mudbug

I have umpired for a lot of years now. There are officials looking to get their check and get out but there not as many as these posts make it out to be. We should get every call right but we will miss some. Hopefully we won't miss them in crucial situations like the one mentioned here, but it will happen. I am the first to know when I kick a call as I think most officials are. In this situation the ball is foul when any umpire yells foul period. Not even sure why they conferred, dead ball everybody go back. Also it is the plate umpire's call until it reaches the bag then it becomes the base umpire's call. If it reached the bag then it was 3rd base umpire's call anyway and they should have gone with his call. As for the balk, batters sometimes yell time after the pitcher starts his motion. If the pitcher stops his motion its on him. If the batter left the box any pitch would be a strike so just toss it in. Finally everyone loves to say officials should be fined and suspended and tarred and feathered. We are not exactly swimming in new officials even with the economy like it is. Anyone and everyone is welcome to come and give it a shot. That's not a sarcastic remark. We need bodies. Seriously.

I have personally seen Andrew Henson at Smith County hit 7 in 3 games this year. I've heard he has hit several more but not sure about the total.

One reason its a rare call is officials will normally either call a block or have a "no call" and then tell the player that's a technical foul if you do it again. Most players will stop flopping after that. Also its not always a flop. Some players lean back a little so the contact will just take them on over. When the offense pulls up or goes around the defender is off balance and falls down. Others are going for the Oscar when they yell like they've been hit by a truck when no contact occurs.