Okay, so I am a little behind. Considering that game 5 was played on Friday, March 26h, I guess you could say that I am REALLY behind here.
Anyways…
GAME 5
This was my first Varsity game that I was assigned to call, and I was assigned behind the plate. Talk about throwing me to the wolves! It was surprising to me because I was under the impression that new officials would not be calling Varsity games until their third year. But, I wasn’t complaining.
The game was between two private schools: Asheville School and Rabun Gap, and was played at Asheville School. I though for sure that this was going to be a quick game. Rabun Gap got on the board quickly and scored at least one run in just about every inning.
In the bottom of the 5th, Asheville School was down 12-1 – which would have ended the game if they did not score more than one run – when they exploded for 7 runs. That inning for them was capped by a three run homer that hit the scoreboard in left-center field.
I must admit, I really wasn’t seeing the ball well this game. I don’t know what it was but my eyes seemed a little “fuzzy”. I know that I missed some calls, in regards to balls and strikes, but that is just how it goes. I heard a lot coming from the coaches and players from Asheville School, and not much from Rabun Gap. So, in my head, that means that I must have still been doing a pretty good job.
In the bottom of the 7th, Asheville School was down 13-8. There were two outs with no one on. The batter at the plate had two strikes on him and a pitch came in high and inside. It wasn’t too far inside, and it wasn’t too high (but it might have been a little higher than I had been calling strikes throughout the game). But, that pitch was close enough to the strike zone so I rung the batter up to end the game.
Aside from the little bit of talk I got coming from the Asheville School players and coaches, and the fact that I wasn’t seeing the ball well, I think my first Varsity game experience was a good one. I look forward to my next Varsity game, and hopefully I will see everything a little more clearly.
Game 6
The days leading up to my sixth game were quite interesting, to say the least. At first I was scheduled for a JV game in Hendersonville (about 1/2 hour from my house). But then that game got cancelled because the teams playing decided to move the game to what would have been the visitors teams site so they could have a JV/Varsity double-header. Then I was assigned a JV double-header, which got me excited because it was going to be my first double-header of the season. But then the second game got cancelled.
When the double-header was originally scheduled, the first game was scheduled to begin at 3pm (I get out of work at 2pm), and the second game was to begin around 5pm. But, the same day the games were assigned, the decided to cancel the second game. They kept the original start time of 3pm for the remaining game.
Like I said, I get out of work at 2pm, so this means that I have to rush to get to the field in time for the game to start. Luckily, the field wasn’t too far from work, so I get there with plenty of time to spare. But…the visiting team is LATE! I guess they got a little lost on the way to the field. So, we didn’t get the game started until around 3:30. Why the game wasn’t pushed back to a 4:00 or 4:30 start, I do not know.
Anyways, onto the game…
The game was between Temple Baptist and Cramerton Christian. I was scheduled to work the plate for this game. Kind of unusual since my assignments have alternated between plate and field. But, because this was originally a double-header, I was originally schedule to work the plate the first game and the field the second.
The way the teams started the game was completely new to me. Usually the “Star Spangled Banner” is played before a game. But, nope, not for this game…it started out with prayer. I’m not against it, but it was the first time that has happened to me, and the first time I had ever seen it.
I thought for sure that this game was going to be quick. Cramerton got out to an early lead, they were stealing 2nd and 3rd base whenever they had a runner on, and their starting pitcher had one heck of a curve that Temple could not hit.
Cramerton got out to a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the 3rd inning when their starting pitchers arm started to hurt. When they changed pitchers, Temple was able to rally a little bit and close the gap to 4-3. The game stayed close after that, until the 6th inning when Cramerton pushed another four runs across to extend their lead to 8-3.
In the bottom of the 7th things got a little tricky. Temple began to rally big time. I knew that they were down by five when they came to bat. They got the bases loaded quickly and began to push runs across the plate. With two outs, and the bases loaded, I had forgotten how many runs they had already scored. I was telling myself that if another run scored I would call “Time” and verify with both teams as to what the score was. Unfortunately for Temple, the batter grounded out to end the game. Temple ended up pushing four runs across in the bottom of the 7th for an 8-7 final.
I was seeing the ball pretty good this game. I was even complimented by Cramerton’s catcher, he said that I was at least consistent with my calls. He said that most umpires are inconsistent but even when the calls are bad, if they are consistent then there is nothing to really complain about. Was he getting a “dig in” on me? Probably, but that’s not how I took it. I just took it as a compliment.
There were a couple controversial calls early in this game; one by my partner and one by me. When Cramerton was batting there was a ground ball hit in the infield. When the ball was thrown to first base the first baseman bobbled the ball a bit. My partner called the runner out saying the fielder had possession of the ball by time the runner touched first base. The coach for Cramerton asked me if I thought that the first baseman had the ball and all I could tell him was, “He (the field umpire) made the call, Coach.” And I left it at that. Although I felt that the runner was safe because of the ball being bobbled, because my partner did not ask for my assistance, I could not give it.
Later in the game, Cramerton was batting again, there was a play at the plate where the Cramerton runner was scoring but did not slide. The runner was safe and the Temple coach came out to argue that the runner did not slide and that he had to because there was a play at the plate. I conferred with my partner, just to make sure that I made the correct call according to the rules. Because it was not a “force play” at the plate, the runner did NOT have to slide. If it were a force play then, by rule, the runner would have had to slide and if he didn’t he would be called out. When there is not a force play, by rule, it is just suggested that the runner slides. After the conference with my partner, I once again ruled that the runner was safe at home and the run counts.
One final play. This happened in the top of the 7th with Cramerton, once again, at bat. There were two outs and the batter popped the ball up on the first base side of the infield. The first baseman was under the ball, just to the infield side of the fair/foul line, and just beyond the start of the 3ft running lane the batter-runner has to run in when going to first. The Cramerton batter-runner began heading into the running lane, but when he seen that the first baseman was going to make the catch he decided to run into the fielder. By rule, this would be malicious contact and an automatic ejection for the batter-runner. Instead of ejecting the Cramerton player, because the fielder caught the ball for the third out, I decided to inform the Cramerton coach of what had happened and also talk to the player about it. Had the Cramerton player caused the fielder to drop the ball, I would have instantly followed the rule and called the batter-runner out and ejected him from the game for the bottom of the 7th.
My next game is scheduled for tomorrow. It is another Middle School game and, this time, I am scheduled to work the field. I have no clue when I will work any more games after that, though. This week was supposed to be Spring Break for the schools around here so not many games were scheduled. Next week the scheduled games will be back to normal. Hopefully I will get a few good assignments then.
