Should umpires at Nationals be best of the best who're available?

[Momo'sDad]

Nationals wrap-up

Awesome tournament!

 

[Sparky Guy]

Tournament directors are hard-pressed to find quality umpires. Especially for a large event. They will contract with an assignor who supplies the umpires. It is up to the assignor to make sure the umpires have the passed the exam for the sanctioning body being officiated.

If you talk to most umpires you'll find the umpire pool is shrinking and getting older. There are fewer and fewer people willing to take the abuse that some parents and coaches heap on game officials. Another thing you need to remember. The vast majority of umpires have a job much like yourself. Often, it will cost them money in missed work to try and umpire games during the week. Now you're left with the available group. Often they are college kids home for the summer who do not have the years of experience working games.

If you're getting 3 umps per bracket game you should be ecstatic. Far too often I've seen only see one for bracket play.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

If, out of the more than 150 games played, only 1 has been decided by a bad call, I'm willing to live with that, but having watched a lot of the games, I've seen a lot of uncertainty about rules questions. That falls below my expectations for the biggest tournament of the year.

Don't worry - the uncertain umpires you're seeing at Nationals will be at the WCWS before you know it...

 

[riseball]

You get what you pay for. How much more are you willing to pay?

 

[Momo'sDad]

They did a really solid job. I hope my post didn't come off as mean-spirited or ungrateful. The one disputed call I saw was debated back-and-forth between really experienced umpires, too. Plus, it was hot as hell out there. Being a little less than perfect in that heat *is* expected.

 

[Comp]

You have any idea what the play, call and debate was about?

 

[Momo'sDad]

Batter bunts pitch in direction of 1B, drops bat, and heads to 1B. Before the bat comes to rest, it contacts the ball a 2nd time. As 3B and catcher converge on ball, PU yells "dead ball", defenders stop moving toward ball, and batter is ruled out.

Offensive team coach requests that PU conference with his crew to determine whether the 2nd contact was "intentional". That was the word he chose. After that conference, the umpires state that the ball hit the bat, so the runner is declared safe. The defensive team coach then requests time to protest that ruling. He argues that the played was killed as soon as the PU called it dead and therefore, there is no way whatsoever the batter would be entitled to 1B. At that point, the blue crew needed to conference with the UIC to get it right.

I didn't hear that entire conversation, but those of us observers who were going over the potential outcomes agreed on 2 things:

1) there's no provision for a "do over" in the rule book
2) the B-R was not entitled to 1B

Eventually, the PU had to use his discretion to determine what the outcome of the play would have been had he not killed it and that determination was that the defense would have recorded the out at 1B.

 

[MTR]

Batter bunts pitch in direction of 1B, drops bat, and heads to 1B. Before the bat comes to rest, it contacts the ball a 2nd time. As 3B and catcher converge on ball, PU yells "dead ball", defenders stop moving toward ball, and batter is ruled out.

What rule set?

 

[riseball]

Batter bunts pitch in direction of 1B, drops bat, and heads to 1B. Before the bat comes to rest, it contacts the ball a 2nd time. As 3B and catcher converge on ball, PU yells "dead ball", defenders stop moving toward ball, and batter is ruled out.

Offensive team coach requests that PU conference with his crew to determine whether the 2nd contact was "intentional". That was the word he chose. After that conference, the umpires state that the ball hit the bat, so the runner is declared safe. The defensive team coach then requests time to protest that ruling. He argues that the played was killed as soon as the PU called it dead and therefore, there is no way whatsoever the batter would be entitled to 1B. At that point, the blue crew needed to conference with the UIC to get it right.

I didn't hear that entire conversation, but those of us observers who were going over the potential outcomes agreed on 2 things:

1) there's no provision for a "do over" in the rule book
2) the B-R was not entitled to 1B

Eventually, the PU had to use his discretion to determine what the outcome of the play would have been had he not killed it and that determination was that the defense would have recorded the out at 1B.

Sounds like they got it right. Not sure what rules require the official to get into the mind of a teen age girl to determine intent.

Ball hits bat - play on

Bat hits ball - dead ball.

 

[MTR]

Sounds like they got it right. Not sure what rules require the official to get into the mind of a teen age girl to determine intent.

Ball hits bat - play on

Bat hits ball - dead ball.

This is the basic instruction. If the PU judged the bat the bat to be moving at the time it hit the fair batted ball, it is INT and I cannot understand why there would be a discussion unless one of the umpires had no clue or is the type to make up their own rules based on what "they" considered fair.

The batter is responsible to the bat at all times including discarding it in a manner not to interfere with the play. At NO point is intent required and shame on the umpires for not knowing the rule, it isn't that difficult to understand. The PU had it right. If confident and qualified to be there, never should have needed to consult the crew. The UIC should have only needed to ask one question, did the bat hit the ball? Any further discussion is not a good sign for that crew or UIC.