‘Loading the Softball’ Discussion Amongst Other Things

by Bob Henning

These are my personal views and are not the 'official' views of any softball organizations, associations, leagues or any individuals. Also be aware that what you are about to read is just being spewed on my keyboard and won't all be in a cohesive form. It's just random thoughts I am throwing out.

You have received and read the response from the Softball BC Provincial Umpire-in-Chief Michael Track with respect to the 'official' by the Softball Canada rule book response which stated that NO FOREIGN SUBSTANCE is allowed on the ball.

There have been many illegal attempts throughout my 37 years of umpiring softball to load the softball with sticky substances to improve the grip. I have probably seen it all and often shake my head when I see it applied. But what do I know? I don't have to hurl the ball at a high rate of speed. I just need to see the ball clearly to judge pitches. So do the hitters……………. That brings me to a method that I personally have tried to use. That is to 'officiate' the game rather than 'umpire' the game. You may ask 'What's the difference?"

A classic example would be a tie ball game, bottom of the seventh inning, two outs and a full count on the batter. Here comes the pitch! An umpire 'umpiring' will call the pitch as he sees it regardless of the situation. He may call ball four on a borderline, questionable pitch and the entire game will have been decided by that one ball/strike call.

An umpire 'officiating' will know that to be fair, he is much better off to call ANY borderline, questionable pitch a strike and let the teams decide the game in extra innings, rather than the umpire 'umpiring' deciding the game on the one borderline, questionable pitch.

Yes, many may say that the rules prevent an umpire from 'officiating' the game................I disagree................Why? Because the majority of participants know that it is the only really 'fair' way to handle that situation.

That brings me back to the 'loading the softball' question you presented. And of course, it appears to me that in 80% of cases, it is only occurring in men's fastball. There is occasional use at the junior level and I even remember seeing gak on the ball in some senior women’s games. It also is occurring quite often just recently in women’s college softball and I’ll discuss that a little later.

Many pitchers refuse sticky balls and can't stand junk on the ball. That does create a problem in a ball game because those pitcher's are 'entitled by the rules' to a clean ball. And because in local and league games, we are usually limited to two, three, maybe four balls a game, this causes the umpire to manage the balls a bit differently, trying to keep a clean ball available at all times for that pitcher.

Without naming any names, I can remember pitchers putting junk on the ball in the late 1960's all the way to present day. They have used their favorite concoction of 'pine tar', hair spray, taping spray, liquid glue, mosquito repellent (with those that have Deet being the stickiest), honey, soda pop, everyday gak, junk and now a product widely available that you refer to called 'Gorilla Gold'.

Why do pitchers use like to load the softball? Well I'm sure if you asked them they would elaborate a lot more and probably be able to attempt to justify their use of it. One of the obvious reasons is a much better grip on the ball.

In the 70's and 80's, the covers on some of the softballs were so slippery that umpires welcomed balls that were a bit 'tacky'. And from a safety standpoint, here in BC where we get a lot of rain, moisture and wet grass from dew the balls always get slippery.

Those that have been hit by the small, white, wildly thrown, high velocity projectiles know that the ball can do some big time damage. As umpires, even with all the gear on, the pill seems to find it's way to ankle bones, hands, forearms, thighs and anywhere else it decides to go.

One game last year at Moody Park I was hit six times; four were untouched by the catcher. It happens and good umpires, much like the players, must umpire without the fear of getting hit. It's just part of the game :-( So when I have slippery softballs in a game affected by moisture, I would rather tolerate the junk on the balls for the safety of the players and the game............... Is that legal?......... No!................... Do I have the right to 'not see it'? ..............Yes! ............Umpires tend 'not to see' lots of things unless they are pointed out to us. But then there are pitchers that load the softball even with balls that do have decent grip.

That is an entirely different problem and as an umpire 'officiating' rather than 'umpiring', I have much less tolerance for the junk on the ball in these situations. Is that legal?............No! ................Do I have the right to handle the situation differently? No...........Do I do it anyway?........ Yes!

Every umpire is different when it comes to adjudicating the rule of substance on the ball. And every organization, association, and league seems to handle the situation with different levels of tolerance. Is that legal?..........No.............Is it done?...............Yes!

Personally, I do not allow the softballs to become 'hard to see'? What do I mean by that?......................During night games at parks with poor lighting, if I have to struggle to see a pitch then I know the batter is also at a disadvantage. What can I do about it?........I remove the ball and ask the providers of the balls to clean them up...........I also tell the pitcher that I don't want to see anymore junk on the ball. Sometimes seeing where the junk is coming from is not easy..............in fact impossible to detect...............but I ask my partner(s) to keep their eyes open and try to spot the source.

I have seen it applied by various infielders, usually at third base but am also aware of the pitchers putting the junk on themselves. Is that legal? No!..........What should I do? The rules state to warn once and then eject the pitcher. Is that what the players want? Have I done that before?...............Yes! ..........Is it a popular move?............No.

Should we just eject every pitcher that puts anything on the ball? Should we eject the managers and/or coaches? Should we just forfeit the games? So why the discussion about 'Loading the Softball'? It's because it has become 'part of the game’ whether we like it or not.

One other problem, one that umpires do not like to discuss in public (only amongst themselves) is the consistency of enforcement. Consistency in individual umpiring is the secret to success..........however consistency amongst all umpires is really impossible to attain.

We try hard but every umpire is a bit different in the way they work and that is really impossible to change because we don’t get a chance to work together that often. Are the players consistent? Coaches? Is anyone? No! We all try…..but…………. As umpires, we strive to enforce all the rules and not be selective about which ones we enforce.

But individuals all interpret rules a bit differently. One example I can offer is Bet Your Life Calls! What are those? Those are calls such as a base runner leaving a base too soon before the ball leaves the pitcher's hand. What do I mean by that? Well............the way I interpret the rule is that any base runner that leaves the base before the ball leaves the pitcher's hand is out for a leadoff.

How can I attempt to 'never be wrong'? Well, I define that by saying that if I am 70%, 80% even 90% sure the runner was away early, I won't call them out. It's a Bet Your Life Call......... I must be 100% certain that the runner left early or I just let them go. I will ask Milt to post an article I wrote and one that is in every Softball BC Umpire Refresher manual distributed in the province at the end of this article.

It was mentioned by another writer that umpires apply the rules differently because of local and league requests. I really have never had any leagues put anything in writing but there are some unwritten principals that become apparent the more games you work in a particular league or ball yard.

Yes, at Canadian Championships it is said that none of this will be tolerated.....................Is it? Yes, but it is controlled efficiently...................But how?

Because you have the same 12-16 umpires working together for an 8-10 day championship, those umpires, with instructions from their UIC and DUIC, discuss enforcement quite often and really try hard to be consistent.

Loading the ball is illegal by the rules at Canadian Championships but the crews 'officiate' the championship by doing what is best for the game.............Will you ever see that in writing? No!.................Is it true?..............Yes!

If you could look at the used balls in the umpire's dressing room you would see that they all have some kind of 'junk' on them, but are hardly ever seen as really bad. Occasionally one really black one that was pulled out of a game shows up and the UIC/DUIC ask a lot of questions.

It is our job to keep the championships FAIR at all times.................and believe me we try............... Some pitchers use way too much and the balls actually stick to your hand. I instantly remove those balls and attempt to get them cleaned up.

These pitchers load a bunch of 'black pine tar” almost every inning and place it on a black spot on or somewhere on or in their gloves. They fool no one and I always tell the catchers to ask the pitchers to stop. Usually pitchers cooperate.

If they don't, there are other ways to deal with them :-) Ball, ball, ball, ball………… lol In New Zealand and Australia, the balls all seemed to be much cleaner for years..................but that is slowly changing as well.................In fact I have seen the use of junk occurring there much more often.

The ISC had a decent tolerance for many years and then decided to crack down on the 'black balls' in 2002 at the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario World Tournament. Umpires were instructed to warn the offending player once and if the junk continued to be applied, we were to eject the manager.

Well that didn't go over to well as one very famous world class manager from a top-three team said that his pitcher wouldn't listen to him. That manager told me once to eject his pitcher - not him. The ISC later agreed and now we are instructed to remove all balls if they become too dark.

Actually, all organizations want dark, loaded balls removed if the substance is illegal. The ISC decided to legally allow pitchers to use a very sticky rag called Gorilla Gold. This is a clear pine tar substance that doesn’t make the balls black. It is a clear ‘pine tar’.

In fact, the ISC supplied the teams with a decent supply at the umpire’s meeting. The Gorilla Gold was to be left in the pitcher's circle at all times, unless it was raining or wet in which case the players were allowed to keep it in their rear pocket.

The ISC isn't the only organization that allows the use of Gorilla Gold. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has also approved the substance. Obviously they must see a need for it to be used.

Is it a safety issue? Yes, of course................ And because these organizations allow the use of it, as an umpire that 'officiates' softball, I try to manage the 'loading of the softball' in a way that is fair and good for all those involved in the game. Best that it doesn’t happen………………right! Only in your dreams...