How do you handle an umpire who disregards certain rules?

[kennykozman!!]

If the pitcher is not starting on the rubber separated and then bringing the hands together and the umpire is not calling illegal you have a competency problem.

I will say as an umpire it is difficult in a 1-man system, and in reality most experienced and high level umpires will not work games alone any longer unless its a friendly round robin etc....this should easily be seen and called in a 1-man system. Although I see many lower level games where no illegal pitches are ever called. How many high level tournaments have a 1 man system? I have not see any.

As far as missing plays 1 umpire can only see so much based on the mechanics. IDK what they were paying but I agree with all the posters it is a better environment with 2 umpires.

I used to umpire H/S Frosh and J/V by myself and on the bang bang calls 50 feet away with multiple runners on base I would tell the coach to ask his AD for the 2nd umpire because that was his call not mine....lol. That usually ended the conversation.

I appreciate the way the poster handled it with the team. I wish I could replicate that tone and sportsmanship with just about all travel coaches I have met.

My recommendation for approaching the umpire on something like this would be in between innings standing side by side and quietly making your case. Probably nothing will change BUT.....I would bet the umpire will take it back to talk about with the other umpires and maybe educate themselves.
Maybe it gets corrected in the future. That is a conversation worth having and quality umpires will check themselves.

If this happens at the plate meeting I know a ton of guys who are going to put up the wall with you right now and communication is going to be very limited. Just my experience FWIW.

 

[flash277]

I recently called a 10u game where both pitchers threw this illegal pitch, not stepping on pitching plate with hands separated. I didn't call either because they were both getting it over the plate and made the game move. If I called the first pitch I saw, the pitcher may get messed up and out of sync, so I let it go. I told both coaches after game what their pitchers were doing, I guess they didn't realize it. I know some here would say call it even in 10u, but I'll let the coaches fix that after the game. 12u and up, I'll call it every time.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

You can't have that conversation with an umpire. Your job as a coach is to make sure the umpires interpret the rules correctly during the game. If you think they got something wrong your remedy is to protest.

No rulebooks, no pregame discovery.

On my team there is no talk among the coaches (and players) about what the opposing pitcher is or isn't doing with regards to mechanics or rules. If we execute it will not matter.

 

[Lance Steckler]

honestly, that's the worst type of umpire. knowing a rule is being broken and refusing to call and enforce it. directly inserting themselves into the game and influencing the result. judgement calls like strike zone are what they are. Blatant refusing to enforce rules is another matter entirely. did he allow that HS senior to pitch in the 12u game?? same concept.

1 ump games are tough, 1 ump Elimination games are asinine. Do yourself a favor and register for better tournaments. at 14u and up, it's almost impossible to properly officiate a game solo. how tough is the caught stealing at 2b? Leaving early? illegal pitch? catch or trapped on that liner in OF?

and I agree that i would not have pointed it out to ump before the game started. let it go until game starts, mention when it occurs, and when you get that crap answer that's when you protest or live with it.

 

[marriard]

Just for reference, amongst most baseball/softball umpires the general feeling is:
1-man: 70% of the time you can get to a good position to make a call.
2-man: 95% of the time you can get to a good position to make a call.
3-man: 98% of the time you can get to a good position to make a call.

 

[radness]

Just for reference, amongst most baseball/softball umpires the general feeling is:
1-man: 70% of the time you can get to a good position to make a call.
2-man: 95% of the time you can get to a good position to make a call.
3-man: 98% of the time you can get to a good position to make a call.

That is a good observational Point made their @marriard !

Possibly something that many people don't want to except as reality. But there's a lot going on and it's definitely more difficult for one person to officiate everything accurately. Even with three umpires not going to be 100%.

Have always been of the frame of mind to not eat up time complaining about the judgment and interpretation from the umpire.

Better to not shake up the rhythm of the game.

Best to stay focused on the task at hand.
Winning!

 

[sylvesterx4]

One way to improve as a coach......Never say again to your team that you got bad calls that's why you lost.....Yes, there will be bad calls now, there will be bad calls in high school there will be bad calls in college. Never use that as an excuse for a loss, because the reason you lost is not because of an umpire call, it's because you didn't hit with runners on base, you made an error that allowed a run or two, your pitcher gave up ten runs, that's why you lost, not because of a bad call or two.

I never told my girls the reason we lost was due to bad calls. I said sometimes you get the calls and sometimes you don't, along with the fact that the opposing team made some great, timely plays.

 

[CoachJD]

A lot of discussion about only one umpire being a problem, and I 100% agree that it is. But it's also completely irrelevant in this particular case. The home plate umpire can easily see what the OP says the pitcher is doing wrong here. He's not doing anything else at that moment except watching the pitcher as she prepares to pitch.

Gotta have at least two umpires, but also, that's no excuse for this guy not doing his job.

 

[canyonjoe]

I think the level of play dictates what is called to some extent. If this was an A level TB tournament it should be called. If it's a fall ball rec game it's reasonable to mention it but I can see why they won't call it.

 

[sylvesterx4]

I appreciate the replies, but I think it got a little sideways. I agree the 1 umpire system is tough, but in my area, during the winter it's about all you get. It's a tough job and I have the utmost respect for anyone giving up their time so the girls have the opportunity to play. If I have an issue with something, I bring it up once, "trying" to keep it respectful as possible, then let it go. I guess the title to the thread is a bit misleading as to why I originally posted. I am, and always will be, looking for different opinions and/or ways of how other coaches handle their message to their team. I'm always careful of any talk about umpires post-game to the team, but when the girls are obviously affected or frustrated how do you handle it?