A thread for the umps...what would you do’s, oddball plays, war stories

[The Man In Blue]

Next time, go with just a nose and a mouth. You're an umpire, you don't need eyes. ?

 

[The Man In Blue]

Here is one for the Oddball Files ...

Not my field, but the "off umpire" from our field (we were working a 3-person rotation of 2 games on, 1 game off) was watching another field.

Runner reaches third base, stops, and whips her head around. She sees the ball is still in the outfield, so she starts to run ... only her ponytail is now caught in F5's fielder's mask ... she continues to try to run, pulling F5 a step or two. My partner said she would have scored easily. The umpires on the play kill it, call obstruction, and put the runner on third base.

Is it obstruction? Why or why not? If you think it was, where should the runner have been placed?

 

[CoachJD]

Here is one for the Oddball Files ...

Not my field, but the "off umpire" from our field (we were working a 3-person rotation of 2 games on, 1 game off) was watching another field.

Runner reaches third base, stops, and whips her head around. She sees the ball is still in the outfield, so she starts to run ... only her ponytail is now caught in F5's fielder's mask ... she continues to try to run, pulling F5 a step or two. My partner said she would have scored easily. The umpires on the play kill it, call obstruction, and put the runner on third base.

Is it obstruction? Why or why not? If you think it was, where should the runner have been placed?

Wow.

I have no idea what the correct call is here because it doesn't sound like F5 actually committed obstruction, but as the coach of the defensive team, if it was plainly obvious she would have scored, I probably wouldn't complain if she was awarded home.

Maybe the umpires should kill the play because there's a dangerous situation on the field with the two players tangled up, and then place the runners based on their judgment of where they would've ended up. I'm not sure if umpires have that authority, but I do think killing the play in this situation is within their power. And then someone has to decide where the runners go, right?

 

[Greatdaytobeawildcat]

Here is one for the Oddball Files ...

Not my field, but the "off umpire" from our field (we were working a 3-person rotation of 2 games on, 1 game off) was watching another field.

Runner reaches third base, stops, and whips her head around. She sees the ball is still in the outfield, so she starts to run ... only her ponytail is now caught in F5's fielder's mask ... she continues to try to run, pulling F5 a step or two. My partner said she would have scored easily. The umpires on the play kill it, call obstruction, and put the runner on third base.

Is it obstruction? Why or why not? If you think it was, where should the runner have been placed?

That's fun.

Obstruction is the act of a fielder without possession of the ball impeding the progress of a runner.

The runner's progress was impeded. The fielder did not have possession of the ball. So in this case you'd have to parse if the fielder "acted". Her mere proximity to the runner could be "acting".

To me it meets obstruction. Though I definitely agree with killing the play for safety. Given the judgement that absent this entanglement the runner would have scored, the award seems wrong. If it is obstruction, and she would have scored, have to score her.

If it's something else, if the umpires judge the runner's action caused the impeding, I'm still not sure third base is the award. Definitely "oddball" b/c there's nothing in the books I can find that covers a runner's act causing players to become entangled.

Hmm.

 

[Greatdaytobeawildcat]

So I had blocked today off to finally watch my DD this fall.

The scheduled ump didn’t show, so I had to be pulled out of the stands so the game could go on.

Was a cool moment for me (she wasn’t thrilled…today anyway - someday she’ll look back and laugh).

Didn’t have to call a strike 3 (thank God), or I’d be in the dog house. Will always be a good memory for me though.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Best seat in the house.

Wait for the day when you get to work a game with her. ?

 

[Greatdaytobeawildcat]

Tale of two (of the seven) games I did this weekend:

Team A won easily 12-2, yet somehow managed to complain about multiple calls, the strike zone, an obvious look back call, and what they thought was an obstruction at third base on a slice down the right field line that could have been caught (one man).

Team B got smoked 17-1 in 3 innings but complimented my hustle on an out on an attempted triple (also one man), thanked me for calling a great game, and were generally just good people.

It’s not hard to be decent human to your own team, the other team, and the umps. This is just a game.

Also, my DD (pics in another thread) umped her first game, a 10u rec game. She’s 16. It’s 10u rec, most of the kids were barely aware of what was happening- parents still chirping, mostly about things they had no clue about.

Anyway, just a long preaching to the choir rant to say be good to each other. Life is too short.