The boys looked really impressive in the championship game. The game ended after three and a half innings, as it became mathematically impossible for the other team to catch up due to the six run per inning rule.
It was really nice to see the boys have that taste of success. They worked really hard this year, easily practicing more than any other team. Coach Mark's philosophy involves rewarding people who get to practice early, so the boys responded. This gave them a lot more time with the pitching machines to refine their skills.
Mark did a great job as coach. Its clear that he is pretty passionate about baseball and teaching it to the kids.
One unfortunate thing today was one of the calls made. There is not usually an umpire at the 'A' games, as it is an instructional league. The coach closest to the play makes the call. When I've coached first base, I've had to make them. Sometimes they are close and maybe we get one wrong.
There was supposed to be an umpire for the championship game, but he didn't show up, so we proceeded as normal. The opposing team was batting and had a man on first. The batter hit the ball to the pitcher or third baseman (we use a pitching machine, so the player pitcher actually plays between short stop and third base). The fielder threw to second base. I was taking photos, and it appeared that he was safe, as the ball arrived to the second baseman after the runner apparently stopped on second.
The opposing team was cheering, thinking they had a hit, but Mark, who was the closest coach (the coach is still on the field in 'A' ball here) called the runner out. The opposing fans and I think coaches started complaining about the call. I couldn't hear exactly what was said, but I think Mark did. He told the other coach that the runner had stopped short of second, and that is why he was out. Again I couldn't hear exactly what was said, but I got the impression that some people were implying that Mark was being less than honest in his call.
For me, it was easy. If Mark said the kid stopped short, then I know that (a) Mark believes that, and (b) the kid probably stopped short. Let me be really straight about this. Mark is a very competitive guy and wants to win. He might make a mistake or a bad call, but he will not cheat or take short cuts to win. How do I know that? Well, during the basketball tournament, we were scheduled to play the semi-final game at 10:30 a.m. The coach from the other team came up and told us that he had half his team were at a swim meet and wouldn't be able to make it until 12:00. Mark could have pressed for a forfeiture as the other team wasn't ready to play. He didn't, and told the kids we don't want to win that way. We ended up losing a heart breaking game on a last second shot.
I understood why the other fans had initially thought that the runner was safe, as I had thought the same thing. Of course, from my angle, I couldn't see exactly where the base was and where the runner stopped. Neither could they, certainly not as clearly as Mark could, who was standing about 10 to 15 feet from the bag. When he made the call, however, even if they thought it was wrong, they should have dropped it. At one point later I heard someone say something about playing with two sets of rules. That behavior was bullshit.
Not only was it bullshit, but they were wrong, and it appears Mark made the right call. Like I said, I was taking photographs. The third one below is the play in question. Unfortunately, I didn't take another shot or two immediately after (sometimes I use bursts and sometimes single shots), but what I captured appears to support Mark's call. While the ball is not yet in Riley's glove, the runner is not yet on the base. If you look at the runner, however, its pretty clear he is slowing down or stopping from the position of his legs and body. He didn't slide on the play . That's exactly what Mark said happened.
The photo is certainly not conclusive, but even if one disagrees it shows the runner slowing down or stopping, it shows that it was a very close play. Much too close for someone sitting on the side lines to imply someone was cheating.
The 'A' ball champs
Jacob loved playing catcher
The "controversial" call.
No comments:
Post a Comment