I’m as big a fan of girls’ softball as I am of my annual prostate exam but there is a lot to be discussed in this particular play.
1. Why in the world did this umpire signal safe?
2. Is this a situation that even counts as an “appeal”?
3. Doesn’t the runner have to touch a base before he be signaled “safe”?
4. Why was this umpire standing at 1BLX with a runner advancing to the plate from 2nd base?
5. What should the umpire have done about all the players being on the field?
6. Any repercussions for the 3rd Base Coach who almost beats R2 to the plate?
7. Why isn’t there a definition of the word “safe” in the rule book?
8. Bonus Question: Why do softball umpires make the “OUT” signal in such a weird way?
Anyone notice the BR who had come all the way down past the plate (without touching it) to hug the R2 who “scored” and then went running through the crowd to try to get back to 3rd base?
Ok, so she missed the plate. Why are you just freaking standing there looking at the plate!?
Get the hell out of dodge! Let them appeal if they’re going to, but don’t tip them off by just staring at the plate!
How long did he plan on staring? All night long? Until the defense left? Until the offense accidently killed the runner in celebration?
What about 0:51 where the Defensive Coach walks onto the field and points at the catcher? Anyone have anything when that happens?
First off if the umpire would have been in 3BLX or even at the plate tip he would have got the play right in the beginning and nothing else would have happened and the right team would have won.
The biggest thing I see wrong with HPU is he is focused on the ball and not the runner. The way I would of handled it is the moment it goes past all infielders find the lead runner to see if you are going to have a play at the plate then get into position accordingly. Up to the point of it getting past the infielders you could have a play at a base that you might need to help out on. I agree that no call be made or vocalize what you are signaling if you are signaling safe as to not confuse players or coaches and the staring needs to go because with him staring at the plate you are telling the coaches that something is wrong and have just negated the rule by giving the play away that there was no plate touch by the runner.
I would have warned the 3rd base coach to stay closer to the coaches box even though he is fired up to win. The defensive coach would have been confined to the dugout for the remainder of the game or ejected due to coming so far out on the field, because she should know better. The players on the field in this situation is understandable because they believe they just won the game with the safe call.
To the bonus question that is one persons way to signal out. I do both baseball and softball and my out call is done the normal way.
By NFHS rule (in baseball as well as softball) the umpire is to signal safe as the tag was missed… not that the player actually touched the plate. I wish there was audio on this because it would be nice to see if PU says “no tag” or something like that and not “safe”.
That’s why I gave up umpiring softball after 1 year. First things first..call the batter out for being out of the box on the slash bunt. How far up towards the mound are you going to let the batter go to?? maybe half way?? lol @ Jonathan..keep the “fake baseball” videos off the website. Thanks
@Tony — I agree completely. I did girl’s softball for a year — absolutely not for me. NEVER will I do it again … never.
Tony and Dan,
You both need to look at time 0:25 you hear the bat contact the ball and see that both feet are in the batters box. Softball is not fake baseball and both of you need to pay attention to the videos because if you can’t see the details in the video then you can replay how can you see it in real time in a game and the rules between the two are very close to each other and also if it is fake baseball then tell me why many baseball umpires do softball as well.
It’s just not for me. The incessant chanting and clapping and congratulating the entire infield on /every … single … play/ — just not for me.
One thing to keep in mind when breaking down this video is that the mechanics are different between softball and baseball.
In baseball, I’ve always been trained on this type of play where the tag is missed and the plate is missed, to signal nothing and let the players figure it out.
Also in softball, the PU does not go 3BLX as much as we tend to in baseball.