I didn't know this was a rule

[manchild98]

Acting Seattle Mariners manager Robby Thompson is finding out firsthand just how difficult life in the hot seat can be. After watching his squad drop a heartbreaker in 15 innings to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, Thompson, who's filling in for manager Eric Wedge as he recovers from a minor stroke, had to suffer through another painful experience on Thursday right as he contributed to the Mariners ninth inning meltdown with a costly rookie mistake.

It happened as Thompson came out of the dugout to yank closer Tom Wilhelmsen after he allowed each of the first four batters in the inning to reach base. His intention was to call on right-hander Yoervis Medina, but his first signal was a raise of the left arm. He caught his mistake quickly and immediately began pointing to his right arm.

However, with left-handed reliever Oliver Perez also warming up, third base umpire Gary Darling ruled that he was committed to the left-hander.

Here's Thompson explanation of his error courtesy of MLB.com:


"We wanted to go to Medina there and if we had to go to Ollie, he was the next guy," said Thompson. "If there was anything today for me, it was a lesson learned that if you make a motion with either hand, that's it. I didn't realize that.

"I did point to the pen, but I didn't have time to [tap his other arm] for the right-hander," Thompson said. "He'd already turned. That's when I wanted to make sure he knew who I wanted to go to and [crew chief] Gary Darling said it's too late, you raised your left hand up."

Personally, I think it's ridiculous that umpires can't be more flexible with this rule. It's not as if Thompson changed his mind halfway through the change, he simply made a mistake and then corrected it before he'd even reached the hill or taken the ball from his closer.


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-b...-signals-wrong-reliever-during-234043483.html

 

[spockmaster]

umps are dicks.

 

[manchild98]

umps are dicks.

He instantly changed the call. What harm was done? I just don't understand why they would be forced to bring in the lefty.

 

[byco42]

You can't change the call after you've made it: the motion is the official indication of the pitcher a manager wants in the game. The manager knew his error immediately. That's baseball. If the UIC allows Thompson to call for the righty then Boston has a legit beef. It was the right call by the UIC. It's on the manager to know how to indicate who he wants in the game.

 

[byco42]

Here's an example of invoking rule 6.02 (c) correctly.

 

[tomdalton22]

I am going to plead ignorance on another wierd play the other night. I think it was in the LAA game and the LF went up to rob a HR. He jumped up, appeared to catch the ball but his momentum carried him over the fence into the stands. He actually disappeared into the stands for a moment then came out of the stands with the ball in his glove. Common sense tells me this should be a HR. He was in the stands with the ball supposedly in his glove. How do the umps know he didn't drop it and just pick it up? To me if the fielder gets carried over the fence with or without the ball it should be a HR.

 

[turok]

I am going to plead ignorance on another wierd play the other night. I think it was in the LAA game and the LF went up to rob a HR. He jumped up, appeared to catch the ball but his momentum carried him over the fence into the stands. He actually disappeared into the stands for a moment then came out of the stands with the ball in his glove. Common sense tells me this should be a HR. He was in the stands with the ball supposedly in his glove. How do the umps know he didn't drop it and just pick it up? To me if the fielder gets carried over the fence with or without the ball it should be a HR.

LFer crossed the plane of the yellow homer boundary, but like when an OFer leaps and brings the ball back to the field from over the fence or wall, and appears to have maintained control of it, then the umps would be more likely to call the batter out. Did they review the catch? Seems like it would have been pretty difficult and a bit more time-consuming for him to regain the ball if he dropped it or was knocked out of his mitt in the stands, since he would probably have had to compete/fight for it vs the fans around him who also would be trying to grab the loose baseball.

 

[tomdalton22]

LFer crossed the plane of the yellow homer boundary, but like when an OFer leaps and brings the ball back to the field from over the fence or wall, and appears to have maintained control of it, then the umps would be more likely to call the batter out. Did they review the catch? Seems like it would have been pretty difficult and a bit more time-consuming for him to regain the ball if he dropped it or was knocked out of his mitt in the stands, since he would probably have had to compete/fight for it vs the fans around him who also would be trying to grab the loose baseball.

not being able to see if the batter actually caught the ball is why I think the rule is stupid. The player was actually out of sight in the stands.

 

[turok]

"Speaking" of weird baseball rules, here's another invoked vs a minor leaguer

A?s minor leaguer Vinnie Catricala strikes out on one pitch

 

[Mitchrapp]

Bad call. It was a rule but IMO the ump didn't wait near long before he called a strike and then another strike. 3.4 seconds? Come on, that happens all the time.

 

[turok]

not being able to see if the batter actually caught the ball is why I think the rule is stupid. The player was actually out of sight in the stands.

I agree that IF an OFer must completely leave the field of play and cannot be seen with the ball in his mitt while in the stands @ any time, then the hit could/should be ruled as a homer, but I would guess that the umpire(s) interpretation of the rules in that manner would quite often lead to ejections of the OFer involved as well as maybe his manager and/or coach(es).

 

[tomdalton22]

A?s minor leaguer Vinnie Catricala strikes out on one pitch

holy crap...only 9.4 seconds? That ump should be fired!

 

[byco42]

Bad call. It was a rule but IMO the ump didn't wait near long before he called a strike and then another strike. 3.4 seconds? Come on, that happens all the time.

It's not a matter of how much time a batter takes to get in the box. The guy refused to get in the box when the umpire told him to. That does not happen all the time, and that's why he was rightly rung up.

 

[Thumb]

A?s minor leaguer Vinnie Catricala strikes out on one pitch

Best part about that was they played Tom Hanks "Are you crying? there's no crying in baseball!" over the PA when the kid got tossed.

 

[Thumb]

It's not a matter of how much time a batter takes to get in the box. The guy refused to get in the box when the umpire told him to. That does not happen all the time, and that's why he was rightly rung up.

Agreed, the first no pitch strike the umpire clearly asked him twice to get in the box. It's was off camera but you could see at least once more he asked him to get in the box before the final strike call.

Also the batter never asked for time-out, so he should not have left the batters box in the first place.

 

[byco42]

I am going to plead ignorance on another wierd play the other night. I think it was in the LAA game and the LF went up to rob a HR. He jumped up, appeared to catch the ball but his momentum carried him over the fence into the stands. He actually disappeared into the stands for a moment then came out of the stands with the ball in his glove. Common sense tells me this should be a HR. He was in the stands with the ball supposedly in his glove. How do the umps know he didn't drop it and just pick it up? To me if the fielder gets carried over the fence with or without the ball it should be a HR.

It's where the catch occurs that determined the call. If the player catches the ball and leaves the field of play, even when it's an outfield fence, the batter is out, and all runners move up one base. As for the catch, there's nothing to indicate that Shuck dropped the ball. Reminiscent of Sam Rice in the 1925 World Series. He made a similar play and answered the question of whether it was a catch or not in his will.

 

[Mitchrapp]

It's not a matter of how much time a batter takes to get in the box. The guy refused to get in the box when the umpire told him to. That does not happen all the time, and that's why he was rightly rung up.

Did he call him back? I saw him argue the call for second, then step back and take a moment with his gloves etc. I didn't see the ump motion him to get back in..

Maybe I just missed it. But the ump, IMO, made a quick judgement. Its not like the first pitch was close, it was a foot outside. The umps need to realize they aren't the ones people come to see.

It might have been within his discretion, a rule - but the ump messed it up big time.

 

[Thumb]

Watch the video again, he motions 3 times on camera for him to get in the box.

 

[Mitchrapp]

Watch the video again, he motions 3 times on camera for him to get in the box.

Okay, I saw it that time. Twice he motioned but they were awfully quick. I mean, doesn't a player get a moment to collect himself? Under the rule he had transgression but come on..

 

[Thumb]

Okay, I saw it that time. Twice he motioned but they were awfully quick. I mean, doesn't a player get a moment to collect himself? Under the rule he had transgression but come on..

Could have had something to do with the fact the player was staring the umpire down as well the whole time as well.