By GREG TUFARO • STAFF WRITER • April 7, 2010
A controversial call at the end of a high school baseball game whose outcome could determine the Greater Middlesex Conference White Division title left South Plainfield head coach Anthony Guida with no recourse.
An umpire's incorrect ruling in the final at-bat of South Plainfield's 6-5 loss to Monroe. Monday may lead conference officials to review a blanket rule which forbids coaches in Guida's position from protesting.
"I think that we should at least have dialogue so that this does not happen again," said GMC Baseball Committee Chairman Jerry Smith Sr., the athletics director at St. Joseph who is considering raising the issue with his peers.
"We want all games decided on the field, not through a rule that was misinterpreted at the time."
Article 7, Section 1 of the NJSIAA handbook, adopted by the GMC, states "protests based upon officials' judgment or misinterpretation (application) of the playing rules will not be honored."
The NJSIAA rule essentially trumps the entire National Federation baseball rule book, to which GMC schools also adhere, by allowing any incorrect call in a game to stand.
According to a Home News Tribune poll, 22 of 25 GMC baseball coaches who responded to a question regarding umpire misinterpretation of playing rules favor being allowed to protest a nonjudgment call.
NJSIAA Associate Director Larry White, who oversees baseball in the state, said changing Article 7, Section 1 requires a member school making that recommendation to the NJSIAA executive committee, which would review and vote on the proposal.
"I don't necessarily agree with (the no-protest rule)," said Bill Kilduff, a veteran umpire with 32 years of experience and the GMC's umpire assigner.
"I think there should be some recourse if it affects the outcome of the game, but I also understand the rational behind it and why they have that rule in high school because there's a lot of things involved in hearing a protest."
Kilduff said the expense and logistics involved in reviewing calls make hearing protests impractical.
He said pitching regulations, scheduling, travel, injuries and other intangibles would make reverting a high school baseball game back to the inning in question following a reversed call virtually impossible.
Teams on all playing levels are prohibited from protesting judgment calls such as close plays at the plate, but are permitted on some levels, including the Major Leagues to protest a misinterpretation of playing rules such as that which came in the final at-bat of Monroe's victory.
South Plainfield's Matt Cesare, a four-year starter who singled in each of his two previous trips, stepped to the plate with runners on first and second and two away in the top of the seventh. After Cesare took a first-pitch strike, Monroe head coach Greg Beyer told the plate umpire Cesare was wearing a necklace in violation of National Federation rules. Beyer argued Cesare should be removed from the game.
The rule regarding the wearing of jewelry, however, states in part: "At the end of the playing action, the umpire shall issue a warning to the coach of the team involved and the next offender on that team shall be ejected."
Instead of issuing a warning, the umpire removed Cesare, a first-offender, from the game. Cesare's successor in the batter’s box, Simon Diaz, making his first varsity plate appearance, struck out to end the contest.
Cesare may not have kept the rally alive against hard-throwing closer Keith Sanchez, who retired three of the last four batters by strikeout. However, according to the rules, Cesare should have had an opportunity to finish his at-bat.
Beyer said he believed Monroe's chances of winning were greater with Cesare on the bench.
"I'm going to take any advantage I can to win a game," Beyer said, "especially in that situation."
Unlike some, who criticized Beyer for not allowing the contest to be decided by the game's best players, Guida said he had no problem with the Monroe coach invoking a frivolous rule to influence the outcome.
"That's part of the (game)," Guida said, "and it's heads up on (Beyer's) part to see it and make it his way."
Without a rulebook handy to prove the plate umpire wrong, Guida had no recourse but to accept the ruling and insert a new batter. He could not protest the call because of Article 7, Section 1.
"I would lay odds, very good odds, that there's been a lot worse decisions made than that that have cost people games, not only in this county, but across the state, where you have other scenarios and you can't protest," Kilduff said.
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