Umpire positioning

[Vegasdad]

Runners on 1st and 2nd, BU positions himself 2 to 3 feet to the right of our shortstop at exactly the same depth as she is playing. She is about 3 or 4 feet behind the base path, split pretty evenly between 2nd and 3rd. Coach was calling inside pitches to try to induce a ground ball for double play or at least to get the lead runner. If a ball is hit to the right of the SS she could very easily make contact with the BU. He would not adjust his postion. Is this right? Should the umpire adjust accordingly to the position of the fielders? What would be the ruling if contact was made and the play could not be completed by the SS?

[umpinva]

Runners on 1st and 2nd, BU positions himself 2 to 3 feet to the right of our shortstop at exactly the same depth as she is playing. She is about 3 or 4 feet behind the base path, split pretty evenly between 2nd and 3rd. Coach was calling inside pitches to try to induce a ground ball for double play or at least to get the lead runner. If a ball is hit to the right of the SS she could very easily make contact with the BU. He would not adjust his postion. Is this right? Should the umpire adjust accordingly to the position of the fielders? What would be the ruling if contact was made and the play could not be completed by the SS?

The umpire should be adjusting position on a batted ball.

[Bretman]

The base umpire should be two or three steps BEHIND the shortstop and off her left shoulder, not standing beside her at the same depth.

Positioning yourself beside the fielder is not the recommended mechanic. I would go so far as to call that a DMU- Dumb Move Umpire! You don't want to set up where you will potentially disrupt the play.

A base umpire should also be accomodating to any resaonable request by the players to move slightly if he is blocking their view or position. Why he chose to set up incorrectly, and ignored requests to adjust, I could only speculate. Rookie umpire? Just plain hard-headed? Who knows.

As to your last question, if the shortstop runs into the umpire it's just bad luck for your shortstop. There are limited cases where "umpire interference" is a real, justifiable call and, unfortunately, this isn't one of them. That's why it's especially important for the umpires to position themselves where the possibility of contact with a player is minimized.

The only legitimate rule-based reasons to call umpire interference are when a batted ball strikes an umpire before passing a fielder (rare in softball, where the umpires set up behind the fielders) or if the plate umpire accidentally interfers with the catcher's attempt to play on and retire a baserunner. If a fielder or runner collides with an umpire, or an umpire is struck by a thrown ball or a batted ball after it passes a fielder, there is no penalty or reward. The ball remains live and in-play.

[wadeintothem]

Prolly one of bretman's lost littleball buddies trying to figure out how to actually get behind SS pre pitch.

[Bretman]

Could be. Maybe he was trying to set up halfway between the mound and second base, but got lost when he couldn't find "a mound" on a softball field!

[GIMNEPIWO]

Mapquest.com

[Vegasdad]

The base umpire should be two or three steps BEHIND the shortstop and off her left shoulder, not standing beside her at the same depth.

Positioning yourself beside the fielder is not the recommended mechanic. I would go so far as to call that a DMU- Dumb Move Umpire! You don't want to set up where you will potentially disrupt the play.

A base umpire should also be accomodating to any resaonable request by the players to move slightly if he is blocking their view or position. Why he chose to set up incorrectly, and ignored requests to adjust, I could only speculate. Rookie umpire? Just plain hard-headed? Who knows.

As to your last question, if the shortstop runs into the umpire it's just bad luck for your shortstop. There are limited cases where "umpire interference" is a real, justifiable call and, unfortunately, this isn't one of them. That's why it's especially important for the umpires to position themselves where the possibility of contact with a player is minimized.

The only legitimate rule-based reasons to call umpire interference are when a batted ball strikes an umpire before passing a fielder (rare in softball, where the umpires set up behind the fielders) or if the plate umpire accidentally interfers with the catcher's attempt to play on and retire a baserunner. If a fielder or runner collides with an umpire, or an umpire is struck by a thrown ball or a batted ball after it passes a fielder, there is no penalty or reward. The ball remains live and in-play.

Thanks for the answers. You confirmed basically what we thought was right. For some reason the UIC was not available at that time so there was nothing we could do. Fortunately, nothing came from the issue.

[Round the Horn]

Several years ago at a 12U tournament, my DD playing shortstop, the BU setup right in front of her. She kept moving from side to side, trying to see the batter. She even politely asked the umpire to move. But he just stood his ground.

During the game there were 4-5 ground balls hit to her. She missed one, and when the inning was over, an assistant coach (a**hole dad) started yelling at her for not snagging the ball. She told the coach that she couldn't see because the umpire was in the way.

After the game, I found the tournament director and asked him what was up with this umpire. Turns out that he is a BASEBALL umpire, and he thought he was supposed to be setup IN FRONT of the players (obviously, like they do in baseball).

I'm surprised that NO ONE (coaches or PU) ever said anything to this guy during the game.

[Bretman]

Even if you're a baseball umpire, when working a 60 ft. baseball diamond (think Little League baseball) you're supposed to set up behind the fielders.

And, even if you're a baseball umpire- especially if you're a baseball umpire working inside the diamond- you should accomodate a fielder's request to move if you're blocking their view.

If you're a baseball umpire who wants to work softball, you really do need to make an extra effort to brush up on the many different rules and mechanics. I help with umpire assigning and training for a local recreational league in my area and, frankly, I'm always glad to have an experienced baseball umpire want to try his hand at softball. But before they step on the field, they're going to get a quick and dirty lesson in Softball Differences 101.

Just last weekend, I had the chance to offer some of our leagues baseball umpires the opportunity to work some softball games for us. The inevitable first question is always, "What softball rules are different than baseball?". I tell them that probably 80% of the rules and definitions are about the same- and it's the 20% that aren't that are going to bite you in the butt!

Then I tell them that just because you're a baseball official, you're just as qualified to work softball as a hockey referee is to work a basketball game. Then I direct them to our annual rules and mechanics clinic, or work with them one-on-one before assigning them to a game.

Maybe I'll make converts out of some of those guys yet!

[rbi]

DD had the same situation in a ASA 12U National Championship tourney game. BU 2 steps away and even with SS, we all know this would be a serious distraction to anyone let alone a 12yr old, and when asked to please move, the response was "young lady get used to it because this is how it will be in college". When I was told of this i started paying closer attn to other games, and it was hit and miss on positioning, some did it but most didnt. I myself think its a bunch of bull that they think they need to be on SS hip, to me its a power trip by select blues. My response is when the BLUE'S make the game about them and not the kids, I have a problem with it.