Blowing on the ball to make it go foul

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marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
Eject someone for that? Seriously? That's way overboard.

As I said before - it won't be for the act itself, it will be because of the decision I will have to make one way or another and the ensuing argument that will absolutely follow. If it isn't funny, then someone is going to be VERY upset about whatever decision they forced me to make.

This BTW is something a lot of coaches don't seem to know - don't intentionally put an umpire in a really bad spot if you can avoid doing so.
 
Mar 28, 2014
1,081
113
This BTW is something a lot of coaches don't seem to know - don't intentionally put an umpire in a really bad spot if you can avoid doing so.
Examples please. IMO no coach spends one nanosecond thinking of ways to intentionally put an umpire in a bad spot where they have to invoke Rule 10 but if they do then they deserve anything they get. Send them to the parking lot.
 
May 29, 2015
3,731
113
Examples please. IMO no coach spends one nanosecond thinking of ways to intentionally put an umpire in a bad spot where they have to invoke Rule 10 but if they do then they deserve anything they get. Send them to the parking lot.

I know of several coaches who I honestly think they believe softball/baseball is a three-team sport and they are playing against the other team AND the umpires.

Those are the coaches that you think “Is he/she really that dumb?” until you realize that is their very deliberate coaching style.

A few of them are officials or former officials. I cannot figure out if they didn‘t cut it as officials (I have worked with some of them and this is a valid suspicion) OR if they thought becoming an official would give them “insider knowledge” that they could use.

EDIT: Yes, there are just as many officials who think they are smarter than the game as there are coaches like that.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
Examples please. IMO no coach spends one nanosecond thinking of ways to intentionally put an umpire in a bad spot where they have to invoke Rule 10 but if they do then they deserve anything they get. Send them to the parking lot.

Sure - and in general it is not that they are thinking about putting the umpire in a bad spot - it is that they are not thinking about the consequences of their actions but are instead looking for a loophole or an advantage or they thought something would be funny (even when it clearly isn't). Or just not thinking in general. Or those that think the umpires are another opponent who are just out to get them. And it isn't just rule 10 - it is just generally stupid behavior that could be easily avoided.

A perfect example from an earlier thread - sending a parent behind the backstop to relay pitch locations or scouting info or signs during a game. Is that a coach or team personnel who has to be in the dugout - well that is really unclear.

Or the genius a few years ago who thought the 'pitcher's cleat flap extension' would be a great idea to bring out in a game.

There is a point where taught 'cheering behavior' crosses the line - but it is not specifically addressed in the rulebook. Or is it? Do you REALLY need the umpire to tell you to have class?

There was a thread on 'jeans' - coaches are NOT allowed to wear jeans in HS - but one guy did because he gets away with it? Why? Why would you put yourself in the position where I have to address it. Outside NFHS, for example in USSSA it says coaches must be neatly attired and if you wear a cap, it must be 'bill forward'. Coaches know this and one coach in particular had been told more than once - and I certainly don't want to be the fashion police - so why turn up dressed in flip flops and wife beater and expect to come on to the field to coach?

I appreciate the remark on the umpires who post here. I like to think that the umpires here including myself consider an online forum such as this as a resource for us to learn as much as a place to help others learn. I have no idea why more umpires don't come online and form a stronger community and support group.
 
Feb 6, 2020
100
28
Sure - and in general it is not that they are thinking about putting the umpire in a bad spot - it is that they are not thinking about the consequences of their actions but are instead looking for a loophole or an advantage or they thought something would be funny (even when it clearly isn't). Or just not thinking in general. Or those that think the umpires are another opponent who are just out to get them. And it isn't just rule 10 - it is just generally stupid behavior that could be easily avoided.

A perfect example from an earlier thread - sending a parent behind the backstop to relay pitch locations or scouting info or signs during a game. Is that a coach or team personnel who has to be in the dugout - well that is really unclear.

Or the genius a few years ago who thought the 'pitcher's cleat flap extension' would be a great idea to bring out in a game.

There is a point where taught 'cheering behavior' crosses the line - but it is not specifically addressed in the rulebook. Or is it? Do you REALLY need the umpire to tell you to have class?

There was a thread on 'jeans' - coaches are NOT allowed to wear jeans in HS - but one guy did because he gets away with it? Why? Why would you put yourself in the position where I have to address it. Outside NFHS, for example in USSSA it says coaches must be neatly attired and if you wear a cap, it must be 'bill forward'. Coaches know this and one coach in particular had been told more than once - and I certainly don't want to be the fashion police - so why turn up dressed in flip flops and wife beater and expect to come on to the field to coach?

I appreciate the remark on the umpires who post here. I like to think that the umpires here including myself consider an online forum such as this as a resource for us to learn as much as a place to help others learn. I have no idea why more umpires don't come online and form a stronger community and support group.

There may be a rule that already covers this, but one that always annoyed me was that we played several games a year on a field with a short fence ( around 3 feet tall) that also had some gaps at the bottom. If there was a home run hit, there was a coach that had instructed his players to always throw their hands up to indicate that the ball had rolled under. I know at least once that it turned a homerun into a ground rule double.
 

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