JonnyCat

Okay, so 14u Babe Ruth. The umpire allowed the player to use the bat and then later removed it. Is the penalty in BR to eject the player for illegal equipment? Or is it something else? Sounds like the umpire wasn't sure of the rule, and then after pondering it, maybe thought that by removing the bat was the best course of action. What if the rule was simply to remove the bat? Surely you wouldn't want a kid to get ejected if it wasn't warranted? Correct? My sincere advice. Get yourself a BR rulebook and study up on the rules. And when something like this happens, help educate everyone at the appropriate time and through the appropriate channels. I'm not saying you're stewing over it, but many people who do, come on this site to complain rather than learn. Again, not saying you're doing that. But we have to be cognizant that there is a huge shortage of sports officials. The umpire may still be learning and it takes quite of bit of time and dedication to master this craft. I always tell people to be part of the solution.

The pages have been loading real slow for me lately, both on my laptop and new desktop. Not sure if others are having the same issue. Just FYI. Thanks.

Unfortunately, I don't call Babe Ruth, so I am unfamiliar with their ruleset. However, I can offer this. Perhaps the umpire didn't know the rules, and was making things up. What age group was this? If it's the younger divisions, often you don't get the most experienced umpires, or they are just starting out. The illegal bat provisions and penalties are in the BR rulebook. They are different depending on the organization. Maybe look into a BR rulebook and find the prescribed procedures and penalties for an illegal bat. You can also contact the leagues director and bring the situation to their attention. Maybe they can educate the umpire on the rule. Did the umpire make a mistake? Probably.

I don't know what pants the base guys are wearing, but I like them much better that the 1970's "Larry Lounge Lizard" slacks we're forced to wear. Those light gray pants look much more athletic. Also, I 'm a huge fan of Hokas. Very comfortable shoe.

The umpire was correct. A batted ball that goes out of play in that situation is a 2 base award (commonly referred as a ground rule double). Runner(s) and batter are awarded 2 bases from where they were at time of pitch. (TOP) Same in all rulesets.

This what happened to me. I just got tired of the BS over stupid meaningless SH*# during a game. My tolerance level just isn't there. I don't know if it's getting older or what. But as I slink into retirement, I just don't want the aggravation. Stepping back from umpiring a little bit has helped. I no longer do the 9 hour adult baseball DH ordeals. I don't instruct at clinics (my first year in about 20 years), I don't go to endless useless meetings, I'm just not involved at any other aspect but just doing the occasional game. Honestly, I did a game last week, and even though I had an assistant coach bitch about something stupid, It was pretty darn ejoyable. I just want to peacefully and gracefully exit from the game before I'm one of "those guys" that either can't move or doesn't want to listen. It's just a hobby for me, and it needs to be fun. When it ceases to be fun, that's when I'm done. It's getting close, but cutting back has definitely helped. As I've always said, everyone has a shelf life. I just don't want to be past my expiration date and not know it.

Better use 6 man crews on most of these games. Ya know, gotta get the calls right at 9u! Serious stuff! You could be messing with some kids future livelihood!🙄

While you might find an umpire through this website that may live in your area and be available, this website is more for umpire discussions and not for assigning. Probably better to search umpire associations in your area that could staff the game. Hope that helps.

The difference is youth. As an adult, you can re-try many things. You can try harder and go back to college, or change careers. You can't recapture the time lost as a youth. Spend it wisely with your kids, the time goes fast, IMO.

Don't forget spending every weekend at tournaments, either local or out of town, only to have your not kid play high school baseball and never pick up a ball again. Seen that too many times. I have to say that I'm pretty lucky with my 2 sons. They both still play adult baseball and they still slum it with me on my Sunday night old man softball team. It's very cool to be on the same field with my boys. My wife and I were on the baseball field for a long time, but not nearly to the extent of the many psycho parents these days. We just tried to make it fun for them and develop good athletic habits. I feel very fortunate my sons continue to play and love the game.

It's so we can look like the Kinney shoe salesmen with our 1970's inspired slacks! Add a tucked in jacket, ohh so stylish! (Not bagging on anyone, I just think our uniforms are waaaaay outdated. I do like a nice crease though.)

Exactly, even worse when it's a volunteer based organization. I'm looking at you Little League. Until you want to buy the shirt and the patch you want me to put on, there will be no patch on the shirt I purchased. Same goes for our HS association and their gaudy oversized 1970's-esq patch. Love it how they mandate the uniform we have to purchase and what to put on it. Oh that's right, we're independent contractors. I almost forgot.

100%. I hate when organizations/businesses/politicians take surveys with no intentions of implementing the results. It's just a dog and pony show.

Fletch.mp4

I interpreted what the OP was talking about was the plate meeting. The OP called it a pregame meeting and not specifically the umpires pregame. I could be wrong, but why would you be talking about those things to your partners? If I missed the mark, I apologize.

The plate meeting is not meant to be a pontification from the plate umpire. Short and to the point. Introductions, line up cards, ground rules, play ball. That's it. You can add some things in such as time limits, if any. Some organizations such as Little League want the PU to verify who is the official pitch counter and scorekeeper. If your association wants you to say something particular, then go ahead, but keep it short. Around 2 minutes is about all you should need. Why on earth would you ever want to talk about the strike zone? Just no, not ever. The plate meeting is not a rules clinic either. Keep it simple and don't waste your breath. Why? It's not necessary, and the managers are not listening anyway. They are thinking about the game and want to get going. Doesn't matter if it's a playoff or regular season game. Keep it the same and short every time. Did I mention it should be short?😄

13U USSSA? Yeah, I'd have a word with that little bastard. I'd make sure he knew that if he was tapping on his helmet like a major or minor leaguer, he might not be long for this game. To me, it's no different than a player drawing a line in the dirt with his bat. JMO

Just to clarify, if in fact you had reason to believe that the umpire was under the influence or having a medical issue, then for sure intervene right away. But you have to have reasonable suspicion that one of those things were happening. It sounds like the umpire just wasn't very good and was in over his head. Could be that since it was a meaningless game, the association was trying him out. News flash, umpires often overestimate, or over exaggerate their abilities or qualifications. Sometimes to get better games, sometimes for money. Or sometimes the associations are strapped to find umpires and just have to staff games with warm bodies. Not sure what happened here. Understand that this happens sometimes, and no need to berate the umpire, or make a big deal out of it on the field. (I'm not saying you did any of this.) There is a huge shortage of sports officials across all youth sports, for a variety of reasons I won't get into. This maybe just an unfortunate byproduct of that shortage. If the umpire just sucked, then play the game and respectfully inform the association of what happened. It can be a learning situation for all.

Serious questions: 1. Was the umpire actually drunk or stoned? Is it possible he was having a medical issue or episode? 2. Was he solo, or did he have a partner? 3. I'm confused. What was he calling on these pitches? There are a number of ways to handle this. I'm not sure one is better than the others. Both managers could get together and speak with the umpire, maybe under the guise of a welfare check so to speak. If he is truly impaired, or needs medical attention, then it would be dutiful, not as a coach, but as a human, to address the situation. If he's impaired due to drugs or alcohol, then he has no business being on a field around kids. You would be within your rights to remove the umpire. If he's having a medical condition, then it would be your duty to get him help. Tell him to get off the field, or get him medical attention. I'm not a fan of immediately running to the police to solve every situation. But if he didn't leave, have a school administrator, if available, deal with it and escort the umpire off the field. I'd call the police as a last resort. In a meaningless game, you could have coaches call the game from behind the mound, or make some other arrangements. I'm assuming in a "meaningful game," this wouldn't happen, or the base umpire would intervene. Regardless, IMO, you have to address it somehow. Did the coaches not notice or smell anything at the plate meeting? Maybe there wasn't one, IDK. You have to address it, sooner rather than later. Don't let the game go on, not only could someone get seriously injured, that type of behavior does not belong at any sporting event.

Me personally, I would ignore it until it was brought to my attention. And even then, my replies could range from, they're fine for me coach," to a litany of other responses. If I was the PU working with you, and you handled it as you described in your OP, I would not have an issue with it either. Run your game as you see fit. I would probably ask you about the situation post game just for the sake of discussion and curiosity (if I even knew what happened), but's that's about it. Everyone has different game management methodology's. I felt I became a better umpire when I decided to enforce what I felt I needed to enforce, and ignore the things I didn't. For me, this situation is the latter. I used to try and dazzle everybody with all my rulebook knowledge, but that didn't always work out as planned.😄

While the said asshole instructors/district staff umpires have moved on, sadly, the asshole DA has not. He's been there for at least 25 years and will undoubtedly die in that position. Most of his staff are good people, but him, not so much. Reminds me of the character Harvey Corman in the sitcom Scrubs. Just change "on the internet" to " in Little League".

This exactly! Thank you, Max. When I went to pro school, we did drill and discuss pressure on plays with no one on. Yes, If you did have pressure, then the responsibilities would shift if BU took the play in foul territory. However, the instructors were adamant that pressure almost never happens, and most people that think they have pressure, do not. They wanted us to do our utmost to take plays in fair territory. Just because F4 is moving towards the foul line does not necessarily constitute pressure. Sadly, I've seen many umpires mistaken in what the believe is a pressure play, when in fact, it was not. The vast majority of the time, you can take plays in fair territory with no one on. It's not CAN I vacate, but rather should be, MUST I vacate.

Unfortunately, I've seen that too in my area. A couple certain asshole instructors/district staff umpires, along with an asshole district administrator have run off quite a few good umpires in the LL circles around here. It's just a perpetuation of what they've learned and for some reason, be-it their pea sized brains or just plain stupidity, they can't see that this methodology has no place nor is it effective. They're just too stupid to break the cycle. Usually, when you ask said assholes why they do this, the response is almost always along the lines "that's the way I was taught," or "that's the way we've always done it." No self awareness or self analyzation whatsoever. I have no tolerance for those kinds of people, regardless of the setting.

Take the picture after the game. It's obvious that guy is a former MLB player, and not out of the ordinary for people to want to take pictures with him. No one cares. Get the picture and move on with your life. People and coaches are always going to think you're a SH*#ty umpire if their team loses. No one gives a SH*# about your professionalism on the field. Win and you're great, lose and you suck. At the HS level and down, it's a SH*#ty job, and only should be done for the love of the vocation, not what other people think. Life's too short. Take the picture and you will enjoy it for years to come and be happy you did. It will be a good memory.