LRZ

Bumgarner took the bait, apparently. What he should have done was to say, "Are you asking for my hand in marriage? I'm sorry, I'll never marry an umpire."

Why let jackass coaches and parents make you doubt yourself? Don't. You know when you did a good job (and when you didn't). Your active presence on this site indicates that both of you strive to be better. As little tolerance as I have for chirping by coaches and players, I have, on occasion, stopped games and reminded spectators that there is a league/school code of conduct that they are violating. If they keep it up, I have no hesitation in having site administration escort the problem fans out.

There is a difference between "not talking to the fence" and having game management escort disruptive, abusive fans out. We may not address problems outside the field/fence, but when those problems infringe on the game and participants (including umpires), it is within our authority to have an administrator or coach take care of business. School sports and rec leagues alike have codes of conduct for coaches, players and parents/fans, and I see no reason why, if no one else steps up to address violations, officials can't or shouldn't do so through the game administrator or coach.

Rule 3, Section 4, Articles 1-5. It's too lengthy to copy & paste, but you can find it on-line: https://cdn3.sportngin.com/attachments/document/0037/2464/2020_HS_Rule_Book.pdf

"PIROOMA" Say what?

One local rec league has this rule: "For bats thrown by the batter, the umpire shall give a warning for the first offense. On subsequent offenses, the batter shall be declared out and the ball dead (no advancement by other runners or defensive plays allowed.)" The league has two age divisions, 13-15 and 16-19, and the rule applies to both. Note, too, that it does not distinguish between "careless" (i.e., unintentional?) and "intentional." Note further that, as I read it, the rule is batter-specific: the warning is to "the batter" and not to the team generally.

Personal/profane/persistent. I'd say "You need to learn/read the rules" qualifies as "personal." I might not toss the coach, but his leash just got very short for the rest of the game.

Two options, imo. (1) Go to your partner, away from coaches and players, and say something like, "Bill, there's nothing in the rule book about pitchers wearing eye black." The HPU then decides what to do. (2) "Coach, it's my partner's call. You'll have to ask him." This might be appropriate if it's unclear why your partner made his ruling. Depends on your relationship with your partner and how open he/she is to your questioning him. If the partner is an "I've been doing this for 30 years" umpire, #2 might be your only option.

I will say this about PIAA: it takes sportsmanship issues seriously. Several years ago, PIAA implemented a supplemental DQ procedure, where egregious conduct resulting in an ejection could result in a 2-game suspension, instead of the usual one game sit-out. When filling out the on-line DQ form with PIAA, the ejecting official has the option of checking a "supplemental" box. But, even if the official does not check the box, PIAA will review the report and, on its own, may increase the suspension. I had this happen in a soccer game after I ejected a player. When I questioned the PIAA reviewer about the bump-up, he replied, "We back our officials."

A reminder? The lesson is ALWAYS timely.

You're not out of line, but you did proffer a hard, fast rule where there is no one best approach; Velho gave one reason for other methods. I don't know what you're used to, at your level and location, but you are out of sync with my local experience. Working LL, imo, you have to be a little more open, a little more flexible, than with HS. I don't know what you mean by "I'd hate to educate someone." Isn't that, in a way, part of good game management? The OP did just what he should, at that level: he used game management skills to explain his ruling. The fact that he did it from Point A, rather than Point B, doesn't make what he did wrong. And why the sarcasm? There's room for disagreement.

I say this only partially in jest, but threads should not be locked until someone--usually it's Senor Azul--provides the actual rule or case authority.

HS and college, but LL? Remember, the OP is a LL umpire, working with daddy coaches. There is a lot more education to be done at that level.

"Well, not today, Coach. We're keeping the ball live and in play."

We've been instructed to actually read it from the card, not just recite it from memory. Here is the message: PIAA requires all registered sports' officials to enforce the sportsmanship rules for coaches and contestants. Actions meant to demean opposing contestants, teams, spectators and officials are not in the highest ideals of interscholastic education and will not be tolerated. Let today's contest reflect mutual respect. Coaches please certify to the contest official(s) that your contestants are legally equipped and uniformed according to NFHS rules and PIAA adoptions. Good luck in today's contest. I admit I recite the code, instead of reading it, and I always emphasize the "and officials" by raising my voice slightly on those two words. FATGID: an acronym for "for all the good it does."

Once you reach the point of snarkiness, neither self-deprecation nor diplomacy is helpful--or appropriate. The "better way" might well be an ejection. But I've diverted this thread too far afield. I'll stop now.

I will say this about the mandatory code reading. It does allows us to ask a belligerent coach, "What part of 'will not be tolerated' do you not understand?" I admit this sounds snarky, but the one time this line actually popped out of me, boy, did it feel good when the coach had no comeback and shut up!

The one thing I might do differently is save the "emphatic" for when it's really necessary. Where an EJ is obvious, why ramp up the EJ mechanic?

"After that, coaches stayed on the fence 10 feet from foul line (not even in the stands where they’re supposed to be) and continued to argue and entice fans throughout entirety of the game. As a matter of fact one of them tried to come back on the field." Unacceptable, completely unacceptable. Stop play until they leave. In every sport of which I'm aware, there is a shortage of officials, attributed, in part, to abuse from coaches and fans. Why is it acceptable in baseball to ignore "the fence" as if they didn't exist? When it gets beyond a certain point, someone has to go. If the game administrator/umpire supervisor doesn't or won't back you up, consider packing up and going. It's not worth the aggravation. I have little tolerance for abusive behavior. As always, IMO and YMMV.

HS scrimmages?

OBR changed the rule. A foul tip is defined as "a batted ball that goes sharp and direct from the bat to the catcher and is legally caught." Discussing the meaning of "legally caught," OBR 5.09(a)(2) Comment states, "If a foul tip first strikes any part of the catcher’s body or paraphernalia and is caught by hand or glove against his body or protector, before the ball touches the ground, it is a strike, and if third strike, batter is out.

But "just because it looks weird" can (or should) make you go back to the rulebook afterwards.

For me--and I emphasize that I'm talking about my approach, not a general prescription for all umpires--I would not be too dogmatic. Warnings are not necessarily meaningless; they have their place in our toolbox. This is largely situational, particularly the level you're working. But I agree that when push comes to shove, call the balk. One official's opinion. YMMV. In any event, one rec league I worked had a "one warning per pitcher" rule.

Here is the NFHS rule, 6-1-1, itself: "Turning the shoulders to check runners while in contact with the pitcher’s plate in the set position is legal. Turning the shoulders after bringing the hands together during or after the stretch is a balk."

If movement means a pitcher has not yet come set--i.e., is "in the stretch"--then it follows that movement is not a "complete stop." OBR 5.07(a)(2); NFHS 6-1-3 ("complete and discernible stop"). Continuing to flap the glove without a complete stop before delivering the pitch is a balk. Pitchers can't have it both ways.