jonathantullos

I completely agree but, again, this is Kentucky and so many people use tobacco in various forms that it seems acceptable to have it everywhere. I was trying to keep that in mind and do him a favor. As the old saying goes, "No good deed goes unpunished." Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Lessons learned and will be applied in the future.

This is my first FED year so be gentle (yeah, right). Last weekend I had the dish at the home field of one of the better teams in the region as they played a school from the next region over. I should have known I was in trouble when during the pre-game conference I had to warn the coaches (read: The visiting coach) that if I see a tobacco can in the back pocket of anyone on the field after that point that I was not going to be happy. The fans and the visiting coach had been chirping about my strike zone all night. In the 3rd, the visiting coach went out to talk to my partner about an interference call and I went to be within earshot of the conversation. Coach comes out with a tobacco can in his back pocket. As he's walking back to the dugout I said, "Coach, I need you to get rid of that tobacco can as I asked you to before the game started." He shot back, "And I need you to start calling some strikes." Now, I know I should have ran him right then and there but I was trying to be nice (this is Kentucky and everyone has tobacco here) so I gave him a written and confined him to the bench. Except for one of their fans giving me grief (I did not think I bore such a resemblance to Paul Blart), the game was relatively smooth. Visiting team was getting creamed. Top of the sixth comes and the leadoff batter for the visiting team comes up to bat. I called a strike on him that was in the high end of the zone and caught the inside corner. He shot off, "It was in my damn face!" I ran the kid. Restricted coach runs out and I give him one chance to get back to the dugout. He refused so I ran him too. He then gets in my face to get his money's worth. "You're terrible!" His assistant thankfully has some sense and gets him away from me and the field. But wait, there's more! In the midst of all of this, one of the home team's fans comes over to the visitor's side and the visiting fan who had been giving me all kinds of hell starts going at it with him. Game administrator calls the cops and has them kicked out. Cops stick around and to escort us to our cars after the game (thankfully the weather was turning sour and the coaches decided to forego the scheduled JV game). The Aristocrats! I called another game tonight at another one of our better schools. Thankfully it went much smoother.

Woo! Glad to have this forum back.

Perhaps I should re-think my original statement. My goal is not to eject anyone, though I will should it become necessary just as I'm sure any of us would. Might as well add me to your prayer list if you feel that the ejection wasn't a good one. As I have previously stated, I view slinging equipment as a safety issue and therefore am on @hill2933's side.

Hindsight is 20/20 and every game has been, and I'm sure will continue to be, a learning experience. There is actually only one that I wish I had tossed who I didn't. The rest were more annoying than anything outright ejectable or even warnable.

I look at it as a safety issue. Is someone likely to be in the area of the backstop in this situation? No. But what if he had thrown it in the area of the dugout and hit someone? What if it had been a bat instead of a helmet (not that a helmet is any better but...)? I agree that the spirit of the rule has to be taken into account (I have done this many times myself) but I also think some rules are cut and dry and should be enforced as such. This especially applies to rules that are based on safety concerns.

It's easy: I'm the "new kid" in my association and the coaches are trying to figure out my limits. But that is likely another thread altogether....

Every game I've called this season someone has almost gotten tossed. I don't understand why they think we should just take such BS. And it sounds like two good EJs to me. Perhaps the coach should help said emotional kid learn how to control his emotions. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

I warned a bench for this over the weekend. With that, even the coach stayed in the dugout. It's not usually a problem here but generally we will tell them to stay within the confines of the dugout. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Thanks for the responses, this has been a very informative discussion. The KHSAA requires all schools to submit games throigh Arbiter and the assignors assign officials to the games. All of our scheduling is electronic, though last minute changes and makeups usually include a call or text from my assigner. Very few schools use ArbiterPay and I would be very surprised if many schools around here ever used it (my region is in Eastern Kentucky... Yeah.). Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

For you FED guys: How is pay handled within your association? I never actually called in Mississippi but when I was associated with my high school's team the game administrator always had checks for the officials in hand when they arrived at the field. Here in Kentucky, the schools generally send checks after the game. Most of the schools I have called for so far have paid within a week or two, but there's a school I did a game at about a month ago that I'm still trying to get paid for (a game of "he said/she said" so far). The association can do little to nothing about the situation as we are considered to be contracted to the schools for the events. So, what's it like where you are? If a school doesn't pay in a timely manner, do you have any recourse? And to add insult to injury: I'm calling a game at the non-paying school tonight.

The way I read 3-3-1, yes a coach can be tossed for using such language. And if I'm calling a game where this happens, I will toss the coach. Consequences be damned. Kids should not be subjected to such abuse, not to mention there may be kids on the other team, coaches, or spectators who may find such language abusive. There is no room for such behavior on a baseball field and I am prepared to back that up with an EJ. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Sounds like the PU just felt like being a dink. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

"Coach, I'm not taking the blame for your catcher getting hurt. Further, you are not going to put words in my mouth. This is your written warning. After you attend to your player, I do not want to see you on this field again tonight." And if he continues, his presence will no longer be required at all. Sorry, not sorry, but I wouldn't take too kindly to a coach passive-aggressively even suggesting that I had something to do with his player being hurt.

Being in Kentucky, I can attest that UK basketball fans are all... "devoted." The 'cats lost a couple of nights ago and many of the fans are blaming the officials, though I think it was more so the missed shots and turnovers that did them in. Apparently, some of the fans have tracked down the ref's business on Facebook and are leaving negative reviews because of the outcome of the game. http://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Big-blue-business-blues-Fans-bombard-referees-roofing-page-417310333.html Have any of you ever faced anything like this?

Last night, I officiated my first FED game(!) and I was on bases. Go to B3 and HT is ahead by a ton (game ended by run rule). VT puts in F1 number 3 and the kid has literally never pitched before (they had ten players and one could easily tell this was a cobbled together team). It was to the point that the coach was literally showing him how to pitch during the change. As the inning progresses, I see him balk several times, but as I could tell he had never pitched before I decided to cut him some slack. We finally get out of the inning and I walk up to the coach. He says, "I know, he's balking." I told him I was going easy on him since he had never pitched before. My partner said I made the right decision to go easy on him, and the home coach didn't care since they were so far ahead. So, what say you? Was I right or did I give him too much leeway? How much slack would you cut in such a situation?

Thank you all for the warm welcome! God's blessings for all of us on our seasons.

So, I'm a complete newbie to officiating high school ball. When I did rec. league, I never knew who I was working with until I arrived, always wore the same shirt, etc. Now that I have my scheduling through Arbiter, I know who I'm working with and all. All of this to say: My assignor has given me my first game in a couple of weeks. Now what? What I mean is: For those who know who they will be working with in advance (most of us?), what kind of communication do you have prior to the day of the game? What kinds of things do you work out (I'm sure uniform and responsibilities are among those things)? What do you typically discuss when you and your partner arrive at the park? Any other general advice for a complete high school new guy? It's a varsity double header so I'm assuming we will each have a turn behind the plate. Thanks for your wise counsel!

You hae to wonder what the conversation that ended in his being named coach went. Dad: "I don't want to do it. Some other dads in unison: "Me either." Dad: "Hey, let's let Mongo be the head coach!" Mongo: "Mongo like baseball!" Or something like that.

Greetings all. I'm a first-year umpire working in Kentucky. I'm affiliated with the KHSAA's 14th Region Umpires Association. I have previously done some rec league games but nothing of this level. In high school, I was involved with my school's team but didn't do baseball in college. By trade, I'm a United Methodist pastor and a seminary student. I'm broke so I'm doing this for some fun but also to make a little extra cash. I look forward to learning a lot and having some great discussions. Jonathan