Illegal pitch and my big mouth...

[2 DD Coach]

10u rec game, the ump calls time on the second pitch of the game and has me come out to the mound. He says my pitcher is throwing an illegal pitch because she is taking the mound with the ball in her glove, not in her hand. I didn't think he was right, but I wasn't going to sit there and argue it, so I told my pitcher to come to the mound with the ball in her hand instead of her glove.(easier said then done.)

Two batters later, he actually calls her for an illegal pitch for the ball in her glove. He actually stood up halfway through her motion and yelled that it was an illegal pitch, and gave the batter a ball. Again, I thought he was supposed to let the pitch happen, and if the batter hit and reached base, the manager of the other team could choose to take the result of the play. That is the first IP I think I have ever seen called in rec league.

So after I watch the other teams pitcher do the same thing for an entire inning without him so much as saying a word, I was a little frustrated. Next inning they brought out another girl, and three pitches in, she is doing the same thing. So I call time from my coaches box on third( here's where my big mouth gets this thing going in the wrong direction) and I ask the ump if I misunderstood why he was calling an IP on my pitcher, since the other team was doing the same thing, and he was letting it go. He said he was aware of the other pitchers doing it, and if thats the way I wanted to play, then fine.(I knew I was in trouble at this point.) I tried to explain my point, but it was a lost cause.

And thats when all the fun started. By the end of the game, he had called 7 IP's on us, and walked in two runs because of them to tie up the game.(Luckily we got one more in on our last at bat and ended up winning.)

SO, under ASA rules, does the pitcher have to have the ball out of her glove when she takes the mound? Does she ever have to take the ball out of her glove, or can she bring her hands together and pitch? And on an IP call, should the ump let the pitch and resulting play happen, or should he stop the pitcher before she delivers the ball?

And should I ever open my big mouth, regardless of how right I think I am? (This ones easy to answer)

 

[SoftSocDad]

That umpire is an idiot, even if your league does say IPs should be called at the 10u level in REC ball. The real problem I have with illegal pitch calls aside from their inconsistency is the 1-base penalty. If I were you, I wouldn't have that ump work any more of my games.

 

[Lozza]

I'd have been protesting that game and demanding the head umpire be there before I continue. That guy is a fool and has no business umpiring. I can honestly say if I was the opposing coach I would have been kicking up a fuss. Any umpire that needs to take his frustrating out on little girls is not someone I want near my team.

He's also wrong. The hand need to be seperate from the glove but no rules that I'm aware of that states the ball needs to be seperate from the glove.

I would be putting in a formal complaint. He's not punishing you, he's punishing the pitchers. Take it from someone who was IP'd out of a game because the coach hated my mother, it's devestating at that age to be called for an IP, especilly if you are aware it's because the umpire is trying to prove a point and not something you've done.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

This could very well be a Tucson thing. I have a very good student that has been with me 3 years and pitches for the 12U Rampage. She had an ASA umpire call that on her, last month.

I checked the ASA rules (which is what your league is using) and you can have the ball in either hand.

Maybe we ended up with the same umpire. He needs to be educated.

 

[Comp]

You need contact whoever is assigning these umpires and have a little talk with them. Its bad enough to not know the rules, but then if I read your post correctly he actually admitted he was only calling them on your pitcher.

Maybe it is a Tucson thing because I had a team in a HS tournament from Tucson where the pitcher was stepping back after the hands were together. It was early in the season, so I called the coach over and told him in FED ball, they can start back, or step back before the hands are together, but not after. He told me she had been starting with the foot back, but an umpire in Tucson had called her illegal, told her she must start with both feet on the plate and step back after hands were together.

 

[sluggers]

Whatever happened with coaches carrying rule books to the park?

 

[Jojo]

Whatever happened with coaches carrying rule books to the park?

My DD's college coach threw hers into the middle of the field. She told the umpire if he wasn't going to read it then why do they even bother printing them up.

The umpire needs to be reported.

 

[quincy]

And on an IP call, should the ump let the pitch and resulting play happen, or should he stop the pitcher before she delivers the ball?

Like you said Delayed Dead ball. Hard for the umpire to make so many mistakes on 1 pitch, he must be more talented then you give him credit for.

 

[2 DD Coach]

Whatever happened with coaches carrying rule books to the park?

I had the rule book with me, but based on how things were going for me with this ump I figured pulling that out was going to mean an early trip to the parking lot for me. I'm not getting tossed from a rec game.

 

[starsnuffer]

Whatever happened with coaches carrying rule books to the park?

Winner!

Our rec league makes sure that all the managers have 2 ASA rulebooks and the league rules supplemental when we have our mandatory ACE certification (2 hours) and initial manager's meeting (2 hours).

Take that rule book everywhere. I've been to who knows how many TB games and played coaches who've clearly never read the thing, let alone own one. Highlight the stuff you think is important (like sub rules, infield fly stuff, gorilla grip in the pocket, ect) and keep that thing handy.

-W