Interesting partner...

[James Walker]

Couple of weekends I called with a guy the had some definate personality quirks. It was a dh, he had the first plate, I had the second. He showed up in uniform, and looked good. We had a great pregame and I was expecting a good game. But boy was I wrong.

He called every strike. And I mean everyone. Called, swinging, tips, everything : . Gave the old " DDB" signal for everyball, plus gave location both verbally and with his hands. Gave the count and outs every pitch. He was about as mobile as a potted plant, never rotated and on some plays was way out of position. Thankfully he didn't have any close plays. But, I always try to find a positive out of every game. His was time management. The game started on time, and we got a full 6 inning game in in 1:15.

When he had the bases, never signaled anything but IFF. The thing that really got me was he would give the count and out after every pitch (just like when he had the dish). At one point, he called time and started walking to me. I met him at the mound and said what's up. He said he needed to talk to the scorekeeper. He procedes to loudly tell her that she needs to get off her cell phone and pay attention. That the kids are looking at the board and getting confused ( I don't see how, he gave the count and out after every pitch). I break it up and send him back to the field. And his mobility definately didn't improve from plate to bases. He used two positions, A and C. And I don't know if him being out of position had anything to do with this, but he kicked the crap out of some calls. On one, R2 was stealing. F5 gets the ball and is waiting for the runner. R2 slides into the glove and never touches the bag. F5 shows him the ball after he asked, and he safes him. Don't know what the problem is, but it was ridiculous.

[Thunderheads]

let's put things into perspective:

 

6 innings - 1:15

[James Walker]

And the second 1:20 or so. Both 12u games. I said I always try to find a positive.

[Thunderheads]

And the second 1:20 or so. Both 12u games. I said I always try to find a positive.

well... you had that much going for you then!  could have been a loooooooooong day!

[maineump]

He probably talked a great game too.

This is probably a foolish question   how did he react to your post-game?

Sometimes, to the assigner -  ? I do a little bit of summer assigning, but do my best not to hang the guys out to dry.

[grayhawk]

Fess up. Which one was it - Jocko or Jax?

[James Walker]

Fess up. Which one was it - Jocko or Jax?

Not telling.

And yes, I got the "I've been doing this since before you were born" speech. Post game was like, I like the way you kept the gane moving. But we got some thing to work on. I got with the assinger and I told him I'd work with him one more time, thinking everyone has a bad day. But I was wrong. Same thing, different day. But the assinger pushed him out. I hate to throw someone under the bus, but if you're lazy and miss multiple easy calls its time to go.

[BRUMP]

Fess up. Which one was it - Jocko or Jax?

Not telling.

And yes, I got the "I've been doing this since before you were born" speech. Post game was like, I like the way you kept the gane moving. But we got some thing to work on. I got with the assinger and I told him I'd work with him one more time, thinking everyone has a bad day. But I was wrong. Same thing, different day. But the assinger pushed him out. I hate to throw someone under the bus, but if you're lazy and miss multiple easy calls its time to go.

i hate when people assume older means better......i know some antiques who think just because theyre old as dirt and have been doing it since "before my parents were born" (yes i actually heard that one) that theyre better 

[grayhawk]

 

Fess up. Which one was it - Jocko or Jax?

Not telling.

And yes, I got the "I've been doing this since before you were born" speech. Post game was like, I like the way you kept the gane moving. But we got some thing to work on. I got with the assinger and I told him I'd work with him one more time, thinking everyone has a bad day. But I was wrong. Same thing, different day. But the assinger pushed him out. I hate to throw someone under the bus, but if you're lazy and miss multiple easy calls its time to go.

i hate when people assume older means better......i know some antiques who think just because theyre old as dirt and have been doing it since "before my parents were born" (yes i actually heard that one) that theyre better 

 

You could always ask, "If all this experience has made you better, how bad were you when you started?"

[scrounge]

 

Fess up. Which one was it - Jocko or Jax?

Not telling.

And yes, I got the "I've been doing this since before you were born" speech. Post game was like, I like the way you kept the gane moving. But we got some thing to work on. I got with the assinger and I told him I'd work with him one more time, thinking everyone has a bad day. But I was wrong. Same thing, different day. But the assinger pushed him out. I hate to throw someone under the bus, but if you're lazy and miss multiple easy calls its time to go.

i hate when people assume older means better......i know some antiques who think just because theyre old as dirt and have been doing it since "before my parents were born" (yes i actually heard that one) that theyre better 

 

In and of itself, all it means is that they haven't died yet.

[sdix00]

Well at least it was better because it was two-man!

 

[Mike Prince]

When I get a partner like this, it is always more trouble when he is on bases.  Being the "old dog" makes him feel like he has to be in charge, I find the best way to put this to good use is let him have the plate.

 

He may still barge in on a call, but the probability is way lower than if he is on the bases.

 

As an aside, when I first joined (2009), there seemed to be a lot of partner bashing and partner from hell posting going on, this has now nicely evolved into stories where we get poor partners but we are trying to work with them (or at least giving them a chance to redeem themselves).  Well done Umpire-Empire...

[sdix00]

When I get a partner like this, it is always more trouble when he is on bases.  Being the "old dog" makes him feel like he has to be in charge, I find the best way to put this to good use is let him have the plate.

 

He may still barge in on a call, but the probability is way lower than if he is on the bases.

 

As an aside, when I first joined (2009), there seemed to be a lot of partner bashing and partner from hell posting going on, this has now nicely evolved into stories where we get poor partners but we are trying to work with them (or at least giving them a chance to redeem themselves).  Well done Umpire-Empire...

 

 

That is a great idea.