Cannonball
Ex "Expert"
- Feb 25, 2009
- 4,975
- 113
I saw a few things this past weekend while watching a tournament that should make everyone uneasy about what is happening in the sport.
First, I saw a team get eliminated and walk from one diamond to another where a coach handed out uniform tops to those players. There were 5 total and all 5 batted in the top of his lineup. Apparently he carries around these jerseys in a bucket and hands them out each tournament from what I was told. He had some of his players on the bench and so, if I were a parent, I'd be hacked off.
Secondly, I saw a team win the tournament and a line formed with the coach to complain about playing time for their child. The team won the tournament and, as much as I could tell, every player of that team played in the championship game. To me, it looked like the coach was upset that even when they won a tournament, the coach has to deal with unhappy parents.
I saw terrible umpiring in a game I coached which was then followed the next game by exceptional umpires. On my way to 3rd base, I stopped to ask the umpire just how much of the plate was my pitcher missing since she has an exceptional curve ball and it was never called for a strike. I swear the umpire stated that the pitch was hitting the corner of the plate but he wasn't convinced it was a strike. I could go on about the rest of the game but this example pretty much demonstrates what happened. The following game, we had two umpires that were awesome. They made a bad call that went in my team's favor and then, changed their call. They called me over and explained what their thought process was and the rules per the book. I told them that I'd hire those two umpires anytime.
First, I saw a team get eliminated and walk from one diamond to another where a coach handed out uniform tops to those players. There were 5 total and all 5 batted in the top of his lineup. Apparently he carries around these jerseys in a bucket and hands them out each tournament from what I was told. He had some of his players on the bench and so, if I were a parent, I'd be hacked off.
Secondly, I saw a team win the tournament and a line formed with the coach to complain about playing time for their child. The team won the tournament and, as much as I could tell, every player of that team played in the championship game. To me, it looked like the coach was upset that even when they won a tournament, the coach has to deal with unhappy parents.
I saw terrible umpiring in a game I coached which was then followed the next game by exceptional umpires. On my way to 3rd base, I stopped to ask the umpire just how much of the plate was my pitcher missing since she has an exceptional curve ball and it was never called for a strike. I swear the umpire stated that the pitch was hitting the corner of the plate but he wasn't convinced it was a strike. I could go on about the rest of the game but this example pretty much demonstrates what happened. The following game, we had two umpires that were awesome. They made a bad call that went in my team's favor and then, changed their call. They called me over and explained what their thought process was and the rules per the book. I told them that I'd hire those two umpires anytime.
