After tonight's suspended game, I talked at length with the umpiring crew (a group of about six or seven umpires from the various fields) about some of the balk and other warnings issued to our team during the game.
Although I'm convinced that their interpretation of the rules is incorrect under Official Baseball Rules ("OBR"), the umpires contend that Homer utilizes Official Pony League Rules. They claim that all of these points of contention are issues that are interpreted differently under these Pony League Rules.
OYA uses Official Baseball Rules--with just a few exceptions for obvious items such as the continuous batting order and smaller field dimensions. So, it is possible that the Pony League Rules that these umpires refer to differ from OBR--although I doubt it very much.
I'm told that the umpires will bring their Pony League rule book with them on Saturday to show me the rules that they are siting. For example, they claim that not only is it a balk for the pitcher to not take signs from the catcher--but that the consequence is that the batter is awarded first base! Yet, Scott Ehret, the author of the "Umpire's Guide" writes that "...nothing in the rulebook prevents the pitcher from taking signs from his catcher, coach, father or favorite pet..." There were so many other strange intepretations of the rules that it felt like they were speaking an entirely different language!
The $50 challenge isn't always an effective option either. If the umpire wins, he keeps my $50. If the umpire loses, I get my $50 back. That doesn't sound like much of a bet.
2011 Chicagoland Tournament Champions & 2011 Lombard Tournament Champions!
