A little bit of everything

[grayhawk]

JV game on Saturday - working solo.  A few items of note:

 

1.  F2 is set up inside, and F1 misses his spot, but hits the outside corner at the knees.  F2 has to reach for it which makes it look bad but it's in the zone so I call the strike 3.  OC (visitors) is whining about it from the 3B coach's box.  "No way was that over the plate."  I ignore it.

 

2.  4th inning.  2-2 pitch hits both corners (outside and bottom) and I admittedly take an extra count to be sure it's a strike.  I punch the batter out and as he's walking away, he says "why don't you make up your mind?"  I turn and tell him to go to the dugout and here comes the whiney OC again.  "Don't talk to my player."  I tell him that he talked to me and I was responding.  He starts in on me about my zone and I shut him down immediately.  "We are not talking about balls and strikes.  I heard your comment earlier and that will be enough.  This is your warning for the rest of the game and the next person that argues balls and strikes will be ejected."

 

Before you even say it - yes, I probably should have just run the player but since he only said it loud enough for me to hear it and kept walking, I didn't.  I did not hear another peep about balls and strikes the rest of the game.

 

3.  Soft grounder hit to F6.  He charges it and throws wide.  F3 jumps for it and the throw takes him off line and off the bag.  BR is running and kind of stumbles and misses the bag and ends up on the ground past the bag.  There was no OBS - he stumbled on his own.  I signal safe.  BR gets back to the bag and the defense didn't make any appeal attempt. I hear from the visitors dugout, "He didn't even touch the base."  I look over and say, "Do you have a question?" and it was an assistant who was saying it.  I merely said, "I thought it was Mike (head coach's name changed for anonymity)."  I look at "Mike" for a second to see if he has a question and he doesn't say anything.  I head back to the plate.

 

4.  Bases loaded.  Batter swings and hits F2's mitt and muscles it into the infield.  I signal, "That's obstruction!" while pointing down at F2. Pitcher makes a poor throw home trying to get R3 and it gets past F2.  F2 just kind of sits there while R2 is now running home.  Someone on the defense yells "keep playing!" and F2 gets up and grabs the ball.  R1 is now on third and BR is on first.  I call time and start heading to OC to give him his option when I realize that the conditions exist to disregard the catcher's obstruction.  F2 asks me why 2 runs scored and isn't it a dead ball.  I give him a short explanation and we play on.  Whiney coach doesn't say anything, though a few visiting fans are confused asking each other, "Isn't that a dead ball?"

 

5.  Batter for visiting team strikes out and F2 bobbles it a little and thinks he needs to tag him, so he does.  Batter looks back and says "Don't f'ing shove me."  I step between and say "That's enough - return to your dugout" and he does.

 

All during the game, the whiney visitors coach never once gives me a change.  There were 2 pitching changes and I had to verify who the pitcher was replacing to ensure I have my lineup card correct.  Just shows the childish mentality of that coach.  Never heard a peep about my zone from the home team (other than one question from a player that struck out looking - "Did that hit the corner?"), nor any of the fans.  If I was the AD for that school and saw how this head coach acted, I would have serious reservations about how he is "leading" these students.  At the time he was arguing balls and strikes, his team was leading.  They ended up losing by two runs.  Not all calls went "against" them.  I did balk the home F1 for no stop with R3 and R2.  I did have a "safe, off the bag" on a banger at first that went "for" the visiting team.

 

I take particular satisfaction in keeping a professional tone with a coach who obviously can't get over it.  When he took his second trip to the mound, I reminded him just like I always do, "Mike, that's your second trip.  You have one remaining" in a pleasant tone.  When I asked him about his changes, "Mike, is 10 coming in for 9?" in a pleasant tone, etc.

 

Anyway - as the subject suggested - a little bit of everything in that solo game.  Thanks for reading (if you got this far).

[tjwoelfel13]

You forgot the kitchen sink.

[JaxRolo]

Busy day!

[bluejerred]

Nice job keeping calm, cool, and collected.  Especially working Lone Ranger!

[Pete Peterson Sr]

"  I hear from the visitors dugout, "He didn't even touch the base."  I look over and say, "Do you have a question?" and it was an assistant who was saying it.  I merely said, "I thought it was Mike (head coach's name changed for anonymity)."  I look at "Mike" for a second to see if he has a question and he doesn't say anything.  I head back to the plate."

 

 Why did this exchange take place, grayhawk ? Maybe I missed something, but I don't know that I understand the reasoning behind your question. I would have just waited to see if the coach wanted to appeal the missed base...

[grayhawk]

" I hear from the visitors dugout, "He didn't even touch the base." I look over and say, "Do you have a question?" and it was an assistant who was saying it. I merely said, "I thought it was Mike (head coach's name changed for anonymity)." I look at "Mike" for a second to see if he has a question and he doesn't say anything. I head back to the plate."

Why did this exchange take place, grayhawk ? Maybe I missed something, but I don't know that I understand the reasoning behind your question. I would have just waited to see if the coach wanted to appeal the missed base...

It's a fair point Pete. By the time this exchange took place, the BR already made his way back to the base, so the appeal opportunity had passed. I was just a few feet off the 1B line and they were in the 1B dugout, so ignoring it would make me appear to be evasive and unsure of myself. I decided to ask if they had a question to deflect a possible argument. It seemed to work though I acknowledge that it could have opened a can of worms instead.

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[BuckeyeMike]

I enjoy reading about someone else's trials and tribulations and more importantly, how they handled them; it's helpful to a newer guy like myself.

 

Thanks for the post.

[UmpJM]

grayhawk,

 

Jeez.... What a redass!

 

Just messin' with ya', man.

 

Well, mostly. Couple of thoughts for you which you are free to take or leave, as you see fit.

 

#1."Ignore" works for me here too (at least if it's the first "significant" one I've heard from him). But, if you think about it objectively, you'll likely admit that probably "looked bad" from his perspective. And his batter was called out on a pitch that looked bad. While there is a risk in doing so, I have, on occasion, found the opportunity after the inning ended, to discreetly say something like "Mike, I know that probably looked bad from where you were, and the pitcher did miss his spot, but the whole ball was over the plate (it's OK to exaggerate a little in this part...) and it was a strike. If your pitcher misses his spot and it's over the plate, he's getting the strike too." You don't want to be the least bit "apologetic" or "defensive" about it, but I don't think there's anything wrong with telling him what you had.

 

#2. You were there and I wasn't. But, as I read your description, I get a picture of a snot-nosed JV kid pissing off an umpire, and the umpire letting it show. You never want to let it show when a kid pisses you off. It's like throwing chum into a shiver of sharks. You certainly "address it", but I wouldn't do what you did. (Nor would I have ejected him on the spot.) Can you think of another way (or ways) that you might have addressed it that might have been better?

 

#3. Ignore.

 

#4. Nice job. How fun! (Good job catching the "disregard" condition. Easy thing to forget in all the "excitement".)

 

#5. Sounds OK to me. Needed to be addressed, you addressed it. In similar situations, where one player reasonably believes an opposing player has done something "unsportsmanlike" to him when he really didn't, I have given the "offended" player an explanation. "I understand why that annoyed you, but I was watching real close, and he didn't do anything dirty. He just thought the needed to tag you." You say it your own way, not my way.

 

All in all, I must say it sounds like fun!

 

JM

[UmpJM]

Bump.

[grayhawk]

grayhawk,

 

Jeez.... What a redass!

 

Just messin' with ya', man.

 

Well, mostly. Couple of thoughts for you which you are free to take or leave, as you see fit.

 

#1."Ignore" works for me here too (at least if it's the first "significant" one I've heard from him). But, if you think about it objectively, you'll likely admit that probably "looked bad" from his perspective. And his batter was called out on a pitch that looked bad. While there is a risk in doing so, I have, on occasion, found the opportunity after the inning ended, to discreetly say something like "Mike, I know that probably looked bad from where you were, and the pitcher did miss his spot, but the whole ball was over the plate (it's OK to exaggerate a little in this part...) and it was a strike. If your pitcher misses his spot and it's over the plate, he's getting the strike too." You don't want to be the least bit "apologetic" or "defensive" about it, but I don't think there's anything wrong with telling him what you had.

 

I like this approach in the right circumstances.  With this coach, I could tell that engaging in ANY discussion about the zone would be futile and counterproductive.  Sometimes you can just tell by the way they complain.  I can tell you that if this was a varsity game, I would have balled it because a varsity pitcher needs to hit that spot.  In JV, I need to get every strike I can.

 

#2. You were there and I wasn't. But, as I read your description, I get a picture of a snot-nosed JV kid pissing off an umpire, and the umpire letting it show. You never want to let it show when a kid pisses you off. It's like throwing chum into a shiver of sharks. You certainly "address it", but I wouldn't do what you did. (Nor would I have ejected him on the spot.) Can you think of another way (or ways) that you might have addressed it that might have been better?

 

I don't think I came off as being pissed off.  I was firm, but did not raise my voice.  A simple, "that's enough" might have been better.  We had our association meeting last night and I brought this situation up in the classroom, and the consensus was that it was a good non-ejection. 

 

#3. Ignore.

 

Might have been the best thing.  However, if I ignored it, I do believe that I would have come off as weak and unsure of myself.  I think "Mike" was nervous about getting tossed if he questioned me because he doesn't understand that that a warning about arguing balls and strikes doesn't preclude him from asking questions about other plays.

 

#4. Nice job. How fun! (Good job catching the "disregard" condition. Easy thing to forget in all the "excitement".)

 

I almost did forget!

 

#5. Sounds OK to me. Needed to be addressed, you addressed it. In similar situations, where one player reasonably believes an opposing player has done something "unsportsmanlike" to him when he really didn't, I have given the "offended" player an explanation. "I understand why that annoyed you, but I was watching real close, and he didn't do anything dirty. He just thought the needed to tag you." You say it your own way, not my way.

 

I like it and will adapt it for my use in the future.

 

All in all, I must say it sounds like fun!

 

JM

[BalkHawk]

2. You did a nice job of keeping him in the game. May your game have gone twice as smooth if you simply handed him the noose at this point?

I have zero respect for a manager who resorts to "don't talk to my player", as its obvious the sentiment is mutual.

[bam]

#1 - It's JV.  Call al the strikes you can, and even a bunch that aren't.

 

#2 - "My minds already made up the next time YOU'RE up"  and then "skip, if you don't want me talking to him, I suggest you tell him not to talk to me.  I'm fine with that arrangement"

 

#3 - I didn't hear anything. 

 

#4 - Nice job!  I would've been discombobulated trying to keep track of throws and touches, etc. since I'm only one man (Johnny Moxen is only one man!)

 

#5 - "Knock it off - he didn't shove you, he tagged you." 

 

As for lineups, back to #1 - it's JV - I rarely take lineups - I only get them when some baby-faced, 1st year coach is raring to go.  Which brings me to your next point about the AD - he's probably thrilled he's even got a JV coach.  We have programs around here that have no freshman or JV programs because they can't find coaches. 

 

OH!  WHY are you working alone???

[grayhawk]

We get lineups at all levels of HS ball during the season.

 

I was working alone because with the exception of one league (private schools), ALL games below varsity are solo here in SoCal.

[BalkHawk]

#2 - "My minds already made up the next time YOU'RE up"

Yeah, yeah. "Hey [Chandler], that was #13 who said that. Remember which pitch he didn't like."

[Has anybody else noticed all the "Friends" names young f2s have?]