It is tough to come up with a subject line for what ended up being one of the strangest situations I've ever seen. 4A Junior Varsity baseball, league game.
Right handed batter (member of my son's team) takes an inside curve ball. He is fooled by the pitch, checks his swing. Checks it very early, but because he's fooled, he can't get out of the way. The pitch doesn't break much and hits him on the side of the bicep. PU sends him to first. Next batter begins to take position in the box.
Opposing coach then comes out of the dugout (3rd base side) to argue the call. And, I will say that the manner in which he argued was controlled and respectful the entire time.
Based on body language, the coach was clearly arguing that the batter had offered at the pitch and, therefore, should not have been awarded first base. The coach was also continuing to point out to the FU, presumably asking the PU to ask for his opinion. This went on for some time, at least 2 minutes.
Finally, the PU pointed out to the FU and the FU gave the out sign, indicating a strike. Then, the PU points to the batter runner at 1B and tells him to stay, ignoring the call from the FU.
At this point, the opposing coach is more animated, but I still give him credit for maintaining composure. He understandably starts questioning the PU why the batter is still at 1B since the FU clearly said strike. At this point, the PU was sort of done arguing and doesn't really do anything more to clarify the situation. The coach continued on for another minute or so until the PU finally says, "That's enough, back to the dugout!" His voice was raised and he was done.
The coach started back to the dugout, stopped, and turned back around. Again, in a very respectful way he asked the PU one last time to explain why he was ignoring the FU. (I only point out the respectful part to note that this guy wasn't yelling, screaming, etc. It may have been disrespectful to continue to argue after he was told to stop. I get that. Just setting mood.) At this, PU tosses him from the game and orders him off the field immediately.
Coach leaves the field, just on the other side of the gate. The assistant then walks onto the field, also in a very well mannered, respectful way. He proceeds to argue the call for another good 2-3 minutes. Again, there are gestures of strikes, pointing to the FU, and so on.
Finally, the PU walks out to the FU. They huddle for at least 3 minutes. Then, the PU walks away, points to the batter at 1B and orders him back to the plate. Then, apparently because the opposing team was ultimately successful in its argument, he reinstates the head coach who he threw out of the game.
And, our coaching staff didn't say a peep at any point before, during, or after this entire episode.
It was one of the most bizarre series of events I've ever seen. The PU really screwed this up. If he didn't really know, he should have asked the FU pretty early on. Instead, he seemed to take a position of "I don't need help, I saw the play." That's a fine position, too, and I'd expect it to be true in this instance. But then don't ask the FU if you're not prepared to accept his call. That's just lunacy. And, reinstating the guy you threw out because his replacement happened to win the argument is just the cherry on top.
On top of that, it was a terrible call, a terrible procedure by the umps, and our coaches just sort of shrugged it away as if it didn't happen at all. I wasn't really upset, I was just bewildered.
No question here, just a really interesting situation I wanted to share. Thanks for indulging me.
