Play at home - umpire yells at DD not to slide

[quandofloo]

Here is the situation. My DD is playing in the local Little League organization while we have been practicing with travel teams trying to find a home. Two nights ago, she is on second. Batter gets a hit to shallow right field. She rounds third and the catcher plants her back foot on the plate and reaches up as if she is receiving a throw. LF does not have the arm to make the throw in time so there is no close play but DD slides anyway and in the process knocks the catcher down because she slid through her leg.

This umpire has a reputation for yelling at kids/parents/coaches for things during games. He proceeded to yell at my DD to not slide into home unless there was a play at the plate. I managed to keep my cool during the game, but it took great effort. My understanding is that since the catcher was reaching up as if she was receiving a throw then the slide was perfectly legal. The only reason that he even had anything to say was because the catcher was out of position and had her back foot in the middle of the plate and caused a collision that didn't need to happen. Is there any other situation in which my DD should have not slid? If she would have run through the plate then she would have potentially had a collision at the plate.

 

[riseball]

You are never wrong by sliding.

 

[quandofloo]

I was coaching first base at the time. When the inning was over I ran to our dugout and grabbed her by both arms and told her that I thought it was a beautiful slide and that I wanted her to do the exact same thing every time the situation came up. I got yelled at by the opposing coaches for trying to help them out by telling them that their pitcher couldn't stand in the circle with ball in hand and practice her entire motion without delivering the pitch with batters in the box and for telling them that I wasn't going to appeal it because it was a meaningless out in a game that we were winning big but they had a fielder tag with an empty glove. It was a bad night all around.

It's freaking little league. I just want to help the girls get better. I don't care what color their jersey is.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Sliding was right (and never wrong as RB said). The umpire should've kept his mouth shut. But if he felt a need to yell at someone, it should've been the catcher, who could've been ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct (faking a tag).

 

[quincy]

DD almost always slides into home, the ball is behind her why take a chance?

 

[grcsftbll]

Our coaches teach slide is the default, on both my older one's baseball team and my younger one's softball team. You slide unless you hear a coach yelling "You're up!" And even then they don't get upset if they slide anyway. Sliding is good. Catcher should be in the right position to avoid getting cleated. If she's not it's not the runner's fault.

 

[quincy]

Does LL have a must slide rule? or do you have a local must slide rule?

 

[MTR]

Sliding was right (and never wrong as RB said). The umpire should've kept his mouth shut. But if he felt a need to yell at someone, it should've been the catcher, who could've been ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct (faking a tag).

Yes, the slide was appropriate, but this does not meet the definition of a fake tag.

 

[Sparky Guy]

She rounds third and the catcher plants her back foot on the plate and reaches up as if she is receiving a throw

Was the catcher just raising her arms to signal the outfielder where to throw the ball? Possibly. We weren't there. However, according to the OP the catcher did do something to indicate there is going to be a play/tag at the plate.

 

[stoneyb232]

Sliding was right (and never wrong as RB said). The umpire should've kept his mouth shut. But if he felt a need to yell at someone, it should've been the catcher, who could've been ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct (faking a tag).




What he said