Umpire in Chief

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Sunday I had an adult wooden bat league game.

It started as a blow out then the other team decided to play, But a good game overall, fun, no bad attitudes.

It was the 6th inning, we'd had good pitching all day. Typical fastball, change-up & curve pitches all game long.

With 2 outs and 2 strikes comes this beautiful knuckleball dancing in, middle of the thighs, center of the plate.

I do my typical chainsaw K3 mechanic. The batter was just shaking his head as he walked away.

After the game a coach was asking a general rules question to my partner and me. That batter walked up and said, "You didn't have to punch me out like that. I was already packing up my bat, heading to the dugout."

We laughed. He said he didn't recognize it until it was too late. And all the guys were F-ing with me after that.

Our umpires will be happy to answer your rules related questions, but here are some ground rules:

1. Identify the rule set you are playing under. The three most common are:

A. Official Baseball Rules (OBR) - Played by MLB

i. Pony - plays under modified OBR rules

ii. Little League - Plays under modified OBR rules

iii. Ripken, Babe Ruth, etc.

iv. USSSA

v. Dixie

Vi. Nations Baseball

B. National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) aka Federation rules

i. High Schools

ii. Middle schools

iii. AAU

C. NCAA

2. Give the situation

A. Outs

B. Base runners

C. Extenuating situations

You will get a number of answers some could contradict each other, but we will get you the correct answer in the end.

Keep emotion out of it. In the words of Joe Friday "Just the facts"

I'd like to get a new rule in baseball at all levels. There have been nearly endless calls lately to "put the umpires in check", "Keep umpires from ruining the game" etc...

But one thing I've noticed lately is that players are loosing their class about calls they disagree with weather correct as Bellino vs. Avilis just yesterday where Bellino was absolutely correct or in Miller vs Lawrie where Miller absolutely wrong.

Players are just coming unhinged at the littlest of things. Maybe it's the 'roids (j/k, or am I???) But maybe it is just the continual decline in sportsmanship at the professional level.

Look at the NBA. Growing up I was a big pro basketball fan I loved the Lakers, but back then the NBA still had class. The executives and league let the class and sportsmanship of the game fade away. My all time favorite player was David Robinson. But even towards the end of his career the game and the attitudes of what was acceptable behavior changed. I started following the NBA less. Now in my not so humble opinion the NBA is garbage. Dominated by prima donna thugs who are more interested in promoting themselves than playing the game. The even bigger problem is this lack of sportsmanship has quickly seeped to all levels of the sport.

MLB and all of baseball could face the same fate. After years of inaction on PEDs, illicit drugs, behavior, and other issues I think MLB is quickly approaching the event horizon where they can still fix their course, but time is running out. It is time to get players and managers under control and yes, if they feel they need to get umps under control, then lets make it happen.

Professional conduct is the keystone for sports at every level. Everything else falls into place when you have professional conduct. Fans become less exasperated as they don't feed off the negative behaviors of the players and managers and they have a better time and I'd bet spend more money in the park. As there are less hostile fans they will attract more families, who will spend more money. This money goes back into the franchise building the franchise and giving it the funds to improve their teams and facilities which will lead to even more fans and more revenue.

I'm actually disappointed that my local AAA team, the Norfolk Tides, have a family friendly zone as do many other parks around the country. There is no reason the entire park should not be family friendly. And while apparently they will remove belligerent fans from this section of the park, why not take control and remove the offender from the entire stadium. I believe this sets the wrong tone essentially saying in this small enclave we expect good behavior, but the rest of the stadium is a free-for all.

Children see these behaviors players display and as they see them more frequently they think of them as more normal than they actually are and therefore repeat them. Players continually repeat the mantra of, "I'm, not trying to be a role model." Like it or not you are, and if you don't like it choose a different line of work. By the very nature and public nature of the job others will see your actions and possibly emulate them. If you can not be an ambassador of the sport you do not belong in the sport. Youth coaches see professional managers become unhinged and follow suit at their kiddie ball games and this flows all the way up their career. Now you have youth league umpires being assaulted on the fields and in the parking lots.

It is time to stop this downward spiral and reverse the tone. Take charge of the situation and keep baseball on the pedestal it deserves. Give much harsher fines, suspensions and other discipline to players, coaches and yes, if need be umpires. Set the tone as to what is and is not acceptable behavior. Ban players from the league who cannot comply.

Now that I've had my little rant, here is the first rule I would propose to help fix the tone:

A player, coach or manager will not throw any article of uniform or equipment to the ground in apparent displeasure with them self, a play, another player, manager, umpire or umpire's call.
PENALTY: Automatic ejection and a minimum of 1 game suspension in addition to any other penalties levied.

Tonight was my first EJ in 2 years.

Mustang game (9/10 y/o) game I have the dish.

D3K and the play at first is close my partner gets the out. Out storms the coach from the 3rd base box to me. "You've got to overrule him!"

I reply, "I can't overrule him."

"Come on that's the 5th call you all have blown tonight!"

"Coach, That's enough! You're not going to be out here counting on us!"

"How can you all miss 5 calls!"

"You're outta here!"

What a douche.