What would you have done?

[Izzy's Dad]

Let me explain my team first - it is a fall team that I put together so my 8th grade daughter would be playing while most of her travel team is playing high school ball. It is made up of 5 other travel ball 8th graders and 6 hand picked rec ball 8th graders. We play in a fall competitive league 30 miles away, and decided to play in 2 or 3 tournaments.

We played our first tournament yesterday. Lose first game, battle hard and win the next 3 and make it the semi-finals. Coach from opposing team says they had 9, but one girl had to leave for a birthday, can he pick up another player from one of the other teams we already beat. Now, keep in mind we are basically a league team, and are in a tournament with all travel ball teams. So I say no. The other coach goes and complains to the director, who in turn comes to me and convinces me to let them pick up a player. I tell the coach go ahead and pick up the player, but it had to be a member of that other team, not one of their pick-up players

Ultimately, they chose not to pick up another player, so they came in with 8.

Here's where it gets interesting - 3rd inning, we are up 1-0, they have 2 outs, runner on 3rd. #8 batter is up. I tell my catcher and pitcher to walk her. She gets the base, no 9th batter, so there is the 3rd out - nobody scores. The opposing coach LOSES HIS MIND! Screaming and yelling. Opposing coach gets his butt chewed out by umpire. As play resumes, he tells his runner to steal home, and we get her out. So next inning, they have to start with one out. Opposing coach is not happy.

More innings play out and we are down to just minutes left. Score is 3-2, and they are last bat. They have tying runner on with 2 outs. At this point, I am ready for this to be over. So, I call a defensive conference, and opposing coach loses it again. Starts yelling at me. I ignore him, and talk to my girls about how amazing they are. At this point, I am having fun with this coach. Play resumes, and just before my pitcher throws the next pitch, I call time and change pitchers. Oh, I thought this guys was gonna have a stroke. My pitcher get a hot shot drilled back at her face, which she catches - game over. We go to the championship.

We go through, shake hands and high five the opposing team. Their coach walked through and would not high five our girls, and as soon as we get to him, he 180's with his hands in his pockets and storms off. Other things happen with one of their parents, but really doesn't play into my decisions.

We took 2nd in the tournament, against the team that beat us in the 1st game of the day. Many umpires were their to watch, and I had discussions with alot of them throughout the game. They all heard what had happened, and they all said they would have done the same thing. It was smart softball. It's a chess match, and in this case, we had to outsmart our opponent.

What do you think of this? What would you have done? Again, keep in mind half our team is league players, and have never seen this level of ball. They are on cloud 9 right now.

Me personally, am an assistant coach on my daughters travel team. Have been through 80+ games this year, and the team plays in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas. I have never, ever seen a coach blow up like that. In the end, I thought it was funny, but I didn't want my girls, or these parents to have to see that.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

He had it coming. I would have let him pick up a player, but I would have asked him to forfeit, if he did.

The coach sounds like a tool, to me.

 

[Lozza]

Reading through this, it didn't sit well with me. Were you within the rules of the game? Yes. Within the spirit? No.

I do think the coach is an idiot for only taking nine players and I understand you not letting them pick up a girl. I also understand walking the batter. That to me is smart softball.

The ninth inning though? You were just messing with him and that's when you crossed a line.

Congrats to your team though, sounds like they did amazing!

 

[2 DD Coach]

I would have let them pick up a player and played the game. I wouldn't have walked the batter to force the issue. I WOULD NOT have stalled the game just to get the win. (This game isn't meant to have time limits, but I understand they are needed, so we dont need to start that debate.)

So just to summarize your game, you beat a team that was missing a fielder, took advantage of that again with the at bat, then stalled the game to end it. Is it a strategy, yes. Is it one that I would be proud of? No. You played within the rules, and may or may not have been the better team, so as long as YOUR okay with it, then there you go. The fact that you discussed it with many umpires, then ask the question here again, makes me wonder how you really feel about your decision. You took the game out of the hands of your and their players, so I guess the game MVP goes to the coach. To bad because it sounds like youve got a good group of fighters on your team.

The coaches actions are inexcusable. I would have been furious with you, but I would have still shook your hand. Sounds like he deserves what he got, but I doubt his players did. JMHO

 

[Izzy's Dad]

Reading through this, it didn't sit well with me. Were you within the rules of the game? Yes. Within the spirit? No.

I do think the coach is an idiot for only taking nine players and I understand you not letting them pick up a girl. I also understand walking the batter. That to me is smart softball.

The ninth inning though? You were just messing with him and that's when you crossed a line.

Congrats to your team though, sounds like they did amazing!

I DID ultimately say they could pick up players. Just not the ones the other team had picked up. I would be crazy to let them pick up the high school players they wanted to to use against our 8th graders (again, over half of our team is rec league)

No 9th inning. Time limit game. So technically, yes I was running out the clock. BUT, they had last at bat.

*Clarification - Missouri plays fall high school ball. Arkansas plays spring high school ball.

 

[Lozza]

I DID ultimately say they could pick up players.

After having the director of the tournament talk you into it.

I don't disagree with what you did, but it wasn't the most sporting action.

 

[SoftSocDad]

What a stupid rule. The penalty for having just 8 active players on the game roster should be on the defensive side only.

That's a softball problem, not a you problem, however, so you played it to your advantage as you should've in a tournament game.

I would've let them have a pick-up player, but she would be one chosen by me.

 

[Izzy's Dad]

After having the director of the tournament talk you into it.

I don't disagree with what you did, but it wasn't the most sporting action.

I knew they were going to come ask me about it before they came to me. I also knew who they were going to go after. I would have said right up front that they could pick up players, had I known that I could say who they could/couldn't pick up. That was my fault for not knowing.

 

[mudbug]

I would have let them choose anyone they wanted if they wanted to play, but insist they would have forfeited anyway.

Once a roster is turned in for a tournament under most sanctioning bodies, thats it. And normally as well, no player can play on two teams in the same tournament, thats only common sense. Stick to the normal rules, and there would not have been any issues.

If it was an unsanctioned tournament, the tournament director would have to explain why it would be acceptable to violate standard rules for this team. They always use someones rules, etc. Managing your roster and players is part of managing a team. Unfortunate, yes. Your problem, no. If there was not rules, the other coach would not have had to ask permission to pick up a player.

The opposing coach should have known the 9th batter spot would always be an out if he chose that. Really, sounds like you were just playing another rec team. Leaving your team high and dry to go to a birthday party? Really. thats not travel ball, at all.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Have you never had a team sit out a weak player and then want to play with 8? I have.

I agree with mudbug, we have rules to cover everything that happened.