A Rule.... or no Rule...

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Member

• Jul 24, 2010

• #1

Last week had an umpire tell me that my pitcher could not wear her sliding shorts when she pitched because they were optic yellowish and it was distracting the batter. This was our second to last tournament and this was the first it was brought up. Now I do know that they all must be the same which they are, but I can not find were the color is forbidden. My comment is this ..... there are uniforms that are this color, how can you flip out over sliding shorts. What is the correct ruling????

 

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Member

• Jul 24, 2010

• #2

Every sanctioning has their own uniform requirements.

ASA does not prohibit any specific color of sliding short. Neither does NSA. High school only allows white, black, gray or a matching school color. There are a lot more sanctioning bodies out there and I won't even pretend to have all of them memorized! But their rule books will outline this requirement.

And there is a "wild card". Generally, the umpire can prohibit any item deemed to be distracting to the batter. Exposed optic yellow sliders might be judged as distracting. Every individual umpire will have his own opinion about that and it's within his power to address it. So it is within the realm of possibility that it could be prohibited and that would be justified by the playing rules.

Personally, my feeling is that it might be a little overboard to prohibit this. But it is within the rights and powers of the individual umpire to judge an item as distracting.

 

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Member

• Jul 24, 2010

• #3

This was an ASA Showdown in Dayton.

 

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Member

• Jul 24, 2010

• #4

Sounds like a "Hitters Umpire" make sure you pass along his name. lol
Opposing coach could of secretly asked him to say something, which is more common!

 

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Member

• Jul 25, 2010

• #5

Usually, I'm not going to prohibit something like this just because the opposing coach complains about it.

Think about it this way: If I really think something is distracting, wouldn't I have already noticed it? And if I already noticed it and judged it to be distracting, wouldn't I have already addresed it?

If it's something that didn't already get my attention, it can't be very distracting, now can it?

 

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Member

• Jul 25, 2010

• #6

bretman said:

Usually, I'm not going to prohibit something like this just because the opposing coach complains about it.

Think about it this way: If I really think something is distracting, wouldn't I have already noticed it? And if I already noticed it and judged it to be distracting, wouldn't I have already addresed it?

If it's something that didn't already get my attention, it can't be very distracting, now can it?

Click to expand...

I agree with you and yet disagree. What you as _ old male Umpire find to be distracting or not, does not mean that a teenage girl sees it the same way.

As an umpire you are trying to judge a ball in the last 15ft of the pitch, a batter is trying to judge the ball in the first 15ft of the pitch. The batter is very focused at the pitcher, umpires are more focused at the batter. We all know this is true by the lack of umpires not seeing all these illegal pitches..lol:lmao::lmao:

 

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Member

• Jul 25, 2010

• #7

Unfortunately (for them), the teenaged player or the middle-aged coach doesn't have the final say.

 

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Member

• Jul 25, 2010

• #8

Last week in Gahanna at the start of one of our games, the umipres made our pitcher remover her white batting glove from her glove hand. He said it was distracting to the batters. He said she could wear a black one but not white.... . I think sometimes umpires come up with their own rules to see how the coaches/players react.

 

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Member

• Jul 25, 2010

• #9

I have no issue with the umpire having this authority and I am the father of a pitcher. My DD and I have avoided any gloves, sliding shorts, clothes and protective pads in the past that might be considered distracting by a batter or umpire. A batter has less than half a second to hit a ball when it comes out of the pitcher's hand ... anything that is about the same color as the ball could definitely give an unfair edge to the pitcher. As a coach, if an opposing pitcher had something like this, I wouldn't hesitate to talk to the umpire about it and would be very disappointed if action was not taken.

 

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Member

• Jul 25, 2010

• #10

bretman said:

Unfortunately (for them), the teenaged player or the middle-aged coach doesn't have the final say.

Click to expand...

Here, Here

 

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Member

• Jul 25, 2010

• #11

crosscountycannons said:

Last week had an umpire tell me that my pitcher could not wear her sliding shorts when she pitched because they were optic yellowish and it was distracting the batter. This was our second to last tournament and this was the first it was brought up. Now I do know that they all must be the same which they are, but I can not find were the color is forbidden. My comment is this ..... there are uniforms that are this color, how can you flip out over sliding shorts. What is the correct ruling????

Click to expand...

ASA Rule 6 (FP) 6.B A pitcher shall not wear any item on the pitching hand, wrist, forearm, elbow or thighs, which may, in the umpire's judgment, be distracting to the batter.

 

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Member

• Jul 25, 2010

• #12

neon sliding shorts! uniform FAIL!