Unfortunate Call

[Makina]

Saw a weird play happen. Batter check swings a ball and ball hits off of bottom of bat into fair territory. Umpire immediately calls foul ball and raises both hands. Batter does not run, defense tells pitcher to retrieve ball and throw to 1st base. Def. team argues that ball was fair and therefore batter is out. Umpire agrees and calls batter out. Offensive team argues that umpire declared foul ball and therefore ball is dead and no play can occur afterward. Umpire rules that runner is still out.

[Comp]

Declaring foul ball is just that. Right or wrong, once it was declared foul the ball is dead nothing can happen after that.

[Bretman]

Once it's ruled foul and dead...it really is! Most batters won't run to first if the ball has been called foul. Plate umpire should have stuck with the initial call. If it was a gross error, then he screwed up and should be prepared to take a little heat from the defensive team- within reason.

Just one more example of why the simplest mechanics can save the most amount of headaches. An umpire should never call a ball foul until he is certain it is foul- or else he will wind up with a mess like this!

[ajaywill]

Agree with Comp...once a ball is declared foul, it is forever foul.

Umpire should have just eaten the call, take the deserved heat from the defense, and gone on with the game.

[as the world turns]

Looks like he piled crap on top of crap.

[AlwaysImprove]

Here was one. 10u nationals, final game. 3 man umpire crew.

Two best teams in the tournament. Team A knocked Team B into the looser bracket. The parents made it very apparent they did not like each other. During their first meeting a few parents mixed it up, but they were separated. Both teams yelling. Both teams had made and deployed tons of improvised noise making devices (INMDs). I have never seen anything like it.

6th inning 2-2 tie, runner on second base. One out. Bunt situation with 1st and 3rd pulled way in. Ball goes up in the air, and lands about 2 inches in fair territory about 6 inches in front of first base. It then goes past the past first base and crosses into foul territory.

Home ump signals fair ball by pointing the infield. Ump down the first base line yells "foul ball". It was actually fair. Mayhem, first set of cops on the seen had to bring in backup units. 4 parents went with them to the police station.

[Bretman]

Yet another play where the umpires following one of the most basic mechanics in the book averts all hell from breaking loose. Fair/foul on this play is always the plate umpire's call.

Call it "blocking and tackling" or "Umpiring 101". There's a reason why we drill these basics into umpire's heads- because if you follow them, you can save yourself a lot of grief. So many times when an umpire has a problem on the field, it is a problem of his own making. There's enough out that that can go wrong as it is without making more trouble for yourself. Ignore the basics and trouble will find you sooner than later!