My son was robbed of a homerun in little league today!

[Felicia]

OK Little League parents... tell me what you think:

My 11 yo son plays Little League in the 'majors' division. There are 10,11 and 12 yo's on this team. No one on our team has had a homerun this year.

During today's game, our team was leading 8 to 5 and my son got up to bat. Well..... he hit that ball so hard that if flew right over the center field fence. Homerun, right? He rounds the bases with his hands in the air and his teammates are at homeplate waiting for him. He is so excited and goes to the dugout. The umpire then calls our manager over and explains that the other team is appealing the homerun because they (the other team) say my son didn't touch 2nd base. Umpire says he didn't see it, but they continue to complain. Our coaches argue back that he did touch it and what does the umpire do?????? He said my son was 'out' because he didn't touch 2nd base!!!!! Even my son says he touched the base. These are paid official umpires so we (parents) are not 'allowed' to argue with them.

I am so confused about this! EVERYONE that was there kept saying "it's disgusting", "he was robbed", etc. It clearly was a homerun because the ball ended up in the woods way behind center field! My son feels terrible, and so do I, about this. It put such a dark cloud over what should have been the most exciting thing for him.

The homeplate ump that came in for the next game even said to me "It is little league. Not the big time, I would have given it to him."

We play this same team on Wednesday 6/1 and I pray my son hits another homer. Your prayers are welcome too!!!!!

 

[mrFDNY]

i agree it's little league should have given it to him.tell your son at least he hit it over the fence and that counts in my books!!!well just my opinon i think it should have been countied its little league not the world series. well good luck in the next game vs them slugger!

 

[minkydog]

Tell your son that this is one of those painful growing up experiences where how he reacts to the situation tells more about his character than the fact taht he hit a home run. As unfair as it seems, I hope you help him swallow his pride and acknowlege that the umps ruling stands. Help him not to grouse about it or dwell on the unfairness of it all. He knows he can hit a homer--he did it! If you can help him to be a man about it (at age 11) it will help him grow in ways you cannot even imagine.

A painful life lesson indeed...

 

[mulgar]

Hi
I was a little league dad and umpire.
Now I have a graduating senior that just got finished with the State high school tourny and is right into American Legion Ball also a freshman that plays both.

In my opinion:
You have to enforce the rules of the game that is what makes baseball such a great sport.
But from what your post says the umpire said that they did not see if your son touched the base or not.
In that case the batter should be awarded the homerun.
The only way the umpire can call a baserunner out for missing a base is if they actually see that runner NOT touch the base in all cases the runner is given the benifit of the doubt.

Tell your son that I am trully sorry the homer was taken away, but that there will be more and in the case of a homerun to take his time and really stomp on the bases so everyone will know he hit them all.

 

[RyMickey]

I agree with Mulgar that the rules have to be enforced, but like he said, since the ump didn't actually see the "contested incident," he should've let it go.

Bummer for your son! But, I have a feeling this'll just make him want to hit another one "out of the park" the next time he's up to bat top prove that he can do it!

 

[bettyann29]

I truly feel sorry for your son because I know exactly what you mean.. My son who is 11 is currently playing in the championships and at their game last week my son was called out and he shouldnt have been.. He hit the ball and got on first.. he stole base to second.. the next kid came up to bat and they caught his ball.. my son was running to third base and the kid on the other team on third base got the ball from one of his teammates and stepped on third base.. my son slid into third and was never touched.... and the ump called him out.. in order for him to be out they have to touch him.. not touch the base.. there is 2 umps because its playoffs.. the other ump called him safe at the same time the other one called him out.. they talked amongst theirselves and then they said he was out.. How can he be out if the kid did not touch him??? My son was extremely upset and I havent seen him this upset before but I told him that there is nothing he can do about it.. there are going to be bad calls.. I see bad calls against the other teams all the time, but what can you do?? By the way, there were 3 bad calls made in this game last week against our team, and there were parents in the stand that were verbalizing how they felt and were almost thrown out of the stands..

Its a lesson they have to learn.. I even told my son that this is not the majors.. this is kids league, but they need to learn that this is one of the lessons in life..

They lost that game and went on to the next round Friday as this is a double elimination and won against that same team.. They go to the championships on Monday!!! So they will either get first or second place in the city in their division.. which I have told my son is an accomplishment in itself..

 

[Martha7]

You guys need to start videotaping the games, and then you can show the ump the "instant replay" when needed. It's very tedious to tape an entire game, (I know, I've done it!), but you could tape your child's at-bats at least. Just a dumb idea, but if you feel the umps are favoring another team, it might be worth it. Good luck with it! We had to drop out of little league when my son started the sixth grade, since the practices and games went so late and he had so much homework! I also resented the way the Dads would yell at the kids and ruin the fun for them, but then that's just me...

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Let's keep it all in persepective. On one hand they should give it to the kid it is JUST a game(was a LL parent for 12 yrs) on the other hand you child has been given a valuable lesson life is NOT always fair . He has two choices, get on with it OR dwell on it and be miserable over a GAME!! My experience w/ LL is that it is way too intense for what it is supposed to be. My first son had great coaches and treated the game and the kids with respect He played for 10 years. My second son had frustrated middle aged men living vicariously though their children as coaches and lasted he lasted only 5 years.
Bottom line....IT IS A GAME.
VIDEO TAPE GAMES!!?? That is exactly what I mean when I say kids have too much pressure put on them about winning.

 

[mulgar]

This is turning into a great discussion.
Just want to say that the bottom line with any GAME is that it is supposed to be fun.
When I was young back in the days of wooden bats, and metal spikes we had just as much fun putting a game together at the local park as we did when we played organized ball.
The pick up games biggest problem was, how do you get your only baseball back from the old folks across the street.
That is what is missing.
I have been blessed that my two boys are very good baseball players, but sometimes I know that as hard as I try I push them too hard.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I think you need to calm down, take a deep breath, and realize this is just a game. Little League, no less. This snafu is not going to ruin is life.

 

[kasar]

Here's the other side of the coin: (Now, let me say that girls' softball, while I complain that the parents don't care as much as they do about their sons' Little League games, are at least much more civilized) My DD has hit a couple of home runs this year and the coaches know her and they always move their players back when she gets up. Last week she hit a beautiful homer that went over the outfielders heads and since we don't have a fence in the outfield, the fielder had to run for it giving DD a chance to easily run the bases. After our team had celebrated the coach from the other team quietly came over and privately told DD that she missed 1st base. He wasn't going to protest the HR but he just wanted her to know for the future. Now that I've read the OP, I realize just how classy that coach was. DD was a bit miffed but we explained to her just how he COULD have protested her homer and she would have been out.

How exciting for your son that he hit a home run (his first?)! Seems to me that the adults in the league would have let this one go.

By the way "Sports Moms and Dads" starts this week on Bravo. Maybe that coach should watch!

 

[cgcw]

I feel sorry for your son. Yes, a tough lesson that life isn't fair but that doesn't mean it makes him feel better.

We had a problem a couple weeks back. We were the home team, up to bat last and just 2 runs behind. We scored 1. The other coach started going balistic on his players -- yelling and screaming that they needed to get their act together. Our player comes running across home plate, the ump calls him safe. The other team's coach as well as some of the parents get into the umpires face (a teenage kid, no less). Moment later, the other team is cheering because the ump changed his ruling and said our player was out.

Our coach encouraged all of the parents to contact our league commissioner. We did. I personally spoke to the umpire commissioner who was going to watch the other teams game that night to see for himself the intimidating going on with his umpires. I heard that the coach of the other team was "under investigation".

We've always been told that the umpires decision is the umpires decision - regardless of whether we agree with it or not. Sometimes, we moan and groan about a call but never to the point where anyone is arguing with the umpire. The umps we use are teenagers. As hard as it is, I always tell my DS that although his call might have been unfair or a bad call, the umpire makes those same type of calls on not only his teammate but the other team as well.


kasar, what an awesome story!

Felicia, even though the homer didn't count, your son knows he still hit it and that's what really matters. Hope he does it again this week!!

 

[Laurajean1014]

This happens a lot in hockey, but hockey isn't as political as baseball, in my area.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Wow, that stinks! An ump didn't see it? No ump on 2nd?

Well, next time when he hits it over the fence, he'll have plenty of time to jump up and down on EACH base to make sure everyone sees he touched them!!

Congrats to him on the hit!!!!

 

[Skywalker]

We play this same team on Wednesday 6/1 and I pray my son hits another homer. Your prayers are welcome too!!!!!

Really, no offence, but I think I will save my prayers for more important things.

 

[zurgswife]

Life lessons....Life isn't fair, It's only a game, if you hit it out of the park;go around the bases slow enough that everybody see you touch each base...

 

[ladycollector]

Really, no offence, but I think I will save my prayers for more important things.

Was that really neccesary?

Next time when your son hits it over the fence, (hopefully playing the same team!!) have him jump up and down on the bases and smile.

 

[tubaman]

A similar thing happend while I played Little League. This guy who was at the time around 5' 10" hit one over the fence. Well it was foul, from my view. But my mom told me to not complain because hitting it over the fence is a big accomplishment basically. This outfield has to be the deepest LL outfield I have ever seen. My dad is on the town council thingy, so we got fairly tall fowl poles put on all 3 fields, to help avoid confusion.

 

[KirstenB]

Kasar, I'm the assistant coach for our dd's Darlings team. Most of the coaches react the same way the other coach did in y'all's situation. I love the way our head coach will take time to help out the opposing team's players, giving them encouragement, and little hints. He's been coaching a long time, so he knows most of the kids. I love that the coaches set a high standard of grace and conduct for the girls, so they can see grownups at their best, and hopefully learn from experience.

 

[Missy1961]

I do think the other team's coach was a sore loser, but I think your son & his team should also remember that this is just a game, they did win and he did hit it far enough to be a home run. You might want to remind your son that this has happened to major league players as well. In fact, this happened to Robin Ventura when he hit a grand slam homer in a playoff game in 1999. Actually, his teammate hugged him before he could touch second, and since the Mets had scored the game winning run (the score had been tied) he was credited only with a single.