Commentary on the "state of the game" - ejections...

[stl_ump]

A guy I occasionally work with wrote this...

http://www.robrains.com/CARDINALSBASEBALL/tabid/91/entryid/1644/guest-column-the-state-of-amateur-baseball-is-depressing.aspx

 

 

[Dean]

hmmm, interesting.  I have a few questions - like he waited 5 innings to warn the coach about balls and strikes comments?  First time he hears it shut that down.  Chest bumping by the coach - call the police have them arrested for assault.

 

I do not know him, i can only go off the article he wrote but by his own admission he used very poor game management skills.

[SJA]

"Both men chest-bumped my partner and I several times. We both kept our cool." ??????

Sorry, ain't going to happen with me!

SJA :-(

[stl_ump]

Thanks for the input...

 

Everyone... please feel free to give your honest opinion on what happened (which you are) I'll give him a link to this WEB site and thread.

Thanks

[MPLSMatt]

I agree with what's said above.  Bad situations and everyone deserved to be dumped.  I also think that ignoring balls and strikes comments more than once or twice only leads both teams (and fans) to escalate - you've got to shut that down early (something that took me a long time to learn).   But that doesn't in any way excuse the behavior. 

 

Also, since these were tourney games - I'll say that the tourney director are bums for not providing you a little more support with the fans off of the field - at least for youth ball. 

That said,I take issue with the overall thesis that amateur baseball is in bad shape.  His first line said that he's gone 12 years without ejecting a manager - that's a very long time and indicates either that the umpire doesn't want to dump people (unlikely given the rest of his post) or that the vast majority of his games have been without these sort of antics.  In fact, I'd say 5 ejections over 12 years is pretty good.  Just because yours came all at once doesn't mean that the world is suddenly changing. 

 

On the whole, I'd argue that things are starting to head the right direction in terms of sportsmanship.  There are still A LOT of bad dudes trying to live vicariously through their kids in travel ball, but (at least in my area) leagues are much more pointed with their rules, regulations, mission and values being kid centeric.  You see A LOT of "let the coach coach, the umpire umpire and you cheer."  It's not even close to 100% effective but in my estimation, at least they are making an effort (something that wasn't really done 2 decades ago).  When a parent or two acts out, I genuinely get the feeling that many of the other parents are thinking "what an a-hole he's being."  The problem is huge and runs deep, but I guess I have a problem with the broad sweeping statement.  Also, I personally feel that we need to do our part in policing sportsmanship and not allow the coaches and kids to act like Albert Bell.  

 

Now lets hope I don't hurt myself jumping off of this soap box. 

[umpcoachfather]

They bump me, I'm on the ground with injuries, awaiting the ambulance.  Cops are gonna get called and I'm pressing charges.  I get free legal benefits at work, i'm suing these guys for all their worth. 

 

1.  He waited too long to warn. 

2.  He's gone as soon as he runs out of the dugout. 

3.  He gets this - "coach you're ejected, leave the premisses or your teams going to lose by forfeight"

4.  Assistant coach gets called over.  "Controll your fans or your gone next, and you forfeight."

5.  As soon as I'm bumped - cops get called and they get escorted off the field.  I have cops warn the fans - they do it, if you tell them you are concerned for your safety. 

5.  TD gets an earful and if he doesnt support me, he wont get umps anymore. 

6.  If I know the field, I know where the parents/coaches park.  I park elsewhere. 

 

He stated he umpired for 12 years and never ejected.  I find that odd.  Using that and his writeup, he has perhaps created the issue himself, letting these coaches go off too often, too long. 

 

[Replacematt]

Your friend may well be is part of the problem, and letting unacceptable behaviors go unchecked too long. When he says he's never dumped a manager in twelve years, and then provides the flavor of game management he uses, I see a guy who doesn't want to take control and wants to get off the field without conflict. That's something we cannot guarantee. We don't want to start it, but we want to finish it. If you shoot one chattering monkey, the rest tend to shut up. If they don't, keep shooting.

[immaculate1976]

If he went 12 years and never threw a player or coach he is either A) working the greatest league ever or B) he sucks as an umpire. I am going to guess B) since he said the coach started in the 2nd inning and he did not throw him until the 5th. Also he works 12 years and everything is great and as soon as he has to throw a coach the whole little league system is falling apart? WTF.

[stl_ump]

If he went 12 years and never threw a player or coach he is either A) working the greatest league ever or B) he sucks as an umpire. I am going to guess B) since he said the coach started in the 2nd inning and he did not throw him until the 5th. Also he works 12 years and everything is great and as soon as he has to throw a coach the whole little league system is falling apart? WTF.

Keep guessing...

[ricka56]

This author says that "the state of baseball is depressing" and "barbaric" and his belief was "reaffirmed" after working in a tournament where he had his first ever ejections after 12 years of umpiring. It isn't barbaric/depressing where I work. What is depressing is leagues and umpires that don't hold these adults accountable and don't insist that they behave responsibly.  

 

I'd estimate that good umpires have an average of one or two righteous ejection is a year. And good umpires have so few ejections because they do not allow problems to persist. They nip them in the bud. So if an umpire is not doing his job, not holding them responsible, there are 1-2 cases of unchecked bad behavior (from no EJs) and countless other unchecked cases (from missed "nipped in the bud" opportunities) that just fosters the belief in these bad actors that they don't need to behave. Now that's depressing.

 

Keep the bad actors in check, eject them when they won't and your games will be an enjoyable experience, not a depressing one.

[Mark Pepper]

I'm a player's parent, a coach and an umpire.  As a parent I call other parents out on their behavior--politely.  "Brian, go spend a weekend as an umpire in a tournament with parents talking to you like you're talking to him.  THEN come back and see if you're okay barking at this guy like that."  As a parent I've also pulled my son from a travel team and told the coach and other parents why--that at 11 years old, he needs positive role models, not one who gets thrown out of a youth baseball game because he can't control his temper.  Why are parents so desperate to have their kids on a travel/all-star/whatever team that they (A) accept, (B) encourage, and © participate that kind of behavior?  

[BigUmpire]

Typical ST. Louis people.

[bluejerred]

Tell your friend to read "Verbal Judo".  It will change his entire perspective about maintaining control of a situation and proper communication.  What most new umpires (including myself) didn't realize at first is that you can nip problems in the bud without appearing to be a red-ass.  It is possible to remain in control of a conversation even though someone else is out of control.