? In some sports it would, but I don't know if softball is one of those.

Did the PU start to move toward the BU before the coach objected, or after? If it was before, I don't see how it could look to the coach like an example of getting them to change a strike call.

As to the apparent misconduct by the coach, doesn't that just create a separate issue to deal with? Or does it somehow supersede the strike ruling?

[robbie]

What about this response to the DEFENSIVE coach.

Coach, She didn't swing. I know it, you know it, we all know it. I simply had a brain cramp and came up with the "strike call."

I'm sorry, but it's a ball - Let's play......

[Big Slick]

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

But would that actually stop him?

If it doesn't, I'm repeat it until he get this point. Maybe it will sink in that he should have told the coach that and to stop making a bad situation worse.

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

Saying that out loud sounds like publicly rubbing it in to the PU that he made a bad call! He knows what he called it. Isn't there some more diplomatic way to put it, such as, "By rule your call of strike must stand."?

Too much to say when you are keeping the game on pace. "You called it a strike" has the subtext: "Get back behind the plate and call the next pitch."

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

I'm assuming this was a crew of 2, therefore one of them would've been the umpire in chief. Does it matter which one of them is? In some sports it would, but I don't know if softball is one of those.

Doesn't matter in softball. The PU may be "in charge" but doesn't give him any more rights to not follow standard protocol.

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

Did the PU start to move toward the BU before the coach objected, or after? If it was before, I don't see how it could look to the coach like an example of getting them to change a strike call.
As to the apparent misconduct by the coach, doesn't that just create a separate issue to deal with? Or does it somehow supersede the strike ruling?

It seems you have misinterpreted the OP. The DC asks PU about the swing ("objects"), that's when PU goes to BU. That's not misconduct, he is asking about a judgement call and wants a different opinion. This is not uncommon. I had a high level men's FP tournament this year, and every time PU called a swing, the phrase "you have to ask about that" was said. It happened a few times; after we explained that "if PU calls a swing, it really is a swing" it was said in jest and we got a good laugh.