protests - have you/would you

[llabtfos]

coaches: have you ever protested a game? why and what level/important tournament

i could have protested something last night but opted not to.

i know some coaches who LOOOOVE to protest every little thing. i am not one of them.

 

[sluggers]

As much as we wish otherwise:

A team loses because the shortstop played like an open door, not because the umpire blows call.

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

I agree with sluggers - mostly

If I know that the opposing coach is doing something on purpose, if I can protest, I will.

Otherwise I wouldn't...

 

[DonnieS]

In some 800 games, I have never protested. I would though if a game meant life or death to someone, and since it wont, I wont. I have had one game protested against me that we won - lost the protest, mostly because it was here in Corpus and most of the discussion was in spanish. My spanish speaking assistant had to leave to go to work so I was basically screwed. Since then, I did basically everything I could to black ball the TD, who is now doing home repairs and not involved in tournaments anymore.

The important thing is when you know you are in a non-friendly area, make very sure that you score at every opportunity so that you keep the blue out of the game.

 

[calgofo]

Coached for many years at all different levels and never protested a game. Generally, filing a protest is a waste of your time and possibly money.

 

[Ken Krause]

I've never formally protested a game either. Most tournaments we enter prohibit protests in the rules. Beyond that I agree with Calgofo that it's likely to be a waste of time and money. Better to find the UIC and have a discussion right then and there than to go through the hassle. Ruling groups will tend to side with the umpire unless you can really prove your point.

 

[MTR]

I disagree with all of you.

A rule protest should never cost you a penny.

A ruling should be made by a UIC, not a TD.

UIC should be someone who really knows the rules, not a local assn. member who volunteered or took the position for a couple extra bucks. It should be someone who has no problem making a decision based on the rules and known interpretations, not based upon who made the call or whose fellings may get hurt.

A coach should never hesitate to make a valid protest when relatively sure the umpire misinterpreted or applied a rule. OTOH, once the UIC renders a decision, the coach must understand the discussion is over.

What has created the BS of "protest" fees at tournaments is the coach who whines about every little thing based on rules knowledge that hovered around the level of his/her whiffle ball career during his/her adolescence. But I still don't buy into it.

 

[llabtfos]

eww, guess i should have also added...this wasnt a protest on the umps, this would have been busting the opposing teams coach for a rule violation (he didnt get one of his kids minimum playing time) ...(little league all star game)...our scorekeeper caught it, BUT---the official scorekeeper wasnt paying attn and didnt know WTF to do..............so i guess it was a moot point but, i had a parent (whom i also coach with) that was jumping up and down about protesting the situation...................

 

[MTR]

eww, guess i should have also added...this wasnt a protest on the umps, this would have been busting the opposing teams coach for a rule violation (he didnt get one of his kids minimum playing time) ...(little league all star game)...our scorekeeper caught it, BUT---the official scorekeeper wasnt paying attn and didnt know WTF to do..............so i guess it was a moot point but, i had a parent (whom i also coach with) that was jumping up and down about protesting the situation...................

Oh, okay, nevermind

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Well, if it was LL Allstars, yes, that should have been reported. I think the umps would have handled it, immediately.

When I coached LL, if you didn't get each player the minimal playing time, you lost.