Umps - Blown calls that have made you laugh, cry, scratch your head, or pop a gasket!

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Runner on 1st. Ground ball to 2nd baseman. Runner attempts to avoid contact by jumping over the 2nd basemen as she is fielding the ball. The runner ends up kicking the fielder in the head. The fielder manages to field the ball and keep her feet, but is a bit dazed and does not complete the play. After a conference between field and plate umpire, they call both the runner that made contact safe at 2nd and the batter safe at first. Explanation was that even though there was significant contact, the fielder was still able to field the ball and should have been able to complete play at 1st base. Huh??
 
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Got one for Bretman... At Batwars this past weekend, our girl tries to delay steal home. The pitcher throws the ball back to the catcher, but the catcher has to sort of dive towards third to catch the ball. If you were at a distance, the runner appeared to be out. However, since the play was right in front of our dugout, we could see that the catcher missed the tag. Home plate ump calls our runner out. Maybe he just had a bad angle on the play. Our third base coach errupts and looks at the base ump who was standing behind the SS at the time and he gives a non-shalant safe signal with his hands by his waist. But the home plate ump wouldn't ask for help.

My question is that is that an appealable (if that's even a word) play where the home plate blue could ask for help from the base ump?? The call is the call and I'm not one to keep arguing with an umpire. I just want to know for my knowlege if the base ump could have overrided the original call.
 
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Here's one: 12 year old umpire. Fly ball to left field lands foul. Umpire calls fair ball because he said it was in fair territory when it passed third base. Never mind the thing landed at least 20 feet foul and close to out of play....what a goofball.



The year was 1982....the umpire was me! I still scratch my head about that call to this very day.
 
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My question is that is that an appealable (if that's even a word) play where the home plate blue could ask for help from the base ump?? The call is the call and I'm not one to keep arguing with an umpire. I just want to know for my knowlege if the base ump could have overrided the original call.

I don't know the "rulebook" answer, however, I know that there was a obviously wrong call made by the field ump in one of our games and our head coach called time, approached the umpire and asked him to ask the plate umpire. He did and the call was reversed.
 
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In all of my experiences, one umpire has never over ruled the other unless the head coach calls time and asks for help. Whether this is right, I don't know.
 
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12u at the Fireman's Tourney couple weeks ago at Berliner. Pitcher pitches the ball to a right handed batter. As the ball comes in, the batter takes her left hand completely off the bat, extends it way out in front of her. Of course the ball hit her hand and the ump awarded her first base, saying she was hit by pitch.
 
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Got one for Bretman... At Batwars this past weekend, our girl tries to delay steal home. The pitcher throws the ball back to the catcher, but the catcher has to sort of dive towards third to catch the ball. If you were at a distance, the runner appeared to be out. However, since the play was right in front of our dugout, we could see that the catcher missed the tag. Home plate ump calls our runner out. Maybe he just had a bad angle on the play. Our third base coach errupts and looks at the base ump who was standing behind the SS at the time and he gives a non-shalant safe signal with his hands by his waist. But the home plate ump wouldn't ask for help.

My question is that is that an appealable (if that's even a word) play where the home plate blue could ask for help from the base ump?? The call is the call and I'm not one to keep arguing with an umpire. I just want to know for my knowlege if the base ump could have overrided the original call.

Any umpire can ask for help, but the umpire doesn't have to take it...which in some instances can be infuriating.

On another note...had I been the home plate umpire and seen the field ump "showing me up" by nonchalantly signaling her safe...him and I would have had a long heart to heart and possibly a little meeting out behind the "wood shed" after the game to make sure it never happened again!!!
 
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At Berliner this weekend in 10u. Opposing team is up to bat. Our pitcher drills the batter in the leg. She drops crying. Girl is obviously hurt. Opposing coach has to literally pick her up and carry her. They were almost in the dugout when home plate ump went up and said something to them (I was not close enough to hear). Ironically the coach immediately shifts his course and carrys batter to first base and lets her touch it then takes her back to the dugout. Although it was a nice gesture... can the umpire really tell them that the girl must touch first base or we could have thrown the ball to first for an out? Our coach is a class act so of course he didn't say nor woud he have even entertained the idea of saying anything about it. But it just struck me a weird that the umpire would tell them what they have to do. (again I was not close enough to actually hear what was said it just very much appeared that way)
 
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- An umpire should NEVER coach the players. I would consider informing them that they had to touch first base as "coaching".

- To top it off...this batter DOES NOT have to touch first base before getting a sub. Since this was an awarded base, then a sub can immediately take the batter's place and assume the base award.

In summary...umpire should not be giving a team advice like this...and it was bad advice anyway! :(
 
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Three years ago in the district final in a tie ball game, our team has a runner at third base and the opposing coach calls for an intentional walk. The catcher has a foot outside of the catcher's box and the umpire calls an illegal pitch. He awards the batter a ball, but refuses to advance the runner at third. We eventually lose the game after 11 innings.
 
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More a question here than a statement. Runners on 1st and 2nd. Batter hits routine pop up and plate ump calls infield fly batter is out. So technically fielder does not have to even try to catch ball. Well 3rd baseman tries to catch ball and I don't know what happened but she completely missed it, did not even touch it. Ball lands about 3 ft passed 3rd base and 3 to 4 ft inside foul line but immediately shoots into foul territory and rolls clear to fence. Runners advance a base. Ump yells foul ball and sends runners back to respective bases and batter back to box to bat again. Batters coach feels both runners should be allowed to keep reached base because ball should have been fair since it landed past 3rd base. Our coach felt batter should have still been out whether ball went foul or not because once infield fly is called the ball does not have to be caught. I am not sure how it should have been handled other than I am pretty sure it should have been a fair ball. Help!
 
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Also in a later game other team had bases loaded and hit pop up. Infielders were playing in to hopefully get force at home and protect small lead. 2nd base turned around to make catch instead of backing up. She muffed the catch but was still inside base line. Runners advanced and scored and bases still loaded. Ump never called infield fly. After play was over coach asked if that should have been an infield fly. Ump said No, that by turning around to make the catch it was no longer considered routine. Maybe true. But this is the same ump that said our girl was swinging the bat when she got hit in the hands, and gave her a strike. She was not swinging, not even a check swing. She was trying to get out of way of pitch. Oh well. Turned out to be a heck of a game.
 
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Just this weekend in PP at a NSA qualifier, we where on defense and there was a blatant look back rule violation. So blatant that the other coach threw his hands up when she stopped after passing third. The ump said nothing. Our coach asked about the rule, the umps response was "Well, it was a violation, but the runner made a mistake by stopping. We'll give it to her."

No lie, exact words.
 
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Just this weekend in PP at a NSA qualifier, we where on defense and there was a blatant look back rule violation. So blatant that the other coach threw his hands up when she stopped after passing third. The ump said nothing. Our coach asked about the rule, the umps response was "Well, it was a violation, but the runner made a mistake by stopping. We'll give it to her."

No lie, exact words.

My biggest beef the last few years has been with umpires on this exact same rule...but the other side of it. I had a girl called out just last weekend for rounding the bag at first on a base on balls, coming to a stop about five foot from the bag, then coming back to the bag. NOTE***This is perfectly legal in ASA, OHSAA, and I am pretty sure in every other sanctioning body of softball. But I continue to see umpire after umpire call this player out because she rounded the bag with the pitcher holding the ball in the circle.

Also this rule goes for any other base the runner decides to round!!! They are allowed to stop and then either go on to the next base or return to the previous base...they are not immediately out!!!

I will give you the rule for those coaches and umpires that do not get it!!!
ASA
Rule 8, Section T [1-3] most notably 3a
 
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Lady Knights - tell us the one about the "ground rule double" home run.
 
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Lady Knights - tell us the one about the "ground rule double" home run.

Ouch!!! That's just not playing fair!!! I had all but nearly forgotten that painful memory...now its time to call my shrink again!! Thanks!!!!
 
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High School game.... Hitter hit the ball into the ground, it bounced into foul territory, third base paying in a normal up position fielded the ball 4' beyond the foul line. The umpire doesn't call it foul.... The runner stops and looks and the third baseman stop and looks.... The hitter takes off for first and the third baseman throws her out...... BOTH coaches argue that was a foul ball and not an out... The umpire tells them that the ball established itself in fair territory and since it didn't touch the ground in foul territory it was a fair ball..... The out stood.
 
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More a question here than a statement. Runners on 1st and 2nd. Batter hits routine pop up and plate ump calls infield fly batter is out. So technically fielder does not have to even try to catch ball. Well 3rd baseman tries to catch ball and I don't know what happened but she completely missed it, did not even touch it. Ball lands about 3 ft passed 3rd base and 3 to 4 ft inside foul line but immediately shoots into foul territory and rolls clear to fence. Runners advance a base. Ump yells foul ball and sends runners back to respective bases and batter back to box to bat again. Batters coach feels both runners should be allowed to keep reached base because ball should have been fair since it landed past 3rd base. Our coach felt batter should have still been out whether ball went foul or not because once infield fly is called the ball does not have to be caught. I am not sure how it should have been handled other than I am pretty sure it should have been a fair ball. Help!

Sounds like it should have been a fair ball.

Infield Fly Rule only applies to fair balls, so the umpire was correct to cancel IFF when he subsequently called foul ball. Even though an umpire initially calls IFF because they judge the ball should be caught in fair territory, it is negated if the ball is not touched and becomes foul. If the fly ball is along a foul line, IFF would also be canceled if the fielder initially touches the ball while it is over foul territory - which would then require the catch be made for the out.

Fielders should still try to catch the ball to make sure they get an out and to force runners to tag up.
 
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My biggest beef the last few years has been with umpires on this exact same rule...but the other side of it. I had a girl called out just last weekend for rounding the bag at first on a base on balls, coming to a stop about five foot from the bag, then coming back to the bag. NOTE***This is perfectly legal in ASA, OHSAA, and I am pretty sure in every other sanctioning body of softball. But I continue to see umpire after umpire call this player out because she rounded the bag with the pitcher holding the ball in the circle.

Also this rule goes for any other base the runner decides to round!!! They are allowed to stop and then either go on to the next base or return to the previous base...they are not immediately out!!!

I will give you the rule for those coaches and umpires that do not get it!!!
ASA
Rule 8, Section T [1-3] most notably 3a

Start another thread. Wait for Brettman's ruling.
 
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