#5 of the year

[jkumpire]

It's my fault, I mean really it was my fault....

I walked 18 at the local course today after 5 games in the last two days. Score was decent for as little as I've played this year. Thought I would have a nice day off to spend with family. Then I get a text from a young umpire who told me a game needed an umpire due to illness. Being a complete sucker since the game was only 2 hours from starting I said "Okay, I'll take it, X:XX at XXXXXXXXXX."

Get there, then I find out it's 11-12 travel ball. OH NO. Partner offers me the plate, but he's already dressed. I decline, I have adult league games the next four days.

My first call, bottom of 1st. Kid beats throw by a step. V 1B goes gonzo, loud mouth mom starts yelling. Ugh. then F6 puts ball in glove during a rundown, and tags R2 with empty hand. V's are down 10 runs at least. All my fault.

Bottom 2nd. In pregame partner says "If you have a player out of the dugout with no helmet the player is ejected no warning. This is in fact your warning." Well, a bench player sans helmet takes two steps out of the dugout to get a bat during a dead ball. PU sees him and ejects him. Home 3B coach/HC comes down, is very angry but has controlled talk with PU. I'm in B thinking "I think this is over. why did this have to happen?"

The HC then asks a coach sitting at the front gate of the dugout on a chair to coach 3B. Coach heads to 3B, then HC takes chair and heaves it into the infield. PU either doesn't see it, or ignores it. so I get to do the honors.

HC leaves field area, but I heard him once. I was about to tell a coach to calm him down, because if I see or hear him again, my partner and I walk, and he forfeits. He then left and shut up.

Game after that ejection was a complete circus. I have 20 minutes of stories to tell, but I won't. Neither set of kids wanted to be there. No smiles, no fun, nothing but coaches yelling at players to do things they were not taught to do. Got through 5 innings, something like 16-15 H wins. Game is something like 2:30

I swear I will never do another travel game unless it's at least HS aged kids. I may never do travel ball period. HC needs banned from league IMO. These kind of antics are destroying the game.

[jkumpire]

OOPS, repost

[jkumpire]

Why is it my fault? Because I took the game. :FIRE:

[mstaylor]

jk, I feel your pain. :)

[Thunderheads]

My first call, bottom of 1st. Kid beats throw by a step. V 1B goes gonzo, loud mouth mom starts yelling. Ugh. then F6 puts ball in glove during a rundown, and tags R2 with empty hand. V's are down 10 runs at least. All my fault.

So, ... "safe" (kid beats the throw by a step...which is, as we know,...a MILE in our world ) and a stupid fielder tagging w/out the glove is your fault ???? No worries jk ... your'e good!

[jkumpire]

My first call, bottom of 1st. Kid beats throw by a step. V 1B goes gonzo, loud mouth mom starts yelling. Ugh. then F6 puts ball in glove during a rundown, and tags R2 with empty hand. V's are down 10 runs at least. All my fault.

So, ... "safe" (kid beats the throw by a step...which is, as we know,...a MILE in our world ) and a stupid fielder tagging w/out the glove is your fault ???? No worries jk ... your'e good!

Thunder,

Yeah, I know it wasn't my fault. My fault in this was taking the game in the first place. I sent in a report on the ejection today, I will see what happens. I put in the post my days of umpiring little kids ball are over.

[scrounge]

I've grown to hate certain travel teams for very similar reasons....

[dumbdumb]

It's my fault, I mean really it was my fault....

Then I get a text from a young umpire who told me a game needed an umpire due to illness. I may never do travel ball period. HC needs banned from league IMO. These kind of antics are destroying the game.

Umpire's illness could have been??? this coach and pulled out of the game.

Once again, the old cliche, "it starts at the top" rears its ugly head and is so true.

Until the person who runs the league shows some backbone and has a zero tolerance for coaches like this, this coach and these instances will continue.

And I will be mean and put this on the assignors also. Until the assignors out there show some backbone and tell league officials they will not put up with these antics towards their umpires, or you will quit assigning umpires, you will still have problems.

That being said, I have no problem with a coach who respects and knows the importance of the umpires and the role they play in the game, but just for the show, likes to get run once a year no matter what. However, all he does is come out in a non-threatening manor, keeps his distance, and then says, "you stink" loudly for all to hear, and as he says this he throws his hat in the air or on the ground. As you give him the heave ho, he immediately turns and leaves the grounds of the facility and does not try to "get his moneys worth". This type of coach is welcome to get tossed once a year as long he leaves the umps alone in the other games and accepts any other penalties, without complaint, that may come with this ejection in his league.

[jkumpire]

Double D,

I was surprised to find out that the league took a report and there could be a suspension upcoming for the chair thrower. Each team gets their own umpires, and the guy was in hospital, so the absence was legit. Maybe for me this is a reminder that this age of baseball is so different than the levels i normally work it requires special skill to truly do well. The players are children, out supposedly to have fun and enjoy the game.

I used to have a hard-and-fast rule I would never do any games with players below 13 years old and all games on a 80' diamond at least. I think I am going back to that rule.

[mstaylor]

Did you get this assignment through your normal group or is it a looser thing for summer ball? If it was through your group then you need to find out if this is normal. If it is then you need to get together as a group and shut it down. I have told this story several times but we had a local 17/18 league here that was out of control. The coaches in some cases weren't much older than their kids. The umpires were telling me they didn't want to work because they were taking too much crap. I told them if they were then it was their fault for taking it. I told them that if there are problems, dump them. They said they would have an ejection a game. at least. I told them only for a few games then they will figure it out, and they did.

[jkumpire]

MS,

Just a summer thing. My partner told me this is the first time he'd had any problems with them over 5 years of working their games. The whole episode surprised me no end. I was a one-time substitute, forever and ever Amen. :yippie: