BlueClue

Hi all, I recently had an "interesting" game that I wanted to get your opinions on. 18U tournament using OBR, I'm on the bases and my partner has been hearing it from both dugouts a fair amount. Top 5, R2, 2 Outs BR hits a slow roller to F1 who throws to first and I call BR safe, immediately afterwards F3 throws home, as R2 rounded 3rd and was on his way home. After what seemed like an eternity (in reality, probably around 5-ish seconds), m y partner gives a very nonchalant out call, and the visiting team (who had travelled 10 hours for this tournament, so neither of us had any prior history with them) goes ballistic. Both the 3B coach and the manager come storming towards my partner at home plate, as soon as I see both coaches charging towards my partner, I sprint down to wrangle the 3B coach out of there. As soon as I get there and manage to get the AC out of there, the manager starts to scream "THAT'S F***ING TERRIBLE! YOU'RE F***ING AWFUL! YOU'RE F***ING HORSES***". At this point, I'm expecting my partner to toss him, but he doesn't, at which point I toss him as he says "YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN F***ING US ALL GAME". The manager then continues repeating the same expletives for another 15 seconds or so, at which my partner finally opens says something; "Coach, if you keep saying that I will have to eject you" which the manager responds with "HE ALREADY F***ING DID" while pointing at me. The manager then turns to me and says "YOU'VE BEEN F***ING TERRIBLE ALL GAME TOO" to which I reply "Thanks (manager's name), I appreciate it" (I know I shouldn't have responded in that way, I got caught up in the moment). Fast forward to Top 7, the batter gets called on a low breaking ball and the visiting teams dugout starts barking. 2 pitches later, my partner calls another low breaking ball and the VT dugout starts losing it, screaming profanities from the dugout. After I hear "THAT'S F***ING TERRIBLE! YOU'RE F***ING AWFUL" multiple times from a player I had previously warned earlier in the game, I call time and eject the offending player. The 1B coach then comes to me to argue his players ejection, at which point my partner comes up. The 1B coach then turns his attention to my partner to argue the previous pitches, at which point my partner then keeps repeating "It crossed at the knees" several times. Finally, the 1B coach leaves, and my partner says to me "You shouldn't have ejected him so quickly", to which I say "I disagree" and he returns to his position. Following the game, my partner again tries to say that I ejected them too quickly, at which point I politely disagreed (no joke, I disagreed politely even though I was fuming inside). My question to all of you is: Was I too quick to eject? Was I out of line? The local guys I work with who were watching the game are saying that the ejections were justified, and that I was protecting my partner, however I can't get the thought that I may have stepped out of line and on my partners shoes in this situation, so I figured I'd get your opinions. Any advice or comments are appreciated!

I now have the sudden urge to go to Goodwill and buy a sport coat...

Despite an absolutely atrocious spell of weather in March and April making it so we weren't able to get onto the diamonds until late April, we've been able to pack in a lot of baseball in a short amount of time, and as a result has led to me being on the field A LOT in the past 3 1/2 weeks. The first 30 games didn't feature a single incident that warranted a report, but that all changed with game 31... Working 3-man as U1 in the Semi-Finals of a 15U tournament under OBR. R2 with 1 out. BR hits a line drive to LF which causes my partner to go out, so I watch R2 make the touch at 3rd and proceed home, at which point I turn my attention to the BR just before he passes 1st to take him into 2nd. While he rounds first, I notice he blatantly misses the touch of first and proceeds onto 2nd for a stand up double. Once time is called (because of course kids nowadays have a guard or mitt for everything), ATHC is very clearly telling his pitcher that once the ball is put back in play to step off and appeal at 1st, and as instructed, as soon as the ball is put back in play, the pitcher steps off and throws to first, and I call the BR out on appeal, who immediately begins walking to his dugout. Immediately after I made the call and turned my head back towards the mound I notice HTHC had sprinted from the 3rd base coaching box and was about 10 feet away from me (it had been about 5 seconds for reference). He begins to aggressively that "YOU WEREN'T EVEN LOOKING I WAS WATCHING YOU" to which I respond "I was watching (HTHC's Name)", he then says "NO THE F*** YOU WEREN'T, THAT'S BULLS***, YOU'RE BULLS***" at which point I give him an early start to his 12-hour drive home. Following his ejection, HTHC goes ballistic, screaming "WHAT THE F*** ARE YOU THROWING ME OUT FOR, SWEARING?!" to which I say "it's minor baseball" and he chirps back with "WELL YOU'RE NOT A MINOR" (well no s*** captain obvious), at which point U3 comes in as the rodeo clown. As I peel off behind U3 he says to HTHC "alright, we're done" to which HTHC responds with "NO THE F*** I'M NOT" and begins laying into U3. PU then comes up to take HTHC off U3's hands and walks him back to the home plate area where HTHC begins to lay into PU, screaming loud enough that I could hear him say "ARE YOU THE CREW CHIEF" and "AT LEAST YOU ADMIT WHEN YOU'RE WRONG UNLIKE THAT FAT F***" from behind the second base bag. U3 then yells "Coach you need to leave" and runs down to escort HTHC yet again but not before almost having to force him through the gate along the third base side. During the next half inning, U3 and I notice the HTHC is leaned over the fence right next to his dugout telling his coaches what to do, U3 runs over and tells him he needs to leave and HTHC then begins to start screaming again about how "WE'RE PLAYING UNDER (my) RULES" and begins to storm off to the fieldhouse at the facility. I then notice the Tournament Director (who is a buddy of mine) rush after him and later discovered he laid into HTHC for his actions and the example he was setting to his kids. Immediately following the conclusion of the game, HTHC then approached the crew as we were on our way back to the room and initially apologized, before beginning to argue again about how he shouldn't have been thrown out and "you need to have thicker skin" at which point U3 stepped in with "Coach, we're done" and we continued to walk away.

Oh but they won’t accept Bud Light, it’s gotta be the good stuff 😉

Game one of a men's league doubleheader, 2 outs R2, batter hits a line drive for a base hit and, for some unknown reason, tries to stretch it to a double. The throw beats the runner, however, due to the positioning of both F4 and BR (F4 got the ball on the cutout, BR was on the back side of the bag), a footrace ensues and BR slides into the back corner of the back just prior to the tag. As soon as I call him safe, I hear "are you F***ing kidding me" followed by "how the f*** is he safe?!" I tell him "I had him get the bag prior to the tag", he then proceeds to hold his arms out to the side in a sort of 'you have got to be kidding me' motion and while turning around, says "holy f*** you're f***ing blind" loud enough for my partner to hear from behind the dish. I give him an early lunch break and without a word to anyone walks off the field. While my partner and I are walking back to the room in between games, I see F4 coming back to the field with two 24-packs. After the second game, I find out that his team has a policy that if you get tossed, your fine is buying enough beer for everyone at the field. I am now a firm believer that every team should implement this policy!

This thread was inspired by a recent experience I had at an 18U tournament. I really felt like I should list all the things I LOVE about summer ball: - Having to toss a half dozen managers and players because they really wanted to channel their inner Earl Weaver - Constant protest because they didn’t like your balk call, and it’s their god-given right to protest a judgement call! - Having baseballs thrown at you by parents because they’re unhappy you called their kid out at 2nd - Being called a fat **** who only thinks about pizza by a John Candy lookalike (he wasn’t wrong, I was hungry!) - Have a coach flip you the double bird after a botched double play - Have to toss a coach because he “just really wanted to get tossed this season” and, with no other coaches, have some random 17 year old take over as acting manager (TWICE!) - Have parents follow you back to the locker room and berate you the entire way there - Have some mom from several states over threaten to kill me in my sleep and praying my entire crew dies in a horrible accident, then the same mom follows us back to the locker room repeating those statements - Having a fight almost break out between parents, coaches, and players because some coach decided to pull a Lou Pinella on steroids - Having the tournament director say we should’ve “sucked it up” because we were getting a “free meal” (a ham sandwich and a bag of Cheezits was nutritious!) - Nearly having to forfeit the championship game because one team decided to walk off the field for several minutes out of “protest” for their manager getting tossed, and then proceeding to not send out any base coaches (tournament rules required two, player/coach/living being) in all seriousness, I’ve never been so frustrated and appalled with how some teams, coaches, players, and parents act. No wonder we’re facing a shortage of umpires… Thank goodness the tournaments over, and, in the words of the infamous Wally Backman: “let’s go grab a beer Doc”.

Let me preface with in the near decade I have umpired, I have never encountered a single knuckleball pitcher until recently. I was working a fairly competitive men's league- a lot of ex-college and several current semi-pro guys. I go behind to take a couple warmup pitches and notice the ball isn't spinning at all. Out of disbelief, I ask the catcher "was that a knuckleball?", which he confirms, and I think to myself "sweet! I've never actually called a knuckleballer!". Fast forward two days, I'm back on the field for a men's 30+ tripleheader (2 Plate, 1 Base), I go take a couple warmup pitches and notice it's another knuckleballer. At this point, I'm thinking "two knuckleballers in a row? cool!" and go on with the game. Final game of the day, I, yet again, take a couple warmup pitches, and notice that, yet again, it's a knuckleballer. At this point, I'm sick of calling knuckleballs this week and just want to see a "normal" pitcher. Best part? They all went CG's (7 innings). So, I called 21 straight innings of knuckleballs, and I would love it if I don't have to see another for a LONG time.

Thank you all for your interpretations and advice. I thought I'd answer a few questions people had, and ask one of my own. Kind of hand-in-hand, the pitchers delivery was the same, with the only difference between the positions being a pause after his free foot rocked back (it's very hard to explain without visuals, and I really wish there was video to do it justice). He had been pitching out of the stretch for the several pitches preceding with R2/R3, so when he switched to pitching from the windup mid-AB, to me it looked like he had begun his motion without pausing, and only after I called the balk did he try and argue he was pitching from windup, after which we had the "declaring" conversation. In your opinions, it bad that I've officiated both games with different mindsets? I remember my instructors in both hockey and baseball preaching the opposite in regards to calling it by the book (hockey=game flow, baseball=letter of the law)? Again, I appreciate the feedback.

I had a play earlier today where I called a no-stop balk (side note, in my opinion, your "windup" being nearly identical to your set position minus a pause doesn't exactly scream "I'm pitching from the windup" to me) with R2/R3 2 out, and after explaining to both the kid and coach, and the kid making a big show of "declaring" he's pitching from the hybrid, the inning finishes without a hitch. After the inning, myself and U3 have a quick chat, at which point U3 says "That kid doesn't know a thing about the windup, but you shouldn't have called that balk". After questioning him why he thinks that, he keeps bringing up "the situation", at which point I was confused, as I was always taught, which was also reinforced by the assignor prior to the season, that selectively calling the rulebook is not appropriate, and more detrimental to the game. Besides the rambling, I want to know your opinions as to whether this mindset of "selectively calling the rulebook to the situation" is reasonable/appropriate, or frowned upon. Expand my horizon! For those wondering, it was a 22U summer league where a lot of college kids who just want to play a couple times a week while out for the summer frequent.

Hi all, Just looking for some clarification on an interesting situation. Coaching in a semi-pro league using OBR, when I receive the opposing teams lineup card I see they're running straight 9, opting for no DH and the pitcher batting forth. On the lineup card it lists the pitcher as "1" (Important for later). Fast forward to top 8, the opposing team makes a pitching change, removing the starting pitcher from the mound. In the bottom of the inning, I notice the previous starting pitcher is up to bat. Following his at-bat (which he hit a 2-RBI double), I approach PU and ask if during the previous pitching change the SP was removed from the game, to which he shows me his lineup card that indicates he was. I then bring up the issue, at which point PU and BU have a discussion for several minutes. Following the conversation they come up to and say "it's the Ohtani Rule", at which point I initially ask if it should've been acknowledged on the lineup card before heading back to the dugout. My question is does the player (in this situation the SP) need to be marked as such on the lineup card, and if so, was there a misapplication of the rule in this situation. Again, just looking for clarification because the whole situation confused the ever-living heck out of me.

Had a fun one yesterday. Working a local 22U summer league under OBR, VT was very short on bodies to the point where they had called up two players from an affiliated 18U league so they could field 10 players. First inning they’re getting pounded 7-0, their first pitcher can’t seem to find the zone, and F2 is struggling heavily behind the plate (not for a lack of trying to frame pitches well inside). They eventually yank the pitcher and put a new guy in who’s having more success, but F2 is still struggling, and you can see him getting frustrated. Finally, bases loaded, on a wild pitch where the ball ends up by the backstop on the 1B side, F2 bumps me while I’m pivoting towards the 3B side, he immediately stops, starts walking to the ball, reaches the backstop, kicks the fence, throws his glove, and underhands it to the pitcher, only after two runs had scored. When his coaches ask what just happened, he starts complaining he couldn’t make a play because he was bumped, but VTHC shuts him up real quick. Fast forward to Top 3, 2 outs, same player is up to bat. Some players on the VT had been disagreeing on pitches on the outside corner, but their coach shut them up again after seeing that same pitch called for a strike multiple times. The player swings and puts himself down 0-2, he then takes a pitch inside before they throw a slider to the outside corner. I ring him up and he immediately looks at me, flips his bat around, draws a very clear line on the batters box line, and begins to walk to his dugout, at which point I run him. immediately afterwards, the VTHC (who is a good buddy of mine) comes up to me, and is not happy whatsoever that the kid is leaving his team short-handed, went on a rant just to vent. I listened and then once he was finished I calmly said “I would’ve been fine with him saying something about it, but as soon as he draws that line there’s nothing else I can do. so the game goes on with 9 players and an empty bench, the VT ends up losing 15-4, and the VTHC go out for some drinks afterwards where he says “yeah you did the right thing, hell I would’ve tossed him”, and we had a good laugh about it.

The funny part about that is I am the league UIC haha. The District Admin had a nice chat with him basically saying exactly that. Safe to say he learned today that you can’t argue like it’s pro ball in LL haha.

Man it feels good to be back! In between my mountains of collegiate and club games (Canada), I figured I'd help out with the local little league I'm on the board of when I have some free time. Well, dear reader, today was a reminder of why I prefer anything besides little league. Doing a juniors game with a younger umpire behind the dish who has a lot of potential, but not a lot of 90 foot experience. So, we begin the plate meeting, nothing out of the ordinary besides both sides being told no warnings on balks, they're getting called straight up. Both sides agree and we get on our merry way. Well, HT is fielding, the first VT batter reaches on a BB, and before the first pitch to the next pitch, he's balking 3 different ways, at which I end up calling the more egregious LL 8.05(b) balk. Kid realizes as soon as I call it and he's fine with it, but the coaches are agitated, saying "there should be a warning..." to which I ignore. After which the kid is okay until R2/R3, 1 out, they're one run away from the inning run limit. He comes set, takes a couple seconds, breaks his hands while still on the rubber to adjust his arm and comes back set- balk all day. The kid knows it immediately and he's fine with it but the coaches are annoyed, not knowing how that's a balk, despite the explanation. In the bottom of the 1st, the HT is up to bat, no runners on, the first pitch the HTHC (who is in the 1st base coaching box) starts arguing that their pitcher balked, to which I reply that A) No, that was him coming set and B) You can't balk without runners on base. He is adamant that you can balk without runners on base, which results in me explaining the balk rule between batters. Following the half inning, I go to talk with my partner and an AC from the home team comes over, initially asking about the balks but quickly moving on to asking about the strike zone. I warn him by saying "we are not discussing the strike zone" but he attempts to ask again, at which point I firmly warn him again "we're not talking about the strike zone" after which he leaves. The second inning goes by fairly uneventful besides a low strike 3 with two outs the HT HC did not like, he approaches my partner and I and the following conversation occurs: HC: (To his AC) Did you ask them about the strike zone? Okay. (to us) So- Me: I'm going to stop you there Aaron, we told your Assistant we're not discussing the strike zone, same goes for you. HC: Yeah but- Me: Aaron, we're not discussing the strike zone HC: But other umpires have! Me: We're not, we're done Aaron. HC: Okay (starts walking to the dugout) that's a terrible f**king call Me: You're done. HC: (Comes back out) What? Why?! Me: You can't say that's a f**king terrible call Aaron HC: Yes I can! Me: This is Little League, no you can't Aaron HC: But- Me: Aaron, you gotta go HC finally leaves afterwards. Following the half-inning, I noticed he has returned and is hanging near the dugout, trying to hide behind the equipment boxes. I call my partner over and the following conversation occurs: Me: Aaron, you gotta go HC: What, I can't stay here? Me: No Aaron, you gotta go. HC: (Smirking( Well where can I be? Me: You can be on the hill, you can be in the trees, you can be in the car, you can go get ice cream for all I care, but you can't stay here HC: Well I can watch the game Me: No, you can't! You gotta go HC: Yes I can Me: No Aaron, you can't. If you stick around I have no problem calling this game HC: Fine, I'll go sit in the car (leaves) The remainder of the game went on without a hitch, and besides 3 more balks, no complaining. With that being said, I forgot why Little League drives me off the wall. Now, time for the critique and constructive criticism. What could I have done better? What should I have done? I'm always open to learning from the brotherhood! -BC

I remember driving 8 hours and crossing through 2 provinces and 2 states to attend one and it was an absolute blast. I'd recommend going to anyone who's interested.

Well my week keeps getting more interesting. For context, I previously had an interesting run-in with my local little league's Vice President (see the post below for the full story) Since then, he had left the board following that incident and I had assumed the role of UIC for the league around the same time. I haven't had a run-in with him until just recently and oh boy was it fun. Since I was (and still am) out for the foreseeable future after taking a ball to the wrist, I've been doing a lot of supervising and helping some of the newer umpires out. Recently, I went to help two new-ish umpires in their first game of the year. When I arrive at the diamond I notice that one of the coaches is none other then Mr. former VP himself (henceforth known as JA). I listen in on the plate meeting (our league requires an adult present to support the umpires when they are both minors) and I can tell JA hasn't forgotten about that incident. Both teams proceed to their respective dugouts and the game begins. The first inning goes by fairly uneventfully (the typical little league game where the pitcher's missing 3 feet outside and the batter's swinging his bat like an axe) apart from one thing- JA's players are leading off. Some are waiting until the pitch leaves the hand, some are just leading off from the start, however none of them are waiting for it to reach the batter (see Rule 7.13 of the LL rulebook). Following the inning, the crew comes up asking for some feedback. While they're with me, BU asks for clarification on the rule, which I provide him with. He mentions he noticed it but he wasn't too sure what the proper ruling was. During the second inning, R1, BU calls a blatant lead off, JA isn't too happy about it the first time but doesn't say anything loud enough to hear. Two pitches later BU calls another blatant lead off on the same runner and JA storms right out of the dugout, attempting to argue the call with BU (using the excuse "he went on a passed ball!"). BU's having none of it and orders JA back to the dugout. While on his way back to the dugout he comes over to me, yelling about how I told him to call it and despite me trying to explain the situation he says "BlueClue you shouldn't even be here!". I snap back "I'm here for my umpires, not for you!" and walk away. Following the inning JA tries to go back over to BU and argue it again (this time stating how they're learning) but PU comes in and corrals him away. The crew meets up with me again and I mention how they had the correct call and that they're in charge of the game, not the coaches (I forgot to mention that both coaches had just been going for mound visits whenever they felt like it, and JA was hovering around the back stop while the ball was LIVE). Going into the third, the crew cracked down on the inmates running the asylum. However, R2, BU called another blatant lead off and JA came out yet again, making a spectacle on his way out. He tried arguing how it was a passed ball, that his runner was on the bag, and that he was going to get someone to video it for him. At this point BU had enough and ordered him back to the dugout and the inning concluded. I was pissed off at the encounter from the previous inning, and his conduct then made me furious. I told the crew in between innings that his actions were incredibly inappropriate and that they shouldn't be tolerated. The fourth inning went off without a hitch (with JA's team forfeiting), and following the game I had a little huddle with the crew, giving them some praise and feedback for the game. During which I told them that what happened wasn't their fault and shouldn't have happened. I waited with the umpires until their parents arrived, during which I chatted with BU on how he's one of our best up-and-coming umpires and I wouldn't want to lose him because of people like him. When I arrived back at home, I noticed that BU had sent me an incident report in regards to what occurred. I forwarded it to the League President to sort out with the rest of our disciplinary committee. Usually, I sit on the disciplinary committee and aid in the process, however, seeing my history with JA I excused myself from the process. I'm well aware that my actions were driven by emotion, but I just really wanted to get it off my chest and hear some second opinions. Any feedback or criticism would be appreciated! -Blue

The only time I had any encounter with either of these teams was when I was supervising some of our younger umpires and one of the teams just happened to be playing. No prior history whatsoever with either teams or coaches for that matter.

I am about ready to lose it. Little League game, just trying to have a season and this is their championship. My partner is a no-show, that's fine I've done the majority of my games 1-man this year. The 1st inning I'm already hearing it from the VT dugout (These are 11-12 year olds...), this goes on for about an inning and a half until top of 2nd 2 outs batter hits a ball that looks close to the line. I see it foul the whole way and call it as such. The VHC is IRATE, screaming about how that ball was fair and I missed it, to which I immediately warn him. Following the inning, I warn their bench that any more of this and they're gone. Fast forward to the bottom of the 4th, runners on 1st and 2nd 1 out, the batter hits a fly ball in the infield that I immediately signal an infield fly. Following the conclusion of the play I reaffirm my call, to which the HHC storms over to me screaming "are you joking?!" followed by him trying to argue that it was not even close to being an infield fly. He starts to get more and more aggressive to the point where I toss him. He storms off the field and heads to the bullpen, to which I tell his assistant to get him to leave. The league's VICE PRESIDENT tries to step in and prevent him from getting tossed but to no avail, I'm not restarting the game until he's gone. At this point everyone is out for blood, the VP is fuming on the phone with the board because I tossed his buddy out, and the parents are about ready to rip my head off. Finally we resume. After 5 innings we're passed our time limit, the sun is down and we don't have any lights at the field. I go to the VHC to explain the situation and that we're done. He is absolutely IRATE, screaming how I'm screwing over his team and calling the game "30 seconds" after the cutoff (more or less a few minutes). I tell him there's nothing I can do (I have rules to follow) to which, the SAME coach who asked me earlier in the inning to go by the books definition of the time limit, goes ballistic again, to which I tossed him. Following that Mr. Vice President decides he needs to talk to me. He goes on about how the board'll be having a conversation on "rule interpretations", after which he's done talking and I left the field. What gets me about this one isn't the fact I tossed both coaches, it's the fact that this VP had the balls to try and override my control over what occurred on the field. Pretty sure I've got it all out, I'm going to go grab a cold one now.

I agree with you completely. I made sure to list in the report that the incident was too prolonged and he should've been ejected earlier. I appreciate the feedback!

I'm right behind the mound for these games, so I was only 15-20 feet away and he was loud enough that it was fairly clear from where I was.

2 ejections in 2 weeks? This is definitely not my year! 1-man Babe Ruth (U18) using OBR. Top of 1, pitcher is struggling to find the zone. He throws a dozen or so pitches outside on the batters box line or further, his coach screams "Where were those pitches?!" and I tell him they're outside. He gives the most oh-my-god-are-you-blind expression I've seen while umpiring. He decides to use a visit to say to his pitcher "I'm going to take all the damn time I want. Obviously we're not going to get the f---ing corner so just throw it down the middle" before leaving. For the next couple innings I can hear him bickering about pitches with his coaches but nothing too egregious until the bottom of the 3rd. His team is batting, the pitcher throws a pitch that looked like it was at the top of the batters zone for strike 3. As soon as I call the pitch that same oh-my-god-are-you-blind expression comes out. He's just laying on a chorus of "Wow! Oh my god!"' followed by a half a dozen or so "That's unbelievable never seen that one before." Finally I warn him and get another oh-my-god-are-you-blind expression from him. The next pitch is a ball at the knees that I call a strike, to which he immediately says in a sarcastic tone "Oh my god! What did we ever do to you!" to which I immediately eject him. He storms out of the dugout screaming at me "Do you know why you threw me out?! It's not because we're getting s---kicked, and you're kicking us while we're down, it's because you're f---ing terrified! You're scared! If you want to do this at this level you need to grow a f---ing backbone!" to which I tell him he was thrown out for arguing balls and strikes. He doesn't like that and tries to reaffirm that I'm "terrified" (Buddy I've umpired more games than you've coached. If anyone's terrified at this point it's you.) before he walks away screaming. After he gets back to the dugout, he decides that he's going to take his sweet time getting his stuff, adding half a dozen "You're terrible" while doing so. Finally when he leaves the field proper, he decides it's a good idea to linger around the backstop and s--- talk and brag with some parents right in plain sight (Bragging about your ejection to parents isn't cool coach.) After the batter strikes out, he decides he's not going to go anywhere. I tell him that he needs to leave, and I get yet another oh-my-god-are-you-blind expression before his assistant (acting HC) tells him to leave. It's truly a shame because that entire team was really good except for him, and his assistants were great to work with, but once you eject the coach you almost always lose the team. But what can you do? Coaches will be coaches.

Whenever I warn I usually say the coaches/players name and "that's enough". Wasn't able to get the coaches name so it was just a simple "that's enough"

Well folks, the inevitable happened. One-man Babe Ruth. Top of 3rd, 1 out, runners on 1st and 2nd, VT batting. Batter hits the ball to the fence. R1 and R2 come around to score while BR is heading to 3rd while the left fielder is throwing to 3B. 3B receives the ball and tags BR on the back before he reaches base. As soon as I signal him out, OHC over at 3rd immediately started protesting, yelling "there's no f---ing way he's out!". I explain why I called him out, to which he continues to protest, throwing in half a dozen or so "that's terrible"'s. Finally he yells "that's bulls---", to which I immediately warn him. As I'm walking back behind the mound, he proceeds to keep yelling "that's bulls---" and "that's terrible" over and over again, to which I warn him again. He then proceeds to say "that's bulls---, get better!" to which I immediately eject him. HC, who has the most "what the f--- did I do?!" look on his face immediately comes towards me, asking what he said and continuing to say (wait for it) "that's bulls---". I tell him that you can't keep arguing and I warned you multiple times, to which he brings up a play a 1st from the previous inning, trying to justify that he wasn't excessively arguing. Finally, he finishes off with a "that's bulls---, get better!" before leaving the field. Had the VT players and parents riding my ass for the rest of the game, but I just ignored it, knowing that if anyone else got tossed, the game would be a forfeit (VT had 9 players and 1 coach at this point). Anything I could've done differently? Anything I missed? Let me know!