Question for Bretman. Coach interference?

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At GAPSS today the Slammers we're playing the ***** in tiebreaker when one of the ****** girls batting hit a foul ball that the coach at third base reached out for and caught out of the air. A protest was made to the ump that the batter should be out and was denied. Was the call correct? The ball looked like it may not have been catchable from behind home plate but the coach did catch it intentionally and not to avoid being hit by it. Is intentionally touching a hit ball by a coach before it hits the ground a rules violation whether the ball was deemed catchable or not?

 

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I would have to say weather its close or not any ball that a defender can or could make a play on should not be touched.

I didn't see it but I know me if I was the official I would have called the batter out, tossed the coach for interference just to start a serious argument!:lmao:

 

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I did see something similar called when I was at Stingrays a couple of years back, but it was a ball that could have conceivably been caught.

 

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I didn't see it but I know me if I was the official I would have called the batter out, tossed the coach for interference just to start a serious argument!:lmao:

I know you, and this is absolutely true!! :lmao::lmao:

 

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The thing I couldn't believe was then jeering Bigtrain received by the ****** parents for protesting to the ump. Whether or not the ball was catchable you need to respect a coach's right to appeal.

 

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If the coach intentionally contacted the ball and that contact prevented the defense from making a play, then it is interference. Whether or not the defense could have made a play is up to the umpire's judgment.

Many times we see base coaches "field" batted balls that are obviously foul where the defense would have no chance to make a play and that is not interference. The act of intentionally touching the ball in and of itself isn't a rule violation, unless the action prevents a play.

In the case of a fly ball, the judgment is a little bit trickier. If there is a defensive player moving toward the ball with any reasonable chance of making the catch, I would tend to give the defensive team some benefit of the doubt.

Penalization for a base coach interfering with the catch of a batted fly ball is that the ball is immediately dead, the batter is called out and any runners must return to the base held at the time of the pitch.

 

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Thanks Bretman! So the deciding factor in the denied appeal was the umpire's judgement on if the ball was catchable which is what I thought.

 

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I didn't see the play, but the "out of play" area on many of the fields was very near the coaches box. Very well could be that the coach caught the ball in an out of play area anyway? On some fields there was a fence that ended and out of play was an umpire ruling on that fence line continuing straight down. If the coach was in play, it probably would have been better to let it go.

 

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I saw the play in question. It was a soft floater on a check swing foul ball from a left-handed batter. Not hard hit but not much "air" under it either. Ball was defeinitley in play and 3B coach defintely was not protecting himself and could have easily gotten out of the way. That said, I am not sure if the 3B could have made the catch.

It was a great game and I would have hated to see the final out be on that call.

Definitely a bad decision by the 3B coach to catch the ball but the far worse decision was his team's fans berating of the other coach for appealing, and some even storming the opposing dugout to shout insults and having to be escorted away following his appeal.

That could have gotten ugly (or should I say uglier?).

 

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anotherdad, posted it correctly. In hidesight I'm guessing the 3B coach did it without thinking. The appeal process got out of hand , parents and coaches is this what we are teaching kids how to act?

 

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A coach has every right to ask an umpire for an explanation of the call. I hope that the umpire explained to him that he judged the ball not to be catchable.

As for whatever went on ouside the fences, unfortunately there aren't any rules to prevent people from making idiots of themselves.

 

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Hey people... GAPSS is a Showcase tournament to get your kids exposure to colleges! If you win, who cares??? If you lose who Cares??? If you act like idiots regardless of the call, you do nothing for your kids. I don't care if the ball bounces over home for a strike, deal with it and don't embarrass your kids, your organization or the team hosting the tournament.

 

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Hey people... GAPSS is a Showcase tournament to get your kids exposure to colleges! If you win, who cares??? If you lose who Cares??? If you act like idiots regardless of the call, you do nothing for your kids. I don't care if the ball bounces over home for a strike, deal with it and don't embarrass your kids, your organization or the team hosting the tournament.

Well... I think that pretty much sums it up... and thanks.

 

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let me try to set the record straight.The Lasers will never condone this type of behavior.In this one case there is some history and until you have walked in ones shoes maybe you should just refrain from comenting.
I didn't do a very good job of controlling a very emotional moment.That will be corrected.
To the Slammers and their families I hope you know how much we respect you guys and if any of our people demonstrated otherwise i apologize for that.
JP Lasers Red

 

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Me and my DD had the pleasure of watching this game and it was a classic battle from start to finish. The Lasers Red and Slammers are 2 of the best 14U teams in the entire Midwest and the way they play the game is very much appreciated by those that love the game of Fastpitch Softball!!!

We were sitting under the trees and there were both Laser and Slammer families sitting behind us and we didn't hear anything negative from them...just some hard core cheering for both of there respective teams. This rivelry has been hard core since it started in the spring of 2005...the Johnson City year...lol and I'm sure will continue on into there college years.

As for the call...it was a soft liner directly at the 3B coach and yes he could've took a step either way to avoid it and let the left fielder gather it up, but I don't believe that even Brooks Robinson at 3B could've got a glove on it...lol.

As for the chant after the game, it was rather "Bush" but I did hear the Coach yell to cut it out twice and it stopped. As I respect this coach, I know he will handle it internally and this will not be an issue again.

To both the Lasers Red and Slammers...thanks for an awsome game to witness, watch and enjoy. Good luck to both of you at ASA "A" Nationals in Marietta, GA and I honestly hope you both place very high (Top Ten) and represent Ohio well!!!

Lee Pyles
Lasers White 15U

 

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Can anyone explain the call that allowed a run to be "walked in" on a delayed strike call by the ump? I think it gave the Slammers a run in ITB? True, a very heated match from both sides.

 

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No "call" at all...basically just a delay steal by the runner at 3rd.

 

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No "call" at all...basically just a delay steal by the runner at 3rd.

Correct. The team in the field was distracted and focused on what was happening with the batter who started for first thinking she had a walk, not a called strike three and the girl on third simply and unobserved came home.

 

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Correct. The team in the field was distracted and focused on what was happening with the batter who started for first thinking she had a walk, not a called strike three and the girl on third simply and unobserved came home.

You got to love a girl that is still thinking of getting the run. Sneaky,Sneaky sounds like a heads up play, good for her.

 

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Sounds like a planned play.