An umpiring first for Chef

[Chef]

So, I had the plate in a 3-state 18 year old baseball championship game yesterday.

I had heard rave reviews about this kid from Colorado who was pitching; Anywhere from an 8th to 11th round draft pick, and has an arm that just doesn't slow down.

The first two pitches this kid threw were probably strikes. I don't know for sure, because I COULDN'T ****ING SEE THEM.

I told that to the catcher the next inning, and he just starts rolling. He says that's not the first time this year that has happened.

I've umpired kids who throw high 80's; From a college coach who was there yesterday, he tells me after the game the kid hit 93.

Oh.....and he throws a complete game 1-hitter.

 

[BYH]

And then Chef cut off the kid's toes, believing he'll improve his mechanics without those pesky bastards. The end.

 

[Small Town Guy]

Didn't Ron Luciano (RIP) tell a story like that about the first time he umped a Nolan Ryan game? I think his line was that it sounded like a strike, because he didn't see it.

 

[spnited]

So Chef admits he's guessing at calls because he can't see 'em. Great.

 

[Chef]

And then Chef cut off the kid's toes, believing he'll improve his mechanics without those pesky bastards. The end.

Bravo.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

And then Chef cut off the kid's toes, believing he'll improve his mechanics without those pesky bastards. The end.

The Aristocrats!

 

[ServeItUp]

"That sounded low." That's a Luciano-ism.

 

[expendable]

So Chef admits he's guessing at calls because he can't see 'em. Great.

He calls 'em as he sees 'em. On the others, he just guesses.

 

[Buck]

A friend had to toss a kid for releasing his bat on his swing.
Parents were very upset, he said.
Not as upset as other parents would have been if your dumbass kicked brained another kid with a flying bat.

 

[Chef]

So Chef admits he's guessing at calls because he can't see 'em. Great.

He calls 'em as he sees 'em. On the others, he just guesses.

Never saw the ball, but took an educated guess on the two pitches based upon where the catchers mitt was.......one was low, one could have been high.

 

[forever_town]

I joked about pitches being so fast I couldn't see them, but I've never had that actually happen so far.

Granted, the levels I'm doing generally aren't conducive to blurs, but there've been some kids who threw hard for their level. One kid threw hard enough that when the catcher couldn't catch his fastball and it hit me in my chest protector, I thought to myself, 'wow. That ... hurt!'"

Saw a kid pitch the bottom of the first in a 9- and 10-year-old game this year. His team hung a 13-spot in the top of the first because the home team's pitcher had no clue where the ball was going. This kid for the visiting team threw real hard AND was throwing strikes that would have been strikes if I used a rulebook strike zone. Actually caught me off guard after one half-inning of a kid soft tossing nowhere near a rulebook strike zone to see the other kid throwing strikes at that speed.

 

[zeke12]

My local park has a little cranny between the grandstand and the dugout where I got to take my coverage shots of the pitcher. You can really get a feel for what the kid has using the long lens from there.

Kid who came to town a couple weeks ago was drafted late full ride college. He's coming straight over the top and he's throwing nothing but heat the first two innings.

Now, local ace is a big strong kid who throws hard. I'd guess mid-to-high 80s, though I've never seen a gun on him.

Kid from out of town was WAYYY faster. I literally couldn't track his pitches. Thought it might be the lens. Stood back and just tried to watch the ball all the way into the mitt.

Nothing. I could follow it about halfway home, and then it started moving and I lost it, every time. Coach told me they've had him 92-94 on the gun.

Can't imagine trying to hit that ****.

 

[mb]

You can really get a feel for what the kid has using the long lens from there.

Disturbing?

 

[zeke12]

You can really get a feel for what the kid has using the long lens from there.

Disturbing?

Well struck, sir.

 

[FileNotFound]

I had one of those games once at a 12-year-old level -- lefthanded kid throwing probably mid- to high-60s, way faster than most of these kids were used to seeing. I called his first 11 pitches strikes, and the batters mostly just stood there with their mouths agape. He faded by the fourth inning, but his team was up something like 20-0; losing team's parents were getting on me for calling balls at that point. "Just call 'em strikes so we can go home!"

 

[Chef]

I was just told that the kid that threw yesterday is going to be a senior in high school.

Good Lord.

He could be at 95-96 easily in a year.

 

[Det. Jimmy McNulty]

A friend had to toss a kid for releasing his bat on his swing.
Parents were very upset, he said.
Not as upset as other parents would have been if your dumbass kicked brained another kid with a flying bat.

Been there, done that. Long story short, tossed a kid in a 14u travel league because he threw the bat in two consecutive ABs and hit the catcher both times upon release. We're talking let go of the bat with the left hand at the top of the swing, hitting the catcher in the head once and in the forearm second. Kid had a baseball sized bruise from the second time. Because the batter hit a single and was on first, I walked up to him at first and told him he's out of the game for throwing the bat, instead of ringing him up with traditional theatrics. Coach immediately blows his lid. Claims since we're playing "major league baseball rules" and you can't toss a player for throwing a bat, you can't toss the kid. #2, I'm 24 (at the time), I've never read an MLB rulebook because I'm not doing big league games, I only know NFHS. Coach is up in my grill like nothing I've experienced before. I'm immediately on the verge of a fistfight with this coach, I'm so pissed. Douchebag ump head, who isn't even an ump, but another coach in the league, overrules me because he's a pansy and says "we are playing MLB rules (which I was never informed of in the first place) and you can't toss a player for throwing the bat," even though this catcher has a baseball sized bruise on his arm.

**** the fact we're talking about 14 year olds and the safety of players. We're playing MLB rules. Guy stays.

I was so incensed I had the most intense stabbing pains in my stomach. So much I couldn't finish the game. I've never felt pain that intense in my entire life.

Moral of the story: **** 14u travel leagues where the coaches think their kids can play by Major League rules.

 

[Chef]

A friend had to toss a kid for releasing his bat on his swing.
Parents were very upset, he said.
Not as upset as other parents would have been if your dumbass kicked brained another kid with a flying bat.

Been there, done that. Long story short, tossed a kid in a 14u travel league because he threw the bat in two consecutive ABs and hit the catcher both times upon release. We're talking let go of the bat with the left hand at the top of the swing, hitting the catcher in the head once and in the forearm second. Kid had a baseball sized bruise from the second time. Because the batter hit a single and was on first, I walked up to him at first and told him he's out of the game for throwing the bat, instead of ringing him up with traditional theatrics. Coach immediately blows his lid. Claims since we're playing "major league baseball rules" and you can't toss a player for throwing a bat, you can't toss the kid. #2, I'm 24 (at the time), I've never read an MLB rulebook because I'm not doing big league games, I only know NFHS. Coach is up in my grill like nothing I've experienced before. I'm immediately on the verge of a fistfight with this coach, I'm so pissed. Douchebag ump head, who isn't even an ump, but another coach in the league, overrules me because he's a pansy and says "we are playing MLB rules (which I was never informed of in the first place) and you can't toss a player for throwing the bat," even though this catcher has a baseball sized bruise on his arm.

**** the fact we're talking about 14 year olds and the safety of players. We're playing MLB rules. Guy stays.

I was so incensed I had the most intense stabbing pains in my stomach. So much I couldn't finish the game. I've never felt pain that intense in my entire life.

Moral of the story: **** 14u travel leagues where the coaches think their kids can play by Major League rules.

The guy that overruled you was your partner?

If so, your partner deserves a beating.

First rule of umpires; DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PARTNER HANGING OUT WITH HIS CHEESE FLAPPING IN THE WIND.

This weekend is my kid's 9 year old district championships.....fairly big deal in these parts....in the 12-year old districts on the other field, they've got what we consider 3 of the best umps in this area.....on our field, the home plate ump today......WEARING ****ING KHAKI SHORTS.

Are you ****ing serious?!?!?!?

I don't care how bad of an umpire you are, but you have GOT to at least look like you have a clue.

In what was the longest little league game I have ever witnessed, the Junior Chefs won 25-15 in a 5-inning, 2 hour and 45 minute marathon.

BTW--Kid went 3-4 with 3 RBI.

 

[forever_town]

The way I see it, an umpire can eject a player if he feels it necessary for whatever reason. And frankly, that coach should have been tossed, too. Then I'd warn him that he's facing a forfeit if he keeps his **** up.

But I'd have warned the player about the bat after the first swing. That usually is enough.