- Feb 3, 2011
- 1,880
- 48
Because of a scheduling mix-up, our fields were 1 umpire short for the afternoon session, so the duty umpire asked whether I'd do the 10u game. I donned a mask and chest protector and was ready for action. Unfortunately, though, taking on this task meant I'd be unable to watch Mojo pitch in her 1st 12u game, as she was filling in on the other field to help out a team that had no pitcher at all.
There were several walks issued in my game, which is to be expected in 10u, of course, but a couple of the batted balls did produce a little angst among the crowd. There were 2 bang-bang plays at 1B and there was also a play at 1B where F3 was transferring the ball from her hand to her glove as the BR reached base. It was a clear out, but there were those parents who felt the ball was supposed to be in her glove. In another case, F3 fielded a ball with her throwing hand while her foot was on 1B and then after the out was recorded, she dropped the ball and there were the obligatory shouts about the ball having been dropped. Oh, brother.
And then there was the LBR violation. I haven't seen it called in rec that often, but in this case, it was too egregious to let go. It wasn't that the player and her 3B coach didn't know the rule, it was that they were trying to bait the P into a throw. After the player was called out, the coach asked for time to question the ruling. He said that the pitcher had looked at 1B. I agreed with what he saw, but said that no play had been made or attempted. I looked at his runner for at least 4-5 seconds before calling her out. Between innings, a dad came over and politely asked me to explain the rule to him. A few seconds later, he had an understanding of what the runner's responsibility and liability is.
Oh, and lastly, the duststorm. A small twister came out of nowhere, destroyed 3 pop-ups, and threatened to blow them over the fence and onto the field. We got all the girls turned around and moved away from the fence, and thankfully, no large debris flew onto the field.
All-in-all, it was a cool experience, but I definitely have a much deeper respect now for our young umpires given how much they have to keep track of on any given play. Here's to them!
There were several walks issued in my game, which is to be expected in 10u, of course, but a couple of the batted balls did produce a little angst among the crowd. There were 2 bang-bang plays at 1B and there was also a play at 1B where F3 was transferring the ball from her hand to her glove as the BR reached base. It was a clear out, but there were those parents who felt the ball was supposed to be in her glove. In another case, F3 fielded a ball with her throwing hand while her foot was on 1B and then after the out was recorded, she dropped the ball and there were the obligatory shouts about the ball having been dropped. Oh, brother.
And then there was the LBR violation. I haven't seen it called in rec that often, but in this case, it was too egregious to let go. It wasn't that the player and her 3B coach didn't know the rule, it was that they were trying to bait the P into a throw. After the player was called out, the coach asked for time to question the ruling. He said that the pitcher had looked at 1B. I agreed with what he saw, but said that no play had been made or attempted. I looked at his runner for at least 4-5 seconds before calling her out. Between innings, a dad came over and politely asked me to explain the rule to him. A few seconds later, he had an understanding of what the runner's responsibility and liability is.
Oh, and lastly, the duststorm. A small twister came out of nowhere, destroyed 3 pop-ups, and threatened to blow them over the fence and onto the field. We got all the girls turned around and moved away from the fence, and thankfully, no large debris flew onto the field.
All-in-all, it was a cool experience, but I definitely have a much deeper respect now for our young umpires given how much they have to keep track of on any given play. Here's to them!
