Rowdy Fan

[JaxRolo]

Had the Plate at a Varsity game. Last night.

 

I'll preface with saying that I felt really good. Maybe missed 2-3 pitches all night. No complaints from either coaching staff who are know to be complainers.

 

It was all good except for this one older gentleman who was sitting on the stands behind home plate in the back row about 25-30 rows up.

 

Right from the first inning anytime I called a strike on any of his teams batter he would make comments. "Umpire is Blind" , "umpire is out of position", "Umpire needs a new job" "Umpire doesn't need to be on this field"

 

I do not normally have rabbit ears. But he was driving me nuts. This was all in the first inning.

 

Moving forward to 2nd inning. First strike I call. "This is the worst Umpire I have ever seen"

 

I call time. Go to Home team HC and ask him to get School Management and keep the guy quiet. 

 

No more problems for the rest of the game till the game was over and we our walking to our cars. The guy is now following us and starts saying crap again. We ignore it. He continues.

We normally park way away from fans except this particular school where we have to park right along the fans. Well he happened to be parked right next to us. But could not just get in the car and leave. He had to continue his tirade. The was a policeman on site so I called him over and asked him to ask the guy to leave. Then the guys went of 'I have a lot of money and I'm going to sue this umpires, bla, bla ,bla. He was asked to leave he finally did.

 

 

Felt my choices were limited to what I could do. Any suggestions?

[Thunderheads]

call a better game?!

[JaxRolo]

call a better game?!

Sure I will try to miss 1-2 instead of 2-3 

[Thunderheads]

 

call a better game?!

Sure I will try to miss 1-2 instead of 2-3 

 

Haaa! J/K!!

 

seriously ..... you probably did the best thing, ..just keeping quiet.  Better than I would have been because, jawing at me after I've left a HS event means, I have no jurisdiction, which means the games over, and basically, ...I'm just "Joe Citizen" at that point ...and I'd probably say what I really felt .....

 

good job of restraint

[Mad Mike]

Ask him if you can come to his work and complain about his work product.

 

Seriously, I think you handled it very professionally. The guy probably behaves like this towards every umpire he encounters.....you know the type, "I paid my five bucks admission so I can say whatever I want". These types of hecklers usually want to draw the umpire into an argument so they can show their true genius to everyone around. Good that you did not take the bait!

[blue23ll]

Whatever you say, you will be misunderstood, misquoted and ignored. So, don't say anything to him.

 

Congrats on your varsity game, work to get better!! 

[JaxRolo]

Whatever you say, you will be misunderstood, misquoted and ignored. So, don't say anything to him.

 

Congrats on your varsity game, work to get better!! 

 

It's like I told someone else. In my 4 years in this association my assignor has never seen me umpire nor have I had an official evaluation. So it was probably just a scheduling error.  

[grayhawk]

My only advice:

 

HAYMAKER!

[BigUmpire]

Please define " older gentleman"

[JaxRolo]

Please define " older gentleman"

In his late 60's with a cane.

 

I may have been able to outrun him had he attacked me.

[Lala]

Well, had he attacked, it's a good thing you had the gear on. But I think grayhawk is on to something...as the old saying goes, "actions speak louder than words."

[ricka56]

Didn't you build your own AR-15 ?

[MB_Ump]

Well, had he attacked, it's a good thing you had the gear on. But I think grayhawk is on to something...as the old saying goes, "actions speak louder than words."

If you are already at the car, take the time to grab the tire iron. They take a beating better than your mask and are cheaper to replace. If he is really old then just grab his cane and toss it over the fence. It will take one of those slow movers all day to go fetch it, giving you plenty of time to get changed. ;)

[JaxRolo]

I got an email from the HC the next day.

 

Gave me complements on a job well done and the way I handled the whole thing.

[blue23ll]

I got an email from the HC the next day.

 

Gave me complements on a job well done and the way I handled the whole thing.

How did the HC get your email?

[JaxRolo]

 

I got an email from the HC the next day.

 

Gave me complements on a job well done and the way I handled the whole thing.

How did the HC get your email?

 

Don't know.   Arbiter?

 

I do know that the AD's (some of the baseball coaches are also the AD) are provided a list of all the Umpires. Do not know what information is on that list.

[stl_ump]

Guys like that deserve the "look", a shake of the head and a chuckle that they can hear.  Drives 'em crazy.

[MadMax]

@JaxRolo - He was probably the umpire assigned to this game, but when it was discovered he is a ballplayer's grandpa, he was recused from this game and forced to watch from the stands.

 

25 rows up? Man, you've got big stadiums. And you've got excellent hearing.

[JaxRolo]

This guy could be heard out in the parking lot!

[BigUmpire]

Guys like that deserve the "look", a shake of the head and a chuckle that they can hear.  Drives 'em crazy.

Exactly.

Laugh in his face, LOUDLY!

[blue23ll]

 

 

I got an email from the HC the next day.

 

Gave me complements on a job well done and the way I handled the whole thing.

How did the HC get your email?

 

Don't know.   Arbiter?

 

I do know that the AD's (some of the baseball coaches are also the AD) are provided a list of all the Umpires. Do not know what information is on that list.

 

The absolute last thing I want is my contact info being given to schools, AD's or coaches.  

[Mike Prince]

The last thing I am going to do is bait someone who is losing it, especially at me.  Ignore the idiot and be ready to protect yourself should he decide to escalate things.  Witty comebacks will seldom have a good outcome in a situation like this, best to keep your mouth shut as this sounds like someone trying to get under your skin and get you to react in a way that will come back to get you.

 

I would be concerned about anyone at a game other than my partner having easy access to my contact information.

[grayhawk]

I got an email from the HC the next day.

Gave me complements on a job well done and the way I handled the whole thing.

How did the HC get your email?

Don't know. Arbiter?

I do know that the AD's (some of the baseball coaches are also the AD) are provided a list of all the Umpires. Do not know what information is on that list.

The absolute last thing I want is my contact info being given to schools, AD's or coaches.

In our association, it's the plate umpire's responsibility to contact the coach and AD a couple of days before the game via email to confirm the game particulars. I always provide my cell number as well in case they need to get in touch for a last minute cancellation or rainout. I think they have access to contact info in Arbiter anyway.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Thunderheads]

 

 

 

 

I got an email from the HC the next day.

Gave me complements on a job well done and the way I handled the whole thing.

How did the HC get your email?

 

Don't know. Arbiter?

I do know that the AD's (some of the baseball coaches are also the AD) are provided a list of all the Umpires. Do not know what information is on that list.

 

The absolute last thing I want is my contact info being given to schools, AD's or coaches.

 

In our association, it's the plate umpire's responsibility to contact the coach and AD a couple of days before the game via email to confirm the game particulars. I always provide my cell number as well in case they need to get in touch for a last minute cancellation or rainout. I think they have access to contact info in Arbiter anyway.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

That's all taken care of here in Michigan via Arbiter and your assignor.....  last minute cancellations are sent via phone call from your assignor....