Baseball America on umpiring, more in Clemson-Florida

Jun 10, 2024, 7:08 AM

Baseball America did an analysis of the umpiring decisions and fallout on Sunday: "A lengthy delay followed as the umpires consulted video review to determine if any players left their positions, which is prohibited. Some players had, of course, left their positions. But just one was ejected – Clemson’s Jack Crighton, who had been on base. The dustup happened in front of the Clemson dugout, where he had to go because it was the third out of the inning. He did get right in the thick of the action, but it would be hard to argue he was the only player to have violated the letter of the law...

"I wrote some version of the word 'appear' a couple times in that explanation (a lengthier review of the incidents in the story link). That’s because the umpires did not offer their version of events. The NCAA released a statement from baseball secretary-rules editor Randy Bruns three hours after the game ended, in which he said he had not received 'any specific details' on the ejections in the 13th inning. Meanwhile, NCAA rules prevented Bakich from meeting with the media following the game because he was ejected. That – along with Clemson’s decision not to bring an assistant coach to the press conference – left only the Tigers’ players to explain what happened and obviously they weren’t privy to all the details.

"That is an all-around failure. The NCAA taking three hours to produce a useless statement, in which Bruns still doesn’t have any explanation for the events of the 13th inning, is absurd. If he just wanted to explain why Bakich would be suspended for the ejection, that statement could have been released two minutes after he left the field – it’s not a complicated or obscure rule. Meanwhile, the rule prohibiting coaches from talking after an ejection is at best paternalistic and at worst a systematic way to duck public criticism. I wasn’t on site, so I’m not entirely sure what went into Clemson’s decision not to bring an assistant coach to press conference. What I am sure of is that leaving the business of answering questions about the controversies to the players, some of whom had just seen their college careers end, isn’t fair.

"A lot went wrong Sunday, much of it in the way decisions were communicated, both to the public and to the dugouts. As a journalist, I’m probably more sensitive to those kinds of errors than the average fan, but better communication fosters better trust and relationships between the umpires and coaches, players, media and fans. At this point, the best thing that can come out of it is a thorough evaluation of the rules involved and the process by which they were applied and explained."

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/florida-clemson-deliver-drama-controversy-highlighting-sundays-ncaa-tournament-super-regional-action/

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