EJ when they're barking at your partner

[zoops]

Wondering how you all handle it when coaches are going over the line in yelling at your partner and at what point if any you will eject them or if you leave it up to your partner.  Had a situation like this:  Home team has 3 coaches who kind of all act like they're the head coach and have gotten away with it for too long (HS ball).  Play at first where the ball is dropped by F3 somewhere between catch and transfer and my partner (BU) calls the runner safe.  Runner would have been out by 10 feet.  HT dugout (3rd base side) goes crazy and I as plate umpire yelled "we'll talk to one of you, not 3!" within a couple seconds.  My partner asked for my help and we conferenced (I know there probably shouldn't have been one but he came to me) for a second and I had no view of the catch/transfer/drop so we kept it the way it was.  I turned around and the head coach is walking towards me now and as my partner signaled that it's staying safe, the assistants in the dugout go crazy again and as I'm looking at the one he yells "that's terrible" and I tossed him.  Whatcha think?

[maven]

1. I have no problem with your shutting down the howler monkeys. When they're in the dugout, either umpire may address the issue.
2. The greener our partners, the more latitude we have to intervene with a coach who is on partner's back. I'll always remember a veteran who had my back with a whiney coach when I didn't know enough to shut him down myself.
3. Even if you have no view of the play, you can still ask your partner what he saw and help him rule correctly. With your play, once the ball goes in the mitt, I'm probably recommending getting the out. You let him announce his call, which was good.
4. We don't care whether coach thinks the call is terrible. From what you said yourself, it might well have been. Nobody should get tossed for stating that a call is bad/missed/blown/etc, especially when there's a better than average chance he was right.

As I've stated in another thread: the mistake is to think that your goal is to convince the coach. Your goal is to escort him safely off the field and resume play. He's entitled to his opinion of any call and to express it non-persistently in non-personal, non-profane terms.

[zoops]

I could have been clearer that this was the assistant yelling from the dugout that got tossed, not the head coach.  I've been told many times assistants should have a short rope when it comes to voicing opinions.  

[Stan W.]

I'm not going to elaborate too much on my opinion here as I think @maven hits it out of the park......

 

To me, it would all come down to who I was partnered up with.......if its one of my regular veteran guys, I'm pretty certain all I would need to do is wait and see if my rodeo clown skills might be needed to get the game back underway.....

 

In all our associations, I'm sure we all teach umpires that they should handle their own business..........but less experienced partners are another issue entirely.......I have intervened, I have taken over the discussion when my partner was overwhelmed, I have ejected coaches for things they said to my partner,  when it was clear they were just going to stand there and take a whipping....

[lawump]

We have assigned crew chiefs for all of the high school games I work.  Luckily (or not) I am almost always the crew chief (regardless of what umpiring position I have been assigned).  This gives me a lot of latitude.  With that said, I am quite willing to quickly step in when my partner is a new/inexperienced umpire.  If my partner is a veteran, I will make sure that any arguing remains 1-on-1, but it is his to deal with otherwise...to a certain point.  If it gets out of control and the veteran is not doing anything, I will step in.  Then I will chew out the veteran after the game.  The fact is, is that there are "veterans" who are plain afraid to handle "non-routine" situations.  They like to play the proverbial ostrich and put their head in the sand and hope it just magically goes away. 

 

Of course, maybe when I get involved because the veteran is too afraid and I take care of it (one way or another) and everything does "go away" (as a result of me handling) maybe that is magic for my partner...

[Umpire in Chief]

@maven is dead on...

 

The only thing I would have to add is. have a good post game with him. Don't berate him, give him a learning experience. Ask him questions about what he was thinking and if he was considering taking action. 

 

Remember you've been there too and your partner might just need someone to help them along.

[zoops]

Am I remiss in not taking crap from assistants?  I think that after being told to knock if off, and firing it back up again, it was a deserved ejection.  When an assistant is yelling at the top of his lungs from the dugout, that's a little more than just "stating his opinion," in my opinion.  

[maven]

For the record, I have no issue with your tossing anybody yelling at the top of his lungs.

[bluejerred]

For the record, I have no issue with your tossing anybody yelling at the top of his lungs.

 

Indeed maven.  There is a difference between expressing displeasure and screaming a disagreement that makes a scene.  That has to be shut down immediately.  Making a scene, especially for an AC, is verboden.  Show no mercy.