Pitcher hit ump on purpose?

Wow. Looks like an over the top acting job by the catcher. I can't imagine the deuce the catcher claimed he was was looking for would ever break quite that much. Very unfortunate, and regrettable.

I saw a catcher reaching up for a pitch, then dropping down to block a ball in the dirt. The two don't add up. If he was expecting a curve like the kids said then the glove would never have gone up in the first place.

Having said that, it is only an opinion and there's no way to prove anything.

It looks to me like the ump didnt get hit,....the left shoulder of the catcher did.
Perhaps I need new glasses.

I very kindly ( cough-cough ) gave my old ones to our ump last night,....
when my highschool graduated SS, for the first time in his life, ( minus one inning back in 8th grade ) was pitching!!

A catcher won't go into blocking position until and unless he reads the pitch in the dirt. It's not like you go down to block every curve ball - most of them you stay put and catch.

So it is pretty clear to me. NO WAY a catcher will read "pitch in dirt" on a ball with that trajectory. Even if he thought curve was coming, he would not go into blocking position on that pitch.

If they stonewall the investigation, they will probably get away with it because it can't be proven, but it is pretty clear to me what went on here.

Classless and I'm sure more than one or two players were in on it. I'd go further and say that perphaps ever worse is if you read the pages of comments on the article. More than a few suggest that the Umpire deserved it. CLASSLESS!

It's much more explainable if the catcher pops out for a pitchout but the pitch goes down the middle.

Okaaaaaaay,..so I borrowed a pair of coke bottle sized binoculars,..and after about a double dozen replays in sloooooow motion,....it does seem that the rest of you are correct. I'll spare you the time and will rename myself: Mrs. McGoo.


It does look like the umpires face mask is hit and then the ball flies off of the catchers left shoulder.

DOH!!!!!
( Geesh,,..you guys are good!)

I really hope the throw wasn't intentional.

Folks, this display of the worst sportsmanship just happened this past saturday during our Class AAA State championship game. It was a best of 3 series with both teams splitting on friday.

For those of you who don't know it, the pitcher on the mound is the younger brother of =edited= of Stephens County HS in Toccoa, GA. He is expected to go in the 1st round this weekend and is highly touted.

This video has been turned into the Georgia High School Association for review and investigation. They actually heard about it and was going to request a copy of the video.

Below is the page at the Georgia Sports Varsity Vent where this has touched off HUGE debates. Read for yourself what it is causing.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=37#s=37&f=2705

And here is the article by the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran today:

http://www.ajc.com/highschool/content/sports/highschool.../wildpitch_0602.html

Apparently, this happened due to =edited= being squeezed the day before by the umpires...so it has been said...among other things.

BTW...Cartersville HS won the 'ship!

i dont' think it was on purpose because of one reason...there was a man on base...

I can understand that it certainly looks like it was on purpose...but I just don't think that they pitcher would let the runner get to third in a state championship game just to pull a stunt like that

brian,
The score was 9-1 at the time. They didn't care about the runner.

I see the catcher drop down looking to block a ball in the dirt. What do you see?

Perplexed why he even bothered doing that, he just had to squat still and not catch the ball.

Anyway, that's disgusting to do to an umpire.

quote:

Perplexed why he even bothered doing that, he just had to squat still and not catch the ball.

If he didn't go to block, he couldn't use the story of expecting a curveball..

I believe it was done on purpose. The catcher is a dead give away. That is the most stagged block of a ball in the dirt ever. No way would any other catcher read that ball in the dirt. He knew what was happening. Sad. Shame on the pitcher and catcher.

That makes me sick!!!

I know this will never happen, but I'd love to see the players involved charged with assault and battery.

If this pitcher is a "highly touted prospect", I'd hate to see my beloved Orioles draft him!

From the article:

quote:

"[=edited=] have been as honest as anyone since I've known them

While I sincerely hope the pitch was not intentional, I also am hesitant to jump to conclusions based on speculation or my interpretation of what I think I see in a video. Videos can be misleading.

These boys are minors and still in highschool. I feel it only fair to see what the outcome of the investigation concludes before I make an accusation towards the boys involved. ~

I am interested to hear their side of the story, the batter's side, and also the umpire's.

Hopefully, the pitcher and catcher get thrown in jail for a few ears and their families get nailed with a major civil suit. Also, if these players are actually considered to be drafted, this video should be sent to the scouts and realize these 2 are loose cannons and have no business being on the field that invilve hard balls and bats.
Nothing like a good video to nail a couple of punks.

I guess its fair to say that zombywolf and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum, eh?

Holy cow, that video sure didn't do those brothers any favors.

I for one don't believe the whole "pitches got mixed up" story. Unless it's a 55-58 foot curveball, you're not gonna break down to block the ball just as it's being pitched!!

Let's review the video some more and see what the catcher did previously when he called curveball. Did he break down to block the pitch everytime? Probably not!

I am in no way am condoning this and hope they get in trouble. But... I was watching it with my son's teammates, because we played with these guys in Little League. One of them asked the question, "How is this any different than throwing at a batter?"
They began to talk about all the times in their playing careers (they were all juniors and below) that they had known pitchers to throw at batters intentionally. They said that most of them every one knew what was happening.
Should the same penalties be imposed for throwing at a batter as they are at throwing at an ump?
I have to admit that I was outraged when I watched it. But after hearing these guys talk, realized that we, society, baseball community, do not hold pitchers to the same standard when they are throwing at a batter.

Throwing at a batter and throwing at an ump are no where near the same. There are reasons to bring one in on a player that are part of the game, but throwing at an ump is a childish way to get back at him for a bad call or whatever reason they threw.

In my opinion,
intentionally throwing a pitch at an umpire, is showing complete lack of respect for authority and for the game itself, and should not be tolerated.

If the investigation concludes that this indeed was the case, then it is up to the administration to take action.

The investigation could clear these boys as well.
We dont have all the facts and have not heard from all parties involved.

Until then, I will reserve my judgement.

Just dont think we should bring out the tar-n-feathers yet.
Lets see what the investigation concludes.

I live in Georgia and this kind of stuff is embarrassing. There is a lot more information on this on the Georgia sports vent. It sounds as if they have some problems at that program. I would not look for a resolution until after the draft. Don't want to hurt the little darlings chances you know.

Who knows, maybe one day we will all be watching sports center when they show video of a young pitcher throwing at an ump. And we will all marvel at what could have allowed that to happen?

There is no doubt it was intentional.

Having watched batters brought to their knees by being hit with pitches. I don't think its ok to intentionally hit umps or players.

As dads would say "its all part of the game."
As mom would say " its all fun and games until someone puts an eye out!"

First of all, the pitcher who threw this pitcher is not the player that is highly touted and expected to go in the 1st round of the draft (=edited=). It is is Junior Brother =edited= whom has almost as much talent as his brother.

But as they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. =edited= earlier in the season was pitching in a Region regular season game and hit a kid in the face with a 95mph FB. The kid went to the hospital with a concussion and I think 14 stitches to the face.

Fast forward to this weekend.

The inning before this umpire was hit, =edited= was struck out. He argued with the umpire and threw his helmet. The pitcher on the opposing team had struck out like 9 batters in a roll at this time. With his brother pitching, do you think there just might could have been a meeting with younger brother and the catcher to "pay back" the umpire for shoddy umpiring?

Do you see a possible pattern of tempers, unsportsmanlike conduct, bad attitudes....etc. etc?

It was reported last night on the local TV news that the umpire is actually having an MRI done for pain and discomfort.

Just saw this on AJC.com:

Stephens Co. fined $1000

quote:

Originally posted by YoungGunDad:

Do you see a possible pattern of tempers, unsportsmanlike conduct, bad attitudes....etc. etc?

I feel sorry for the "good" kids in the program as they will forver be tied to this event. I can't even imagine the mindset of the two kids who pulled this stunt.

There is no question in my mind that the coach allowed this type of behavior to develop over the season and he should be held accountable. Not sure what action but it should be severe.

Either that was an intentional miss, or he is the worst HS catcher I have ever seen. Looking at the high caliber of the play and the circumstances from the previous inning, that was intentional.

Thanks 2Bom. You beat me to it.

As you read the article you will see what I said earlier about the bad attitudes overall on the team...especially during a State championship!

What I don't get is....the high school gets fined and yet the boys get off scott free. I mean, the incident was proven to have happened so why penalize the school? No wonder I'm half grey nowadays! grrrrr

quote:

Originally posted by shortstopmom:
I very kindly ( cough-cough ) gave my old ones to our ump last night,....
when my highschool graduated SS, for the first time in his life, ( minus one inning back in 8th grade ) was pitching!!

quote:

Originally posted by YoungGunDad:
But as they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. =edited= (the older brother) earlier in the season was pitching in a Region regular season game and hit a kid in the face with a 95mph FB. The kid went to the hospital with a concussion and I think 14 stitches to the face.

Are you saying that this was intentional?

My first though was to watch the video to see how nasty this was. Then I watched it a couple of times, and thought "Yup, he's guilty. The catcher ducked to made sure he cleared the way for the ball".

Then I watched again and put my self in his shoes (cleats). I'm looking for a 73 mph curve, and the pitcher unleashes a 91-92 mph fastball and I've completely lost tracking the ball. It is conceivable he could duck thinking his face/neck was exposed.

I'm not ready to say he's innocent. But, I can't say guilty either. I'm riding the fence on this one unless a teammate or someone with a conscience steps up. I just have difficulty thinking this could be planned and executed.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by wayback:
My first though was to watch the video to see how nasty this was. Then I watched it a couple of times, and thought "Yup, he's guilty. The catcher ducked to made sure he cleared the way for the ball".

Then I watched again and put my self in his shoes (cleats). I'm looking for a 73 mph curve, and the pitcher unleashes a 91-92 mph fastball and I've completely lost tracking the ball. It is conceivable he could duck thinking his face/neck was exposed.

I'm not ready to say he's innocent. But, I can't say guilty either. I'm riding the fence on this one unless a teammate or someone with a conscience steps up. I just have difficulty thinking this could be planned and executed.


Could I interest you in a nice used bridge? Only driven across a couple of times.

quote:

Originally posted by 2Bmom:
Just saw this on AJC.com:

Stephens Co. fined $1000

Sounds like they were placed on double secret probation, but it sounds like they have had issues before - why is the coach still there? Why are the players involved not suspended for a few games next year?

I hope this does not set a precedence.

I apologize to anyone who is offended by this, but I have removed all player names from the posts in this thread.

That might seem very silly since the players are named in news reports elsewhere. But as I have said in previous situations, if there is any doubt I will always err on the side of avoiding "bashing" of youth and HS-aged players in our forums.

I agree that the video looks very suspicious, it appears that some school authorities have enough evidence to make up their minds, and if the umpire was intentionally hit, this act is reprehensible.

But I still will ask all members to try to avoid going over that line between suspicion and anger about the incident, and public trashing of HS-aged players.

Julie

It couldnt be more obvious.

Have you ever seen a catcher react to a pitch like that in your life?

I havent - ever.

Fortunately - the ump is OK.

The rest is just a gutless assault by two punks. IMO.

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MnMom..

I am almost always squarely in your corner, and I am all for keeping names out of this and protecting our youth...

I believe in the freedom of youth to make some mistaakes...and forgiveness for those mistakes...

...however there are times and actions SHOULD engender outrage. There are lines that simply should not be crossed. There are times when we should not simply rollover. There are things we must stand for. There are lines we have to draw.

If our youth are to become solid citizens they must clearly understand where those lines are and realize that as functioning parts of society they must be responible for their actions. Part of that is understanding what kind of community response such actions engender.

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o44,

I agree with your post.

What has been said so far in this thread seems understandable to me, and my personal reaction to the video and news reports is NOT the same as my note above as forum administrator. But I do feel an obligation in the administrator role, having seen how discussions can sometimes escalate, to make a request to maintain this at the "rightful indignation" level, and not escalate into a "lynch mob" type of discussion.

Julie

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MnMom...

I would agree...it is fine line between indignity and lynch mob status...that too is a line that should not be crossed...too bad that it appears that someone/a coach did not inform the parties involved in the original incident....thanks for the reminder...

44
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