In the sixth (and last) inning of a USSSA 12U Major Super NIT pool game, the Bomberz are mounting a rally against the Titans and have runners on second and third with one out when a new pitcher is called on to relieve and take over on the mound to stop the rally. The relief pitcher quickly shuts down the Bomberz, striking out both batters he faces, and the Titans win the game 8-3. However, following the third strike that ends the game and without any previous incidents, or any warnings, the ump ejected the catcher for what he claimed was “unsportsmanlike conduct.” Two Titan coaches were then thrown out of the game after expressing their bewilderment of the ejection to the ump when he would not (or could not) tell them what specifically the kid did or said that was unsportsmanlike. The kid stands there silent, baffled by what just happened to him. Since this game had just ended, the people ejected by the ump could not participate in the tournament’s next game the following day. Later the tournament director (who had been watching the game and heard no swearing by the catcher nor saw anything close to being interpreted as unsportsmanlike), after consulting with the umpires and the other team’s coaches, reinstated the catcher. But he didn’t reinstate the kid’s coaches, and the team still had the disadvantage of playing their next game of the tournament without either their manager or first base coach. This is an otherwise excellent umpire, but bad blood between him and the kid’s coach had been brewing long before this tournament… and the ump simply misinterpreted what he thought he saw and heard here, and over-reacted before he processed it all.
For those saying the catcher deserved being tossed, batting earlier in the same game, he drove in a run with a shot through the gap and to the wall, but was called out on a bang-bang play at home. No theatrics. No whining. No complaining to the ump. The ump calls him out, the kid accepts the call, gets up, puts on his gear, and goes back out to work behind the plate. Not exactly the sign of what some commenters here say is a “cocky” kid who “mouths off” to the ump and “needs to be taught sportsmanship…” Check it out and see for yourself here: http://youtu.be/IBAiAnRJ3vs
(SloMo version of the tag is here: http://youtu.be/vwfU-CKl6x8)
Then check out the video of the Titan relief pitcher, out on a called third strike when he batted earlier in the top of the same inning. Tight pitch on the inside corner. Call could have gone either way. http://youtu.be/6wz8yvwZYhY
This game was played at Big League Dreams in Manteca, California (near Stockton in the central San Joaquin Valley) on a field that replicates Chicago Cub’s Wrigley Field. The entire infield, including the infield “dirt,” plus the foul areas from in front of the dugouts to the backstop areas behind the plate, is artificial turf, the same turf as installed in the stadiums where MLB teams Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays play, as well as many NFL and college football stadiums. The patches you see around home plate are just that, patches where the turf has worn out and has been replaced. The outfields beyond the infield dirt and their foul areas are natural grass or dirt. The spectators seen in the outfield bleachers are photos of real people, local citizens who have donated support to the Parks and Recreation Dept of the town of Manteca, co-partner with the private company that designed, operates, and manages the town-built facility. There are several other Big League Dreams facilities throughout the country.
http://manteca.bigleaguedreams.com/replica-fields/wrigley-field
