Thawk

@MadMax I don't remember if you were in the dining tent when coach caught up with some of us during one of many of our rain-outs during week 4 last season. I remember how aggravated he was that these kids, coaches, and parents were getting the shaft so bad due to that weather. That conversation showed me in a second how much he loved the game of baseball, and no matter what the nay-sayers said, he wasn't in it for himself, he was in it for the kids.

It's pretty easy to figure out which coaches abused the privilege to come out and question calls. Their attitude right from the start says it all. If they've been barking about things from 1st pitch, then when they come out to ask me to get help, I politely tell them "my call coach". If a coach has been quiet, and his comments about pitches, etc. have been to his players, and comes out being a calm, respectful, and polite and asks me to check with my partner(s), then yes I'm gonna "get help". What he doesn't hear in the huddle is me saying to my partner(s) is "I really don't need help on this one." So in essence, I'm trying to keep things peaceful. Again, if that coach starts to abuse the privilege, then I will nip it in the bud. I also see this as a long term situation. Even at the youth level, I'm gonna see these coaches for a few years. If I leave a good impression in their mind-that I'm fair and respectful, and not being a hardass, then they walk into that game knowing they can just worry about their players, and let me worry about the calls on the field.

Wouldn't even have said anything to him. Let that one go. If he comes up to you and politely and respectfully comes up and asks for you to check with your partners on that, I would politely oblige. Placate the coach a little bit. Consider it a show of goodwill, it'll go a long way.

I look at warnings and such as this; My polite comment-giving him the rope, His response; putting it around his neck. My warning; tying the rope up, His response; He just hung himself.

11u travel ball

I have actually had a great deal of success with talking to the coaches quietly about things. Feedback I have gotten is they appreciate that because they don't feel like they are being called out. Many have said they don't recognize they are getting out of control, and it's a good way to reign themselves in. This one was the exception. PU (and I) was ignoring him prior to their heated discussion. This came the inning after that.

It pretty much was that. His tirade was on the way back to the dugout. I never said another word to him until I saw him hiding behind the dugout.

This ejection was one where I nearly bit my tongue off. HT AC was complaining about my PU's strike zone pretty much from the start. He had actually gotten into a heated conversation with PU over the zone in between innings. The next inning, He starts back up again while in the 1B box. I was in "A" position, I quietly say to the AC, "Coach, you really need to calm down now please." Only he and I could hear the conversation. AC turns around and says loud enough for everyone to hear "I am not going to calm the F#$% DOWN!!" I call for time, and loudly and calmly warn the AC. He then stomps over to me and gets right in my face, hat brim to hat brim, chest to chest and hollers "YOU NEED TO GET YOUR F*#KING ASS OVER THERE AND MAKE THE RIGHT CALL!" (referring to a play at 3B earlier in the game that I was forced to make a call on, after having a play at 1B-both PU and I were in bad spot for the call; he had a possible play at home as well). While trying not to crack a smile I said to the AC "You do realize you just ejected yourself." AC then began into a tirade as he started walking back to the dugout, with what it seemed like every other word being "F#$%". Not only that but he proceeds to give both me and the PU the finger as he walks off. And that wasn't even the part where I had to bite my tongue. After we got things settled down, I get back to "A". Right before PU puts the ball back in play I notice the AC hiding behind the dugout. I hold up the play, and loudly say to him "Leave". His response was "yes mother!" This is where I bit my tongue because in my mind I said "No, I'm not your mother. But if I was your father, I would have already taken a belt to your ass, and a bar of soap to your mouth!"

I agree with Matt on this one. In 9u level, many of the "assistant" coaches are merely dads who want to be on the field. They don't bother knowing the rules because they believe they know them all. They also don't seem to know how to behave themselves once they put on the team's shirt. I would have ignored them from the start. If they persisted, and got personal, then I would have simply warned them. At that age level, I would only deal with the HC.

No acknowledgment other than to warn him, and then dumped him in relatively short order. Was I quick, eh maybe. However, when I went to HC to tell him, the response I got was "thank you, we have problems with him all the time". I asked why his league doesn't deal with it. HC's response to me was that they really needed a pile of paperwork to deal with him. In my mind I thought "Got one more piece of paperwork coming your way then."

So on I Sunday I dumped a parent dressed up as a coach for arguing balls and strikes while he was sitting behind homeplate operating the scoreboard. When I did dump him, I said to him "Coach, you need to go." He promptly replied "I'm not a coach, I'm just the scoreboard guy. You can't eject me!". I replied with "You're wearing the coaching uniform, so I'm gonna treat you like a coach. you need to go." Oh the lengths that some parents will go to.

Watched this whole thing unfold. I must say, I don't think Bautista should have been tossed. Odor shoved him, then whipped that right hook to his jaw. After that Bautista was trying to regain his senses it looked like. By the time he did, Beltre had him wrapped up and out of the picture (good on Beltre for that one). But hey, I wasn't on the field, Bob Davidson was. But man I hope MLB hammers him for the slide. This is the second time Joey Bats has been called for violation of the "bona fide slide" rule. He's clearly sending a message in my opinion that he's not going to adhere to that rule. MLB needs to nip this in the bud quick.

Probably a dill

So yesterday I was BU for a MS game. Had a pickoff at first. R1 never saw it coming, took one step back towards 1B, saw the ball in F3's hand and took off for second. Within seconds of that we had a full blown pickle play going down. My partner had enough time to come up and take it from the 1B side so I set myself on 2B side and we let them have their fun. Felt like it took forever-turned out to be about 30 seconds long. R1 finally was run down and tagged. As soon as play was done I realized that all 9 defensive players had gotten in on the play in some shape or form. Looked at the tracks in the dirt you could see how every fielder peeled off and it looked exactly how it should be drawn up in a figure eight style. HC was cheering at the top of his voice how proud he was of the players for executing that play. I even heard adulation coming from the other teams dugout.

Not for cussing at the umpire , no ramifications. But this wasn't an isolated incident for the game. Harper was punched out in the fourth on a great outside pitch, didn't like it so he started crying to the ump. Then he keeps bitching when Espinosa tried to induce a walk by ducking down. Which by the way Knight didn't fall for. And then he wouldn't shut his mouth. I give Knight much credit for ignoring Harper's cursing at him. MLB better suspend Harper for that crap.

So crazy popular that I ordered one from Ray three weeks ago, and he finally got them back in stock this week!

I just want to know what knucklehead is out there paying that much for a mask?? Seriously??!! Are they idiots?? I would put my Diamond Mask with Team Wendy Pads against that mask any day of the week. Idiots.....

I had the AS MVP2500 for a few years until I went back to a traditional mask. Great mask, just got really hot wearing it. As far as a throat guard, I took several shots around the bottom of my HSM, and not one got through. The shell closes off any openings that a traditional mask doesn't.

Man I love having this option that NFHS gave us with for warning the coaches. The restriction adds a little more bite to a warning. So let me set it up for you; MS game, Bottom 6th, 2-2 game, 0 outs, Runners on 1st & 3rd. BR goes for the bunt and misses. R1 takes of on the pitch stealing 2B. F2 attempts to throw out R1 and in the process runs into BR. BR never left the batters box, never made any movement after the bunt. So I make the call "I've got nothing here". Next pitch, BR attempts to bunt again. This time after he attempts and misses, his momentum carried his front foot out in front of the plate. F2 goes for the backside pickoff of now R2 and again makes contact with BR. Now I've got interference, and call BR out. OC comes down from 3B box to argue the call. He swears to me that his batter was stepping out the BACK of the box, and that F2 induced the contact. I calmly tell him that the BR stepped out of the front of the box and that is why I called interference. Coach doesn't like it, gets closer to my face, clearly attempting to intimidate me. I simply say "Coach, we're done. It's my call." He turns around to go back to 3B box, not happy but quietly. I'm all ready to put the ball back in play when I hear from the 1B box "LEARN THE DARN (Yes, darn was the word used) RULES!!" Turned right over to the coach, and said "Coach I'm giving you a warning; you're restricted to the dugout for the rest of the game." If that rule hadn't been in place, I probably would have ended up ejecting him. Why that coach had to chime in, I'll never know. Next batter brought in the go-ahead run, and the Home Team won 3-2.

Likewise

So guys, here is a play that happened to me last fall during a Pony Bronco (11-12yr olds) game. Bottom of the final inning, 2 outs, 2-2 count, tie game, winning run on third. F1 throws one up and inside (head height). B1 crouches down to avoid being HBP. However, in the process of doing so, he doesn't bring his bat down. So now his bat is sticking straight up like a flagpole. At the same time, F2 goes up to attempt to get the ball. When he does, his glove makes contact with the bat. Ball gets by, and R3 scores from 3B. I immediately called time and go to discuss with my partner. The Question? Was it interference (R3 is out, game ends in tie), or a wild pitch (R3 scores, game ends). In discussion with my partner, we declared it a wild pitch. The determination that while the bat made contact with the catcher's mitt, F2 would not have been able to stop the ball from getting passed him. That was based upon the F1 already throwing a few pitches in the same area and all of them getting past the F2. Definitely made for an interesting ending to the game.

Put me in Week 9 & 10

That is word for word Rule 3-3-2, minus the "foul"

I'll remember you said that Jax

So let me give you guys a little background on this; last fall working a Pony Colt Division game behind the plate, I took a shot off my clavicle area that went right under my mask and whacked me in my jaw. Hurt like hell for three days, and ended up knocking a filling loose. So when I was at the dentist getting the filling fixed, he asked how it happened, and I told him. He recommended I get a mouth guard. I told him I couldn't wear one because I cannot speak clearly with the mouthguards that go on my upper teeth. He then told me about the Shock Doctor Gravity STC 2, and how it only went on the bottom teeth. So during the offseason I got one, but didn't open it up until last weekend, when our association did a umpiring clinic. After going through the fitting instructions, I was pleased with the fit. It was weird because when I put the guard on, my jaw jutted out a little. Kinda made me feel like those British aristocratic cartoon characters you see. Anyway, wore it the whole time during the clinic. It felt great, I could talk clearly, and when I had my mask on I felt nothing different. As a matter of safety, if someone is looking for that added bit of protection, I highly recommend you look into this product. retails for $22.99 at Ump-Attire.com, but I got mine for $17 on Amazon. Here is the link to the product page; https://www.shockdoctor.com/gravity2-lower-mouthguard