Crazy finish

[AndyS]

All I can say is wow and apparently (hopefully) the umpire saw it clearly!

OzarksSportsZone.com - Ozark Sports Zone - Bizarre Ending Sends Pleasant Hope Into State Finals

 

[Comp]

I am really confused by this article. The lead runner is the one called out for missing home plate, but they are talking about taking the ball and going to the 1st base umpire for the appeal, and if Im reading it correctly it says the 1st base umpire is the one who made the out call. It is clearly the plate umpire in the video standing at home plate during the play and the one responsible for watching the runners touch the plate and making the call. U1 isnt even in the frame of the video when the 2nd runner crosses the plate. I have no idea why U1 would be involved in any part of the call or why there would even be a discussion amongst the umpires.

 

[AndyS]

I am really confused by this article. The lead runner is the one called out for missing home plate, but they are talking about taking the ball and going to the 1st base umpire for the appeal, and if Im reading it correctly it says the 1st base umpire is the one who made the out call. It is clearly the plate umpire in the video standing at home plate during the play and the one responsible for watching the runners touch the plate and making the call. I have no idea why the 1st base umpire would be involved in any part of the call or why there would even be a discussion amongst the umpires.

Comp, my DD found the article and had the same question. In fact I almost posted this in the rules forum to ask but you answered it. My DD and I thought maybe we were missing something. We were not there so unfortunately I cannot add any additional detail.

 

[mosh]

Here's another video. Still can't tell definitively but it's from a better angle.

Pleasant Hope Survives Wild Finish - OzarksFirst.com

My understanding (from third hand info so take it with a grain of salt) is that the plate umpire said he didn't see it so they appealed to first base ump who called her out.

 

[Comp]

Would have been nice if the 2nd video the view had been a little wider so you could see the feet.

 

[MTR]

Don't know how the announcer said it was apparent the runner touched the plate as it was not on the video.

In a 3-umpire game, this is U1's call. U2 never moved on the hit (he should have been either going out on the play or inside the diamond). PU should have been closer to 3B. The PU never should have said anything to the appeal, but deferred to U1. The coach stated that he saw the player touch the plate, but I doubt that since a coach's attention is almost always directed toward the HR hitter.

And again, this is another reason why I believe players should not be permitted to enter the field of play until all play is complete. They can celebrate all they want afterwards, but there is no positive to permit that to happen before the play is complete

 

[Comp]

Don't know how the announcer said it was apparent the runner touched the plate as it was not on the video.

In a 3-umpire game, this is U1's call. U2 never moved on the hit (he should have been either going out on the play or inside the diamond). PU should have been closer to 3B. The PU never should have said anything to the appeal, but deferred to U1. The coach stated that he saw the player touch the plate, but I doubt that since a coach's attention is almost always directed toward the HR hitter.

And again, this is another reason why I believe players should not be permitted to enter the field of play until all play is complete. They can celebrate all they want afterwards, but there is no positive to permit that to happen before the play is complete

MTR, yes should have been U1's call if they had properly rotated. It is obvious in the video the plate umpire never rotated out to 3rd and was still standing at the plate and is visibly watching the runners cross the plate. U1 is not visible in frame in either video posted, obviously a blown rotation by the umpiring crew. On a blown rotation with U1 not in the correct position why would the call still be defered to U1?

In the first video it also shows several girls crowded along the 1st baseline between where ever U1 is and the plate. I do not see how U1 could have a clear view or credibility in making that call from where ever he may have been.

 

[MTR]

I'm also less than impressed of the umpire continuing to close the gap as the coach retreated during the discussion. If a coach wants to retreat, you let him/her go. You do not pursue or raise your voice. If s/he wants to hear what you have to say, s/he can stand there and listen.

 

[Comp]

Just found this article. http://www.semoball.com/blogs/1429/entry/60141/

Where do people come up with this crap? Apparently regardless of if the call was right or not the writer of the article thinks the coach should not have ever appealed the miss of of home plate because it took the game out of the hands of the players. And supposedly has talked with several coaches including the Notre Dame coach who claim they would never make the appeal.

 

[MTR]

Just found this article. semoball.com: Blog: Why Pleasant Hope, the umpire and MSHSAA should be ashamed after Portageville softball loss

Where do people come up with this crap? Apparently regardless of if the call was right or not the writer of the article thinks the coach should not have ever appealed the miss of of home plate because it took the game out of the hands of the players. And supposedly has talked with several coaches including the Notre Dame coach who claim they would never make the appeal.

That's a load of BS. You always make an appeal. If anyone has a problem with that, maybe they should teach the players how to play the game properly. A couple years ago a J0 18U team coach went off the deep end when the PU received help from his partner and they got the call right. His argument was that once an umpire makes a call it can NEVER, EVER BE CHANGED whether the call was correct or not.

Now this is a guy who played a lot of SP (and often got dumped) and has been coaching JO ball for over a decade. After he was ejected he approached me to argue the same point telling me about the hundreds of college coaches he has met over the years that tell him the same thing and as the UIC, I did not know what I was talking about and all the ASA umpires just suck. (Of the three umpires on the game, two had NCAA experience, all had ASA National experience (all with excellent ratings) and all have NFHS playoff experience)