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Well, in the OP's link, the score adds a little bit of context.  Still ridiculous but...

We had a recent double header and the first game had gotten way out of hand.  Home plate ump motioned to me that the strike zone for our hitters was about to get WAY bigger.  I was 100% for it based on the circumstances.  

fenwaysouth posted:
joes87 posted:

No worse then the call at the 30 second mark of this video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzlwoJoump8

Little League World Series umpiring is in a class all by itself. 

Getting LL post season assignment to are not based on merit. It's based on a seniority/good 'ole boy network. One of the lifer umpires from out LL was as bad as it gets. He's done every level of the post season including Williamsport.

Heres one of his classic calls ... On a wild pitch my runner broke from third. The ball was still banging around the backstop when he crossed home. The pitcher ran in front of the runner while there wasn't a play at the plate. They collided. The runner was called out for not sliding. 

RJM posted:
fenwaysouth posted:
joes87 posted:

No worse then the call at the 30 second mark of this video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzlwoJoump8

Little League World Series umpiring is in a class all by itself. 

Getting LL post season assignment to are not based on merit. It's based on a seniority/good 'ole boy network. One of the lifer umpires from out LL was as bad as it gets. He's done every level of the post season including Williamsport.

Heres one of his classic calls ... On a wild pitch my runner broke from third. The ball was still banging around the backstop when he crossed home. The pitcher ran in front of the runner while there wasn't a play at the plate. They collided. The runner was called out for not sliding. 

Im not going to argue that there are a lot of politics involved in getting to the Willamsport games.  In addition there are a lot of bad umps that make it that far due to the politics, but there are also some very dedicated good umps that work their way up to Williamsport.  

All of these guys are doing this on their own.  Other then housing these guys are paying their way to the games and in addition are not getting any pay.  I know of a couple of really good umps in our area that work the LL games and area LL tourneys for free.  They are currently working their way up the ladder to make it to Willamsport.  In order to make it to Williamsport they need to work a lot of the regular, district, sectional, state and regional games without pay and without any reimbursement for travel or housing.  This includes taking a week off of work to ump at the regional games.  In addition your not going to make it to Williamsport until you have worked a number of other World Series.  Basically before you make it to Williamsport you would have to taken weeks off of work, and paid your way to a few regional tourneys, and 2 or 3 finals tourneys as well. 

I know of one really really good ump who so far has had to pay his way multiple times to Indy (from Chicago), Detroit, California and will probably need to head to South Carolina before he gets to Williamsport.  He will eventually make it there but needs to put his time in before he does.

 

cabbagedad posted:

Well, in the OP's link, the score adds a little bit of context.  Still ridiculous but...

We had a recent double header and the first game had gotten way out of hand.  Home plate ump motioned to me that the strike zone for our hitters was about to get WAY bigger.  I was 100% for it based on the circumstances.  

Our 14/u played a 15/u scrimmage.  After the first inning of hitting around (really.  2 hits, errors and a bunch of walks) Our coach actually approached the ump and asked him to expand his zone so that it would force our guys to swing.  SCRIMMAGE!  And the ump said, that is not how it works.  I was kinda surprised to be honest!

My favorite Umps always : Were consistent.  Gave the Edges (again, if not consistent at least!), communicated with the players and coaches and not afraid to ask for help from the other umps.  I literally had an ump blow 3 horrible calls and refused to get help from  the plate ump (and the plate ump even admitted that he would have overturned at least one of the calls but can't do it on his own.)

I always joke that I bring a saddle to the games so I could ride the umps.  When I coached for sure.

But they are volunteers and/or get paid very little to sweat their sacks off and get beat up as bad as some catchers.  In  the end my son always shakes their hands and I pay them the respect they deserve.  I have seen parents literally chase umps to their cars bitching about the game.  

Matt Reiland posted:
2022NYC posted:

Maybe she didn't step on 1st base? Or Mr. Magoo is now an ump in 'bama.

The video isn't quite clear, but after replaying it several times I can be convinced that the runner missed the base. It looks like she steps in the dirt on the foul side of the base. Maybe.

It would still be an incorrect call. A runner is presumed to be safe if they miss a base until a proper appeal is made.

Maybe softball's different, I dunno, but I don't think it is.

Just to confirm, a home plate umpire cannot overrule a field ump unless that ump specifically asks him if he had a better angle correct?  If the ump blows the call at first, one team cannot ask the ump to overturn it and in fact that ump wont even ask the field ump.  he will wait till that field ump requests his help?  Sort of like how a first base ump wont signal a swing or no swing on an appeal unless the home ump asks.  Many times the catcher is pointing and the first base ump wont even budge till the home ump points.  

 

Matt13 posted:
Matt Reiland posted:
2022NYC posted:

Maybe she didn't step on 1st base? Or Mr. Magoo is now an ump in 'bama.

The video isn't quite clear, but after replaying it several times I can be convinced that the runner missed the base. It looks like she steps in the dirt on the foul side of the base. Maybe.

It would still be an incorrect call. A runner is presumed to be safe if they miss a base until a proper appeal is made.

Maybe softball's different, I dunno, but I don't think it is.

Not an appeal is it?  It was a force play, and the runner missed the base and the firstbaseman stepped on the bag.

d8 posted:
Matt13 posted:
Matt Reiland posted:
2022NYC posted:

Maybe she didn't step on 1st base? Or Mr. Magoo is now an ump in 'bama.

The video isn't quite clear, but after replaying it several times I can be convinced that the runner missed the base. It looks like she steps in the dirt on the foul side of the base. Maybe.

It would still be an incorrect call. A runner is presumed to be safe if they miss a base until a proper appeal is made.

Maybe softball's different, I dunno, but I don't think it is.

Not an appeal is it?  It was a force play, and the runner missed the base and the firstbaseman stepped on the bag.

Technically not a force (but that's an irrelevant distinction for this play.)

Once a runner has reached a base, they are considered to have reached it for the purposes of an appeal. Being that the runner was beyond the base, assuming that she missed it, it would require an appeal for the missed base.

Kevin A posted:

Just to confirm, a home plate umpire cannot overrule a field ump unless that ump specifically asks him if he had a better angle correct?  If the ump blows the call at first, one team cannot ask the ump to overturn it and in fact that ump wont even ask the field ump.  he will wait till that field ump requests his help?  Sort of like how a first base ump wont signal a swing or no swing on an appeal unless the home ump asks.  Many times the catcher is pointing and the first base ump wont even budge till the home ump points.  

 

Correct. 

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