Tag! Tag! Tag!
Hello fans,
Tagging up was the most difficult thing to teach for all 41 years of my girls' fastpitch coaching days. Invariably when I ask fellow coaches the question, "What is the hardest thing to teach your players?" the answer is most often tagging up.
I started calling it "The Rule of First Touching" and go on to demonstrate what first touching means.
There were games which cost me hairs on the top of my head that never grew back. In 2000 we were playing Waupun in the Sectional Semi-Final at Sauk Prairie High School. In those days the sectional was a deal where you had to win two games on the same day. It was a great game going throughout. In the sixth inning we had a player at third base with less that two outs and fly ball was hit to left field and deeper than medium depth. My young runner got back when I hollered TAG! She broke our tag rule and peeked at the ball and leftfielder just long enough to take off too early. I had to get her stopped and back to the bag and she did not score.
I know there were people who were thinking and probably saying, "Doesn't he teach them how to tag?"
Of course we tried to teach them but they must demonstrate that they have learned it and it's a tough one to catch onto I guess. Anyway, in the 10th inning the same girl was at third again with less than two dead. She left too soon again and I had to call her back.
We finally won the semi-final in the 11th inning but had to play the title game immediately and I mean immediately -- as in 15 minutes. The winner of the other game had been finished for more than an hour and a half as they won by 10 or more in five innings. My pitcher had just thrown 11 innings. it was a hot day and she ran out of gas. We gave up a few in the top of the first and never recovered.
Calling it the Rule of First Touching and hammering the rule and the technique we worked on did the trick thereafter ( but I have another sour story about tagging up for you tomorrow night).
There were some great games statewide today. Take a look at the wissports scores page and digest all those game scores.
Lst night's Bulletin promised an umpire story about what a strike is. Here it is.
Four umpires were sitting around a table having breakfast at an umpire educational clinic. One umpire was a hot-shot Little League and Babe Ruth level umpire. Another one was a high school umpire while a third one was a college umpire. The fourth umpire was a major league fella who had umpired four or five world series.
The Major league ump said to theother three,"So when is a pitch a called strike when you fellas are working the plate?"
The Little League umpired answered,"It's a strike when the ball is between the knees and the letters and on the black and maybe a little wider" (He is referring to the River).
And you he asked as he pointed at the high school umpire. The answer was, "It's as strike when the the top of the ball is level with the letteers and the bottom of the knee cap and on the white, no black."
The Major league umpires nods his head and points at the college umpire and says,"And you?" The answer was, "Well I give a little on the inside and some on the outside and not much up top and a little at the bottom and on the black or very close to it."
There was a pause and the Major league ump took a swig of coffee and sat silently. The Little League umpire then asked the MLB ump, "Wo when is a pitch a strike when you work a game?
The Major League Umpire said, "It's a strike when I yell STRIKE!"
I think too many Little League, Youth League, Travel League level, and high school umpires must have been told that same story somwhere along the line.
If you are looking for the rankings go to the High School tab, click on Rankings and a 2021 will appear to the right in a dropdown box. Click on the 2021 box.
That's it for the night!
Keep it Rising!
Bob
Tag(s): Bulletins
