At the TOC this past January, our infield completed a nice double play to end the inning (or so we thought). After our first baseman caught the throw from 2nd to complete the play, he did a little dance move and flipped the ball back toward out dugout. Seeing this, the umpire extended his arms out in the same signal you see in football, said "Unsportsmanlike conduct!" and ruled the hitter safe at first as the penalty. Even assuming that the showboating was uncalled for, did the ump make the correct call here?

The umpire, unfortunately, made up an imaginary rule on the fly and then misapplied it for reasons unknown ... It neither fits the definition of unsportsmanlike conduct (Rulebook §15.6) nor is there any such "safe call" remedy available to him ... We regret this happened and encourage you to summon a Tournament Director should it happen again ...

Thanks Dave, and no worries: Our team did not argue with the ump, and the next batter hit another grounder to end the inning, so the erroneous call didn't really matter. The ball doesn't lie lol!