Both teams get robbed...

[Coachmom]

I was reading that thread "saw a team get robbed" and thought I would tell my story from an ASA qualifying tournament a few weekends ago.

Championship game of the tourney both very strong hitting teams.
We had a "umpire" whose strike zone was the size of a pea AND even when you hit the pea it was a ball unless you swung and missed.

It was UGLY...

First inning we get ahead 8-0. It's either a walk or a hit. NO strike outs. Both teams pitchers are throwing beautiful pitches on the corners, hitting spots... Soon both teams figured out that there would be no called strikes unless a batter swung and missed.
By the third inning the score is 12-10. By the last inning my DD..our pitcher gets hit in the leg with a line drive from a pitch piped down the middle of the plate. She goes down, I am pissed and ready to run out on to the field and kill this woman umpire.
Both teams go through 2 or 3 pitchers trying to figure out how to get this umpire to call a strike.

We are talking about 18U GOLD softball.
Can you guess what the final score of this game was??

22-14 !!!
This is a mens slowpitch score..not an 18 Gold fastpitch score.
I've never seen anything like it. DD is just finishing her final season of travelball before she goes off to play in college.

The woman behind the plate had no business calling an 18U game.
In my opinion she put these players in danger. My DD learned a very important lesson...No matter how tempting it is, it's better to walk batters than to pitch to a strike zone like this umpire had.

 

[Ajaywill]

What is the number one whine heard from coaches and fans......BE CONSISTANT, BLUE!!!!!

Sounds like this umpire was very consistant....and there is still whining......

 

[Coachmom]

Yes she was consistent...Consistently BAD.

 

[starsnuffer]

You have to credit the two teams to not resorting to making each at bat 4 rise balls that "get by the catcher". At least they stayed in and tried. While a lousy softball experience, keeping your head in a situation run by morons is a much more important life skill.

-W

 

[Greenmonsters]

Mom:
Why is the gender of the umpire important?
Do I like the small zone? No, but I have seen it enough to know the kids have to adjust and that does not mean throwing a fb down the pike. It does mean getting those movement pitches over the plate and moving between black to black (there is black under the dirt on the plate at many fields, I know I worked at one).

I suspect simply to note that not all poor umpires are male, just as all good coaches are not male.

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

Been there - done that - DD's learned from that type of umpire.

In HS this year she had this type of Umpire a couple of times; I was so proud of her after the first time, she came to me and said with a big smile "Dad, blue wouldn't call a strike so I only threw rise and drop balls forcing batters to pop-up or ground out". DD's team run-ruled the other team because the other pitcher couldn't figure it out.

 

[MTR]

Yes she was consistent...Consistently BAD.

Which is why many trainers laugh when the "all we want" comment is made.

A couple things to note: For whatever reason, calling a strike zone smaller than it should be is not only counter-productive, but outright stupid. Why would any umpire unnecessarily prolong the game, they aren't getting any more money.

And I do not it presents any more a dangerous situation than is present at an other game.

 

[Coachmom]

Mom:
Why is the gender of the umpire important?

Do I like the small zone? No, but I have seen it enough to know the kids have to adjust and that does not mean throwing a fb down the pike. It does mean getting those movement pitches over the plate and moving between black to black (there is black under the dirt on the plate at many fields, I know I worked at one).

I say the woman behind the plate because I refuse to call her an umpire. She wasn't. She was quite possibly the WORST i have ever encountered. She was not qualified to call a 12 u rec ball game.
I think the score alone will tell you that both teams struggled with this woman's strike zone so your advice although I am sure it is well intended would have been meaningless for this situation.

MTR: as far as prolonging the game, this was our thoughts too. The game went close to 3hours, after playing all day long it was miserable.

 

[Casey]

I believe all Coaches should Umpire and Fan. All Umpires should Coach and Fan. All Fans should Coach and Umpire. CoachMom, have you ever umpired?