Should I have ejected?

[tldavis19]

Ok, the situation is with R3 coming in from third to score the ball is thrown in the the catcher who misses it and without the ball applies a tag to R3 with enough force that R3 is knocked to the ground 3 ft out of the baseline and short of the plate. I gave R3 home on the obstruction, but should i have EJ'd the catcher for malicious contact? This was an 8th/9th grade game with FED rules if that matters.

[BRUMP]

For me to give MC on this depends on 2 things. 1. The height of the "tag". 2. How long after the ball got away from F2 was the "tag" applied.

[tldavis19]

For me to give MC on this depends on 2 things. 1. The height of the "tag". 2. How long after the ball got away from F2 was the "tag" applied.

the tag was chest high and F2 knew he didnt have the ball. the ball was sitting by the wall behind home plate.

[NFUA_44]

For me to give MC on this depends on 2 things. 1. The height of the "tag". 2. How long after the ball got away from F2 was the "tag" applied.

the tag was chest high and F2 knew he didnt have the ball. the ball was sitting by the wall behind home plate.

This is all the info you need to determine the intent of his actions.  He certainly wasn't trying to initiate friendly contact, he in fact knows that there is no legal contact he can initiate to make a baseball play since the ball is nowhere near him.

[noumpere]

Sounds like MC to me based on what is written and its similar to the examples FED used when they clarified that MC can be committed by the defense a couple of years ago.

[Guest]

At that age level, go get him.

Older age, get the OBS and let the opposing pitcher handle the situation for you.

[cyclonehokiece]

Based on the description and the fact it is a FED game, he goes.  Also, giving the team warning for a fake tag.

[Jocko]

Heave-ho. F2 gotta go. Anything but an apology from HC might get him too.

[NFUA_44]

Heave-ho. F2 gotta go. Anything but an apology from HC might get him too.

I would give the HC a little leeway, very little though. If he comes out for an explanation that's one thing, any attempt to argue or justify and he's either gonna head back as soon as I tell him its done, or he will be joining F2 on the bus. I've had a couple HC thank me, as the player was a problem to begin with.

[JaxRolo]

Sayonara Amigo

[Dannytheman]

I sure know I am dumping him! 

[BRUMP]

For me to give MC on this depends on 2 things. 1. The height of the "tag". 2. How long after the ball got away from F2 was the "tag" applied.

the tag was chest high and F2 knew he didnt have the ball. the ball was sitting by the wall behind home plate.

In that case :wave:

[tldavis19]

I have an extremely long fuse and as such, I have never ejected anyone. I almost pulled the trigger on this kid, but ended giving him a VERY stern warning. Next time I won't be so nice. I talked to the coach between games(it was a doubleheader) and he understood completely where I was coming from and told him that if he does it again with another umpire, he may not be so lucky. Any advice on how to get over the nerves of ejecting?

[semper_fi_72]

I have an extremely long fuse and as such, I have never ejected anyone. I almost pulled the trigger on this kid, but ended giving him a VERY stern warning. Next time I won't be so nice. I talked to the coach between games(it was a doubleheader) and he understood completely where I was coming from and told him that if he does it again with another umpire, he may not be so lucky. Any advice on how to get over the nerves of ejecting?

Not having a short fuze is good.

Having a long fuze is setting you and others that follow you up for trouble.

I don't EJ easily either but you must do it when it is called for.

I think it would have been appropriate there.

[NFUA_44]

tldavis;

Semper gives you some great advice on fuse length.  Look back on situations that have given you the most thought about your indecision to eject somebody.  It's always the ones that you think you should have run that turn out to be the most you can learn from.  Keep in mind, when you don't handle things and set a problem coach or player straight, your leaving it up to the next crew to deal with an even bigger problem.

 

If you are stopping to think that you should have dumped somebody chances are your right, you probably should have.  This site is a great learning resource on handling situations too.  Go through the ejection forum and read through some of those, you will start to see patterns where ejections should have never happened, and situations where they should have been handled long before.

 

One thing you will find when you finally bust the bubble and get rid of a really problematic person, is how much a justified ejection will help turn a difficult game into a nice quiet event.