Arguing Balls and Strikes

[JamesC]

12AA USSSA last weekend. Kid throws 2 "knuckle balls" in a row that float in. Of course they are about head high, but the catcher being as amazing as he was (8 feet away from the plate), was doing a spectacular job of framing them :/

Well, after the second pitch the fans are all screaming that the plate needs to be cleaned off and everything. Coach starts loudly voicing his opinion about the last two calls. I immediately come out and tell him I don't want to hear anymore about the strikezone and he says, "He hasn't had to move his glove on the last two pitches blue! That's terrible! I just wish you would call it where he catches it like you're supposed to and not worry about the batter!!"

I was stunned! I looked at him for a second, and just said, "Ok, this conversation is over", looked at the pitcher, "let's play!" I couldn't believe he actually said this! What a RAT!

[mstaylor]

:crazy: What the heck was he drinking? I had a manager complaining about not getting strikes on some terrible floater curve balls. They would come across high and the catcher would catch it as a strike, problem was he was waaay too deep. The manager, after being several times they were high, complained his catcher was catching strikes. I told him if he was gauging off his catcher then F2 is lying to him because he was too deep. He finally said he was tired of me calling two different zones. GONE!

[Guest]

12AA USSSA last weekend. Kid throws 2 "knuckle balls" in a row that float in. Of course they are about head high, but the catcher being as amazing as he was (8 feet away from the plate), was doing a spectacular job of framing them :/

Well, after the second pitch the fans are all screaming that the plate needs to be cleaned off and everything. Coach starts loudly voicing his opinion about the last two calls. I immediately come out and tell him I don't want to hear anymore about the strikezone and he says, "He hasn't had to move his glove on the last two pitches blue! That's terrible! I just wish you would call it where he catches it like you're supposed to and not worry about the batter!!"

I was stunned! I looked at him for a second, and just said, "Ok, this conversation is over", looked at the pitcher, "let's play!" I couldn't believe he actually said this! What a RAT!

James,

Why, if you told him you didn't want to hear anymore about the strike zone, did you not eject him when he proceeded to make the next comment?

Don't be afraid to tell catchers to move up either.

Furthermore, personally I have no tolerance for coaches trying to tell us how to do our jobs. If this was me, presuming I did not tell him to stop arguing the zone (as the comment in question would have got him ejected), when he got to the part about wishing how I would call it where he caught it .. etc, I would've really barked at him - "I don't tell you how to do your job, and you're not going to tell me how to do mine. Now knock it off!"

[yawetag]

Don't be afraid to tell catchers to move up either.

I'm not telling a catcher what to do. If he wants to sit deep, that's his fault.

[UmpJM]

ump_24,

Don't be afraid to tell catchers to move up either.

... "I don't tell you how to do your job, ..."

Isn't that the coach's job? I don't tell catchers where to set up. The primary exposure is that the catcher subsequently commits catcher's interference and then tells his coach "The ump told me I had to move up!" Then you've got a $hitstorm of your own making on your hands.

I have, on rare occasions:

1. Set up "early", more or less forcing the catcher to "move up".

2. Quietly spoken to the coach between innings, along the lines of, "Bill, Is Tommy setting up where you want him too? Seems awfully deep to me." There are a couple of times where a coach has thanked me for calling this to his attention.

"I don't tell you how to do your job, and you're not going to tell me how to do mine. Now knock it off!"

Fixed it for you! While I regularly think things like that to myself, no good can come of saying them out loud. And it can come back to bite you if you end up dumping the jerk and he whines about your "unprofessional attitude".

Just sayin'. As in all things, do as you think best.

JM

[BigZigBlue]

I was actually working on the bases with James during this game and he handled it fine guys because once he told the coach, "Are you arguing balls and strikes with me coach?" The coach stopped mid sentence and turned and walked away and was quiet the whole game...plus the score keeper was NOT paying any attention to the game as he hollered every other pitch what the dang count was. But James should tell ya'll of what a high school coach told him about the correct interference call he had this weekend....It's amazing to see how little some coaches actually know with some of the stuff they say...

But come on James......we got to call it where the catcher catches it and the runner will be out of the baseline if he runs around a fielder trying to catch a pop-up..LOL jk man we should hook up and play a few rounds this coming up week..

[JamesC]

Yes, I was calling a high school game this weekend. Number 3 team in the state with only one loss. Bases loaded, 2 outs. Batter hits a pop up on the front of the dirt in front of F4. F4 is charging hard to make the catch, I'm on the dish. When the balls is hit I move from behind the plate, just up the 3rd base line a little just to be able to see everything. I clearly watch F4 (whose eyes are completely fixed on the ball) collide with R1. Immediately I signal interference and 3rd out. No brainer, right?!

Well, coach comes out all pissed! "How come he is out?!" "Coach, he ran into the fielder trying to field the ball, that's an easy interference call!" Coach says, "Well what is he supposed to do, go around him?!", sarcastically of course! I immediately said, "That's exactly what he's supposed to do!" Well, coach then proclaims, "He'll be out for running out of the base line then blue!!" I was in disbelief and just told him I was done explaining! I don't know which comment was worse, this one or the one where the coach told me not to worry where the batter was and just call the pitches where the catcher catches them! See the crap we have to deal with down here?! And people wonder why officials in Louisiana went on "strike", it's because we have to deal with such ignorant coaches!

[grayhawk]

That's really funny James because my son was playing this weekend (Little League 10/11 year olds) and we have R1 and R2 with no outs. Grounder to F6 and our R2 runs behind F6 (who is playing fairly deep) to avoid the ball/fielder as he is fielding the ball. F6 throws to F3 not in time and everyone is safe. BU (an inexperienced volunteer) calls time and now I'm bracing for what I think is going to be an "out of the baseline" call. Thankfully, he asks the PU if R2 "is allowed to go out of the baseline to run behind the fielder while he is fielding the ball." I know the PU and he knows the rules and simply replies, "yes." Later he told me he didn't want to get into a long discussion with BU about when a baseline is established which is why he simply replied "yes" to a question that was worded wrong.

So you can tell that manager that if a 10 year old knows to avoid the fielder while he is fielding the ball, then maybe his player should know that too.

[mstaylor]

I'm sure I have told this story somewhere here, but here it is. My rules interpreter and I are working a scrimmage and the manager questions a call on the basis of rules. After going through it on the field several times, he stopped me on the way to the car. I explain it again and he starts to argue. My interpreter asked him where was his rulebook. He answers he didn't have one. My interpreter responds obviously and walked on, priceless.

[Thunderheads]

You can't let an opportunity to tell a coach he's wrong!! That was a perfect set up to say, ...."coach, ....in case you're not aware, ....it's NOT where the catcher catches the ball" ...... ~or~ my favorite.....

Do you want me to call those pitches on YOUR guys coach??

THAT usually shuts him up!:rolleyes: