How Many Ways Can An Umpire Be Wrong?

You might recall a play in our game against SWAT on Wednesday in which one of their batters with an 0-2 count fouled off the next pitch which arced slightly upward and was caught about head high by Darlene. Whether or not it was ruled a foul ball or a foul tip, the batter should have been called out. Instead, the umpire called it a foul ball. We tried to appeal to the umpire but he yelled "FOUL BALL" even louder. I tried one more time to calmly reason with him and again, he yelled even louder, "FOUL BALL!" I knew he was dead wrong on two counts but I didn't make a big issue of it because I didn't want to antagonize him or delay the game. Anyway, this is straight out of the Rules Supplement of the ASA Official Rules of Softball, page 110: 22. FOUL BALL/FOUL TIP The reference of the "height of the batter's head" as it relates to a Foul Ball or Foul Tip no longer applies. This change, instituted in 2006, allows more opportunity for the catcher to obtain "outs" by catching foul batted balls, the same as the first and third base person who is playing closer to home plate. Umpires only need to judge whether the ball moves from the bat "sharply" and "directly" versus a ball that has a perceptible arc and/or if the catcher moves their glove/mitt to catch the ball after contact with the bat. The definition of a foul ball has not changed. However, a foul tip in now defined as a batted ball that goes sharply and directly from the bat to the catcher's glove/mitt or hand and is legally caught by the catcher. It is not a foul tip unless caught and any foul tip that is caught is a strike, and the ball remains live in Fast Pitch and Slow Pitch with stealing. It is not a catch if the ball rebounds off the catcher, unless the ball has first touched the catcher's glove/mitt or hand. Again, a foul tip can only be caught by the catcher. Examples of a foul ball and foul tip follow: A. A foul ball with a "perceptible" arc goes toward the catchers left and the catcher moves their glove/mitt to catch the ball. In this situation, the batter is out and the ball remains live just as it would when any other fielder catches a foul fly ball. B. The foul ball rebounds from the bat with a "perceptible arc" shoulder high and the catcher moves upward with the glove/mitt to make the catch. In this situation, the batter is out and the ball remains live just as it would when any other fielder catches a foul fly ball. C. (Fast Pitch example snipped) Darlene's catch clearly falls under example B and the batter should have been called out. But even if the umpire missed that rule, there is also this: Rule 7, Section 4 - A strike is called by the umpire E. for each foul tip. EFFECT: (Slow Pitch) The ball is dead and the batter is out if it is the third strike. When the SWAT batter fouled a pitch with two strikes and Darlene caught it before it struck the ground, the batter should have been called out whether it was a foul ball or a foul tip. The umpire was wrong. But he was worse than wrong. By shouting us down when we attempted to point out his mistake, he was wrong and arrogant -- not a good combination. I understand the umpire's need to maintain control of the game and keep it from breaking down to a endless stream of arguments. However, we didn't come running in ranting and screaming like a certain team in brightly colored uniforms is prone to do. We approached him calmly and tried to reason with him but he refused to listen. In my eyes, an umpire loses credibility when he does this. If his ego and knowledge of the rules are so fragile that he refuses to be questioned, he shouldn't be umpiring. We're adults and we shouldn't be shouted down like children when we question one of his decisions. When he is dead wrong and we are 100% correct, it only makes it worse. Luckily, this occurred in a lopsided game and the batter struck out on the next pitch. It didn't have any affect on the outcome of the game. Can you imagine how things would have turned out if it had been the tying or winning run in the last inning of a game involving that previously mentioned team in the brightly colored uniforms? Richmond may have been forced to call out the real SWAT team along with the riot squad.