Blatant cheating USSSA tournament. thoughts?

[txfastpitch07]

I spoke to UIC about this tonight. He said the ball was gashed but from his opinion it was caused from foul ball making contacted with other structures and didn’t not seem to be altered. He made the team replace it with a new game all because it’s against rules to have the exterior of ball damages beyond normal wear. The team agreed that the pitcher grabbed a practice ball and not the game ball. He said if it was proven or thought in his judgment that the ball was purposefully altered he would have eject coach from the game with no warning according to rules. Just info from him. Take it or leave it.

Also not to sound rude but the team you speak of is a “C” level team playing “B” level on their better days. Far from an “A” team if you truly know the “A” teams in this area. Again take it or leave it. Just my 2 cents.


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Ok the whole A vs. B vs. C thing is immaterial and I was just basing it off what I was told about the team, no big deal. However with regard to the ball, even if what you're saying is true (that it was caused from a "foul ball"), then it was the hardest hit foul ball in the history of the game... Secondly, I could believe that this "practice" ball was inadvertently grabbed by the pitcher(as the team agreed lol), but how do you reconcile that statement with her repeatedly ASKING for it mid at bat? I'm not trying to argue with you but what that ump said just doesn't add up.

 

[Westwind]

Game ball management-

To prevent this during Covid, the tournament should spec one or two brands of balls OR better yet provide game balls for nominal cost at check in. when you use one make/model of ball, the odd ones stick out badly. Each team uses a sharpie when they receive the balls to initial the balls. That happens at the time they pick it up at check in and maybe even use an odd color. We did that all summer to keep track of what ballls we used which weekend.

Umpire doesn’t have to handle balls. All balls thrown into catcher.Just need to look at logo after thrown in, initials will tell you if they are from that weekend.

Covid rules are evolving. I’m not sure we are as worried about transmission from touching objects like we were in June of 2020 when these rules were implemented. EVOLVE.

Big picture- Come on people. This isn’t that hard.

Edited to add- I loved being able to keep fresh balls in the game. Our umpire and tournament director friends are, um let’s call it frugal, with balls and you end up playing with the same balls all weekend long. (And apparently take home a bin of new wrapped balls at the end of it.) I noticed in tournaments where four balls were provided by tournament hosts, it seemed like the balls were lively and had not been pounded to mush. For a hitting team, that’s a bonus.

 

[tamss13]

Wow....as I read though these.....I am dismayed that adults are willing to cheat in youth sports.

Its crazy

No one is going to remember who won the OKC 2021 softball tournament by 2022.

 

[turtler12]

As an umpire myself, why are the balls being thrown in by any team - that should be the province of the umpire? At the start of the game, we usually have two new game balls that are supplied to us by the UIC or tournament officials. That way, there isn't a risk of a doctored ball or the influx of non-approved or non-sanctioned balls. The umpire needs to control the situation from the beginning. At the start of the game, the umpire usually throws in the new game ball, and if that's hit foul, he throws another one in. But the umpire controls the balls. He should never let a coach throw in a ball that hasn't been inspected or approved by the umpire.

Agreed. All balls need to through the ump and they should making sure this stuff doesn't happen. I've seen a few occasions where the ump isn't interested in intervening, though... Not worth the headaches for them, I suppose.

 

[tamss13]

Agreed. All balls need to through the ump and they should making sure this stuff doesn't happen. I've seen a few occasions where the ump isn't interested in intervening, though... Not worth the headaches for them, I suppose.

Even in Rec Leagues the Ump controls the balls. Not the team.....wonder why this tournament didn't do that?

 

[_MIA_]

Even in Rec Leagues the Ump controls the balls. Not the team.....wonder why this tournament didn't do that?

Somebody mentioned Covid protocols