- May 29, 2015
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I disagree with the “younger” part of that statement. Many umpires, new, old, inexperienced, and veteran do that. Many more do the opposite, not enforce rules, to the same detriment.
Any issues here?
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2br02b
Trabant swing
- Jul 25, 2017
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Legal or not, I can't help but think that in choosing that colour there was some jackassery afoot.
definitley, and just goes to show some people will do anything to gain an edge. optic yellow SHOULD be illegal. otherwise throw out all rules about what can and cant be worn. either regulate it, or dont, dont be half assed about it. and then every pitcher will have an optic yellow arm sleeve and nail polish and bandaids.
also, what is distracting is a judgement call entirely, so an umpire can say it is distracting, cannot be questioned. If I was opposing coach, I would have every batter complain loudly that the pants distract them from seeing the ball. no need to change pants, every team should have a first aid kit handy, wrap some white gauze on thigh/knee of pitching side leg, game on.
you wear a color to play head games with my team, I am going to do everything in my power to play head games with you.
bush league
so if rules do not explicitly say pitcher cannot wear blinding strobe light, umpire cannot judge it to be distracting?
the color is not specifically illegal per rules, yes, but there is nothing, even in that clarification from ASA (and that is only one rule set, generally in my region USSSA is the most common sanctioning body) that specifically says it IS legal either (read it carefully). If in umpires judgement it is distracting, it is distracting. it is a different rule than the one about uniforms. does the rule about pitcher cannot wear something distracting have explicit exception if it is part of uniform.
and this is going to make whole point of uniforms redundant, when every team is wearing optic yellow pants every game.
in any case it is bush league. I could also sit out beyond the OF fence with a 20 foot spinning color wheel and flashing strobe lights, since I am not on field, is it legal? possibly, but still bush league, and bush league is bush league.
win the games by outplaying the other team.
the color is not specifically illegal per rules, yes, but there is nothing, even in that clarification from ASA (and that is only one rule set, generally in my region USSSA is the most common sanctioning body) that specifically says it IS legal either (read it carefully). If in umpires judgement it is distracting, it is distracting. it is a different rule than the one about uniforms. does the rule about pitcher cannot wear something distracting have explicit exception if it is part of uniform.
and this is going to make whole point of uniforms redundant, when every team is wearing optic yellow pants every game.
in any case it is bush league. I could also sit out beyond the OF fence with a 20 foot spinning color wheel and flashing strobe lights, since I am not on field, is it legal? possibly, but still bush league, and bush league is bush league.
win the games by outplaying the other team.
Stop complaining about the pitchers pants, play the game and beat them. And it is no different in usssa, the umpire cannot judge something to be distracting that is within the rules. There is no restrictions on uniform color in any ruleset.
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fine, I will use mirror from outfield to distract batters, not mentioned in rules. so it is great just hit the ball.
just because something is not specifically illegal does not make it right.
it is bush league, gaming the rules to get advantage. cannot see why sanctioning bodies dont get off their asses and outlaw it. NCAA should also make oregon, at least in softball, change their ugly rear unis. really should be across the board for them, some of their unis are near seizure inducing, at least on TV.
just because something is not specifically illegal does not make it right.
it is bush league, gaming the rules to get advantage. cannot see why sanctioning bodies dont get off their asses and outlaw it. NCAA should also make oregon, at least in softball, change their ugly rear unis. really should be across the board for them, some of their unis are near seizure inducing, at least on TV.
Nobody is making a judgement about right or wrong. They are saying there is no recourse within the rules for wearing optic yellow.
If you want umps to make up rules based on what they feel is right or wrong, or what seems Bush league, that’s a whole can of worms you won’t like.
- May 29, 2015
- 3,785
- 113
Comp and I are not going to agree on this one.
We found a couple of rule interpretations that said their is no rule specifically against optic yellow uniforms. That rule interpretation did not provide any insight or interpretation of the distraction rules.
Comp accepts that as gospel whereas I am in agreement with bmakj that there is no specific rule on the optic yellow because it falls under the distraction rule.
Comp, your claim that this interpretation is “making up rules against what is expressly legal” is incorrect. We can have different interpretations of the rules, but that claim is just wrong. The rule book does not prescribe specific items that are deemed distracting, it provides the umpire the authority to make that determination.
If YOU have the situation and YOU deem the optic yellow pants NOT to be a distraction, you are correct. That is your judgment. If I have the situation and I deem the optic yellow pants to be a distraction located on the pitcher’s thigh, I am correct. It is our judgment.
If I had a Tournament Director that accepted that as a protest and overturned it, I would likely be done working for that TD and I would be notifying the sanctioning body. The rulebook states this is an on-field judgment of the umpire. The TD should deny the protest and not even hear it.
As I said, there is no rule saying that I cannot punch the pitcher in the face. That does not make it legal, as it would fall under malicious contact. Same concept applies here.
Comp, I’m not saying you are wrong if you allow it. I am saying you are wrong in your claim that there is NO rule and nobody should deviate from your judgment.
We found a couple of rule interpretations that said their is no rule specifically against optic yellow uniforms. That rule interpretation did not provide any insight or interpretation of the distraction rules.
Comp accepts that as gospel whereas I am in agreement with bmakj that there is no specific rule on the optic yellow because it falls under the distraction rule.
Comp, your claim that this interpretation is “making up rules against what is expressly legal” is incorrect. We can have different interpretations of the rules, but that claim is just wrong. The rule book does not prescribe specific items that are deemed distracting, it provides the umpire the authority to make that determination.
If YOU have the situation and YOU deem the optic yellow pants NOT to be a distraction, you are correct. That is your judgment. If I have the situation and I deem the optic yellow pants to be a distraction located on the pitcher’s thigh, I am correct. It is our judgment.
If I had a Tournament Director that accepted that as a protest and overturned it, I would likely be done working for that TD and I would be notifying the sanctioning body. The rulebook states this is an on-field judgment of the umpire. The TD should deny the protest and not even hear it.
As I said, there is no rule saying that I cannot punch the pitcher in the face. That does not make it legal, as it would fall under malicious contact. Same concept applies here.
Comp, I’m not saying you are wrong if you allow it. I am saying you are wrong in your claim that there is NO rule and nobody should deviate from your judgment.
@The Man In Blue
I believe the reason for such a statement from USA (ASA at the time) was to clarify that the uniforms should be allowed. They acknowledge that the color may be used for the purpose of distraction by some but that the uniform was legal. You are trying to specify a great difference between legal and distracting. I understand, but these statements usually come out to stop people from making the wrong decisions or judgments. I interpret this statement from USA to say that these uniforms are legal and we should not stop a game or punish a team for wearing them. In the words of the movie, "Let it go".
