Thanks to Pete Dufour for this creative adjustment to the sample email sent to coaches and event management
To all umpires – considering all the rain we have been getting in drought-ridden California, please use the following modifications in your email to the Coach or Event Management which you send a week before your assigned game.
Dear Coach/Event Manager _____,
This letter is to confirm your umpires for your double header with _______ on _____. Due to record rainfall and flooding in drought-stricken California we are all a little frustrated at not being able to play games. We understand that some fields are under water. So, we will make some adjustments and try and get all the games in. We are floating the following temporary rule changes by the NCAA…
-
We will arrive by canoe at least 90 minutes before your game to check in with you and see where we change into our wet suits.
-
The plate conference will now take place ON TOP of the dugout.
-
Bat lists MUST be laminated.
A few more things.
-
Water wings, if worn, must be of solid school colors.
-
If the pitcher puts anything on the contact points of her hand to improve her grip, it will be appreciated.
-
Safety first. Sharks and crocodiles constitute an immediate dead ball. If you see something, say something.
-
Snorkel attachments to batting helmets must be NOCSAE approved.
-
Please have 24 dozen game balls ready.
-
Electric blankets in the dugouts are not advisable, especially if you really have dugouts.
-
To speed up play, the strike zone is from the sternum to the knees…or water line, whichever comes first.
-
The batters’ boxes are now 3×7 cubic feet.
-
The strike/out signal will be given by the hand not holding our umbrella; the safe signal will be a waving of the umbrella
In addition:
-
If you must come out to talk to the umpires, please adhere to the “no-splash” rule.
-
Cameras are not allowed in dugout areas, but fishing poles and scuba gear are.
-
Due to slippery conditions,the look-back rule is being modified, but to be clear, no “Marco…Polo” nonsense either!
-
Umpires may wear swimming goggles…not that it will help.
-
For safety precautions we are re-instituting a three foot swimming lane.
-
A batter-runner doing the backstroke between home and first is immediately called out.
-
Leaving early…we should all be thinking in these terms
-
The concussion rule has been extended to include hypothermia. Do you know the signs
Finally, rules regarding fair/foul are more like guidelines. But to clarify, fowls on the field will be handled with these auxiliary rules:
-
If a batted ball hits fowl, it probably cannot be revived. (Check the Fish and Game website…).
-
If there are ducks on the pond, we play on.