Umpires giving verbal warnings to players

[sleepwalker]

Watched my dd pitch at a TB tournament this weekend. Home plate umpire came out and issued my dd a verbal warning for spinning inside pitches towards the batter. He told her that she could break someone's hand if the batter swung at the pitch and the ball hit the batter's hand. He then went and issued a verbal warning to dd's catcher telling her that she was setting up too far inside on the plate and if she did it again she would be removed from the game.

Catcher was upset because opposing batters were crowding home plate so much that the batters were practically standing on home plate. Catcher came in between innings and asked if the umpire could give a warning for setting up too far inside. I told her that he just did and that she would have to adapt. Catcher usually moves slightly inside or outside depending on pitch location after pitcher starts wind up but prior to pitch.

Catcher adapted just fine and didn't move when screwball were called to right handed batters.

As I watched the remainder of the game I thought it was amusing that the opposing pitcher hit my dd with an inside pitch in the following inning and hit another batter from my dd's team in the next couple of innings. Opposing pitcher also threw a pitch on the wrong side of a right handed batter that barely missed the batter's back legs. At no time during the game did the umpire address the opposing pitcher.

Opposing pitcher must have been pitching with the right spin on the ball.

After the game dd and catcher were talking and asked if umpire could give warnings like the HU gave them? I said sure and that they handled themselves just fine. Then I went on to tell them that just a couple of years ago, I was pulled over at 2:00 a.m. on the way home from work and issued a warning for driving too close to the yellow line. I am guessing that too close for some people is just fine for others.

Thought I'd share this weekend TB event and ask, what are some of the other things that you have seen that required an umpire to give a verbal warning to players?

 

[mad hornet]

This is absolutely ludicrous, especially at a TB event. Jamming a hitter up on the handle is a very effective strategy in getting them out. I would be furious if that option was being taken away.

 

[oregonfp]

I was wondering who sanctioned this tournament? I have never heard of rules stating you cant have a pitch break inside on a batter or that a catcher is setting up to far inside. The only rule I know is that a catcher must be in athe catchers box until the ball is thrown.

 

[starsnuffer]

Wow, I live in California and even in this haven to helicopter parents I've never heard that before. As a coach I'd do everything to make sure that umpire never umpired again, and if this attitude was prevalent for the whole umpire staff, I'd avoid any of their tournaments moving forward. That's just BS.

-W

 

[sleepwalker]

I was wondering who sanctioned this tournament?

It was a small tournament. It was an ASA 18U open tournament with 8 teams and a 4 game guarantee. Not one of the teams would be higher than a B team, in my opinion.

My dd was the only pitcher that showed up for the team due to high school graduations and everything else that happens at this time of year. It happened during a pool play game. My dd didn't get excited when she got the warning. She went into pool play only throwing 3 pitches. She threw her drop, fastball on the outside and her screwball to jam the hitters to try to take away their bats. She hid the pitch out of her glove trying to mimmick the Renfroe sisters that she had been watching. She got beat during the game where she got the verbal warning.

Sunday, during the single elimination tournament, she faced the same team again and used her more comfortable arm backswing wind up and she threw her riseball and changeup along with her other pitches and shut the team down. Her team won the game and moved on in the tournament. She said a couple of the girls from the opposing team even had to ask her if she was the same pitcher that threw against them the day before.

Playing for a small community TB team is an adventure every weekend. My dd has learned over the years that she doesn't want to give a team in pool play the same look that she gives during the single elimination tournament game. It is just too hard to show your best stuff on day 1 and get the same results on day 2. Next week week will drive 4 hours in the opposite direction to play in a small tournament and we will see several of the same umpires. Thank goodness for umpires, because the game wouldn't be any fun without them.

My dd's catcher was upset about the verbal warning she received. My dd wasn't upset because she's been warned about illegal pitching like the time when they pounded in the 43' rubber when they went from 40' to 43' and the rubber wasn't flush with the ground so she just stepped over it because her left foot kept hanging on the rubber. Or the time she was warned of illegal pitching when the rubber went from 40' to 43' and her left stride foot landed on the sprinkler piping in the middle of the field so she moved over and threw from the side of the pitcher's plate, starting and stepping outside of the pitcher's plate.

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

Wow at 18U?? Fire the ump!!!

 

[David Carter]

Yeah that is terrible, I would find the UIC and ask him WT*?