Part XV of Why Youth Sports Umpires and Referees are Calling it Quits!

In a summer all-star-travel team playoff elimination game of fifteen-year olds, two evenly matched teams played a very close game, in front of a large crowd of parents, family and friends. In the bottom of the seventh and final inning, the home team trailed by one run, with two outs and a runner on first. One more out, and their season would end. With two outs and a three and two count the runner on first was stealing, and the batter hit a gap shot to left center, reaching second base with a stand-up-double. The runner from first base, who was off on the pitch, came around to score, tying the game. The home crowd was going crazy as their team had tied the game, and now had the winning run on second base!

One of the umpires noticed that when the batter rounded first base on his way to second, he forgot to do something; to touch first base, which he missed by at least two feet. Surprisingly, none of the fielders or defensive coaches noticed but a spectator in the stands behind first base quickly notified the defensive team’s manager of the missed base. Immediately the manager said to the umpire, “We are appealing that the batter missed first base on his way to second.” The pitcher then threw over to the first baseman, who stepped on first base.

Since the runner on second had missed first base, he became out number three on the appeal, and suddenly, the game everyone thought was tied, with the winning run in scoring position, was now over, as the tying run didn’t count, and in the blink of an eye, the home team had lost the game and was eliminated from the playoffs!

Everyone was stunned, and an angry mom stood up and screamed at the umpires, “C’MON UMPS, YOU CAN’T END A GAME LIKE THAT!”

After shaking hands with the players and coaches, the umpires left the field. No coaches or players had anything to say to the umpires, except for the first base coach of the losing team who admitted to an umpire that his player missed first base. As the umpires passed by some parents who were still in shock, the same vocal mom decided to enlighten the umpires even more. Getting right in the face of the umpire who made the call that ended the game, she screamed, “THE HOME TEAM CAN’T LOSE A GAME BECAUSE OF A CALL LIKE THAT. NOBODY EVER ENFORCES MISSED BASES. THAT WAS THE BIGGEST BUSH LEAGUE CALL I’VE EVER SEEN!”

So it seemed that what this angry mom was essentially saying is that the home team should be allowed to just run by the bases and not be required to touch the bases like the visiting team is required to do. It’s not just the dads who say stupid things, sometimes moms are even worse!

Next time I’ll talk about another Mom who was so upset that she wrote a “short complaint” to the league’s umpire-in-chief alleging that an umpire was biased against her son’s team of nine year olds.

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Randy Corwin is a veteran Massachusetts youth baseball umpire and author of the book, OBNOXIOUS PARENTS AND RUTHLESS COACHES, which is now available at Amazon Books, Barnes and Noble’s online bookstore, and at Escape Into Fiction in Franklin, MA. This post is part fifteen of a series of articles based on the book.