Having Rabbit ears vs letting it go to far

[ERW27]

This is one game management aspect I really struggle with. My feeling is if I have to turn around to a coach/player or ask what did you say, I should let it go. Thats having rabbit ears. What happend this weekend really bother me and I dont think I handled properly.

 

5th inning. R1, lefty pitcher with a decent moves picked the runner. Using the same move all game finally got somone. Coach comes out to argue he went past 45 line (working in B 2 man system). I explain I have been paying attention and he did nothing he hasn't done all game long, we are not having this disucssion starting in the 5th inning (he is losing 5-0 saying how huge this play is). Everything ends and he goes back to third I go to A.

 

BR walks. As I trot into B I hear "I will give you $100 if you balk him this time!" I just ignore him. Few seconds later I think if this kid balks now I am screwed. The other coach is going to be all over me. Should I have handled that and dumped him for it? Would that have been rabbit ears? Where do you draw that line.

 

Just to finsh the story after the inning I go out to RF and his team is 3rd base dugout (current 3rd base coach). He starts walking to the mound assuming to check cleat marks. My partner tells him you touch that mound and your done, he then meets him and turns him back to the dugout. They lost 5-2 and he didnt say another word.

[Jocko]

Don't feed fhe rats. All. Coaches are rats. Don't bait them. Resist the urge to make sarcastic remarks. At least until you have built a reputation as a solid umpire. Follow the guidelines set forth in the rule book: Be impartial, courteous, firm, and fair (paraphrasing) and thereby compel respect from all. (Right Yoda? @UMPJM)

Do your job. Earn your pay. Study the rules. Study the game. Learn your craft. Listen more than you talk. Ask questions HERE. Take each game, each inning, each PLAY as a learning opportunity. Self evaluate and solicit advice from ppl you trust. Go to a real camp/clinic. NEVER SAY ANYTHING TO A COACH OR PLAYER THAT WOULD RESULT IN THEIR DISCIPLINE IF THEY SAID IT TO YOU. When you deal with team personnel, be friendly. But remember, theyre not your friend. The ONLY friend you have on the field is your partner.

Don't take to heart any praises you might receive any more than you do any ridicule you receive.

@Slim Jim

[umpcoachfather]

Attmepted bribary - Gone.  Questionoing judgement - Gone.  Showing you up - Gone.  I wouldnt consider responding to something that was meant for you to hear - Rabbit Ears. 

[Stan W.]

"Rabbit ears" is something that most of us has had to overcome at one point of another in our careers. Your profile doesnt say how long you have been umpiring but its usually something we struggle with when we are young or just starting out... I think that there are some young umpires who mistake the authority given to them by the rule book to mean that they can never be wrong. I can even remember myself in the beginning being much more confrontational and even had a bad caseof  "rabbit ears"....

I had this issue years ago, because i was convinced that I was ubiased, that i was hustling to get in the best position and truly was trying to do the best job I could and when I heard those comments from the dugouts or stands, I was truly offended....and I responded...

 

Enough negative incidents convinced me to ask an umpire who I admired how he handled the comments....he told me that "Hear" and "hearing" are 2 separate things.....when you have "rabbit ears"...(and again, that is hearing and taking offense to every negative comment made about you or the call you made)....and letting that affect you negatively only pulls you off your game....it hurts your concentration and your ability to call an effective game..... 

 

Those umpires who cant get past this in their training often cite this as the reason they gave up umpiring......hassle from coaches and fans......you will not umpire long nor successfully if you do not get over "hearing" the comments.....

 

We train umpires to "hear" what goes on around them, you dont want to be oblivious, or come off as deaf, but to confine themselves to the area that the rule book gives us jurisdiction over. Now we all have limits...and at that time is when you need to put an end to it. You will come to know when you just overheard something or were being communicated to directly..."thats enough coach"...is the response.....

 

Now follow this... I never met an umpire who wanted to be wrong.....but I have met a few who didnt do enough to prevent it....If you make the right call, any negative partisan comments dont mean a thing....if you are in the right position to make a call, comments from people/coaches and players hundreds of feet away dont concern you......if you make a judgment call based on the best view you had of the play, within the most common 2 man system, negative comments dont carry any sting....... 

 

Understanding that baseball is a passionate game, and those that watch it and play it have an interest in who wins it, they will put on to the umpires a unfair responsiblity for the loss of their team.....in reality  most all of us have zero interest at all in who wins/loses......and with that comes the comments....they dont go away, but how you handle them makes all the difference....    

[grayhawk]

You need to be able to distinguish the difference between overhearing a comment made by a coach or player to one another, and hearing a comment clearly intended for you to hear.  The former deserves no response, and the latter deserves a swift and decisive response following the IAWE process (Ignore, Acknowledge, Warn Eject).

 

"It's not rabbit ears if you're supposed to hear it" is a good rule of thumb.

[bluejerred]

@grayhawk and @Stan W. both make great points as they always do.  Every EJ situation is a HTBT.  Voice projection, body language, and attitude all go into the equation along with words.  If I know I'm hustling and putting in effort, then I think it's funny when the coaches, players, and fans get frustrated; especially when their team is playing bad.  It's music to my ears for some strange reason.  Plus there's something about watching somebody dig themselves into a hole that is just entertaining.  Umpire for the ball and keep the players safe; keep it simple, everything else is just a distraction.

 

Besides, sometimes it's a lot more fun to keep them in the game.  I had a game where I had coaches arguing fair/foul, interference, strike zone, you name it.  I thought about tossing the guy but his team was playing horribly.  Towards the end, they were losing 17-3.  Why toss them when you can make them stay and feel more pain?

[ricka56]

I wouldn't consider this a real bribery attempt, but I'd try to nip this smart talk in the bud.

 

Coach: "I will give you $100 if you balk him this time!"

Umpire: "I will give you a free warning this time...Knock it off"

[MPLSMatt]

It's never rabbit ears if a coach is talking to you.  It may be a quick trigger, but not rabbit ears.   Depending on tone, I'd probably go with a "that's enough, Coach" or if he yells it at me, he's probably done. 

[Slim Jim]

This is probably the biggest part umpiring I have yet to overcome myself. I have yet had to really deal with a coach. I guess I have just been lucky so far but I know it's coming one day. Sure I have been talked to but not to any point I felt the coach was getting to far with me or maybe I haven't realized it. I have only been umpiring for a year and a half or so. I know dealing with coaches takes time to figure out but I worry myself to death about it. Anyone have any advice to help a new guy out?

[GreyhoundAggie]

I've been doing it for 7 years and have had a few, and I am still doing it.

 

I had a rat on Saturday for 2 games straight and I should have tossed him. He was being deliberately provocative. He didn't like that I banged his kid out on an appeal that his kid missed first base on a double.

 

Every time the other team hit a double for the rest of the game he had his pitcher step off and appeal that he missed first. He then said "Do you think he didn't miss that one" since during our "discussion" on the earlier call I made the mistake of saying I thought he missed it, instead of just saying "he missed the bag coach and letting him go on"

 

I called time and gave him a warning. And he said something about "I'll take it". He was chippy and disrespectful the entire game. The second game was more of the same.

 

I couldn't help but think of BigUmp's quote "The only ejection you regret is the one you miss". And damn did I regret not tossing the 20 yr old college baseball player "coach". My assigner said they have a reputation for having no respect for officials and it was very apparent.

 

The second game he was making remarks about "can't be missing that one" on close pitches. Other team never said a peep in a 4-4 ballgame.

 

Oh here's a good one from the same game....Same team with the rat coaches. Lefty pitcher on the mound. R1 and the lefty picks towards first but the move looked funky and I thought he stepped towards home on the move. I came out from the plate and called it immediately.

 

The assistant coach comes running out towards the foul line "There is no way you can make that call from there. Absolutely no way" etc etc. I didn't even discuss it with him. I just said it's a balk and told him that's enough twice. He dropped it. I should have tossed him for being an assistant and coming out to argue but it didn't even click with me at first.

 

I couldn't help but think "Then where would you like me to call it? From right field?" I'm just supposed to let his pitcher get away with it I guess?

 

Game management is one of the most difficult skills since you basically have to earn it one game and situation at a time. I definitely learned the good old, the less you say the better since I put my foot in it earlier in the game. I was 100% confident of my call, but I handled the discussion poorly and it permeated the rest of the day.

 

Sorry if I thread jacked. I have been wanting to vent on those games for a couple of days. I made some good calls, but had an overall poor day at the ballpark with my game management and missing some crucial appeal plays.

[bluejerred]

^^^^^^Best answer^^^^^^^  @Jocko, @Thunderheads

[ERW27]

My issue isn't just what example I had this weekend, more a general question with a specific example. I have been umpiring 10 years. From LL to High School to few cups of College games. I have had one ejection last year. I have always chose to ignore to play deaf when it comes to a player/coach not happy with me. Not cause I'm afraid to toss, but felt ejections are always preventable unless they just really cross a line. I have learned this year playing deaf sometimes could mean I'm really green and don't have guts to stand up for myself and open to more criticism. I have also seen partners who I felt was looking to get into with coaches/players and could have avoided situations by playing deaf. 

 

I am trying to find that happy medium. Don't want to be a prick that you can't approach and have quick hook, but don't want to be walked on. 

[JHSump]

Don't feed fhe rats. All. Coaches are rats. Don't bait them. Resist the urge to make sarcastic remarks. At least until you have built a reputation as a solid umpire. Follow the guidelines set forth in the rule book: Be impartial, courteous, firm, and fair (paraphrasing) and thereby compel respect from all. (Right Yoda? @UMPJM)

Do your job. Earn your pay. Study the rules. Study the game. Learn your craft. Listen more than you talk. Ask questions HERE. Take each game, each inning, each PLAY as a learning opportunity. Self evaluate and solicit advice from ppl you trust. Go to a real camp/clinic. NEVER SAY ANYTHING TO A COACH OR PLAYER THAT WOULD RESULT IN THEIR DISCIPLINE IF THEY SAID IT TO YOU. When you deal with team personnel, be friendly. But remember, theyre not your friend. The ONLY friend you have on the field is your partner.

Don't take to heart any praises you might receive any more than you do any ridicule you receive.

@Slim Jim

Take these words to heart.  A better summary of how to act as a umpire I have not seen.

[Jocko]

@JHSump - Thanks, Dr. Ump :notworthy: :notworthy:

[conbo61]

I would dump him with the $100 offer.  Instantly.

 

Whether that comment is in your head (and you said that it was) or not, he just introduced a HUGE element of doubt in the minds of the other team and gave THEM an opening to question every close call.

 

Buh-bye...

[noumpere]

While parts of umpiring might be a science, game management is an art.  You can't really be taught it, you have to learn it.  What works for me, today, won't work for you, today or for me, tomorrow.

 

I agree that many of the items mentioned in these posts need to be addressed -- even if it's not rising to the level of immediate ejection.  Sometimes, you need to eject more, so you can eject less.

[ALStripes17]

I was U1 in a 3 man crew, PU had a tough time with coaches and fans all night during an all star game. 1B coach for one of the teams was in his box and started chatting to me about my partner. Just told him "Coach, we must stop this conversation. I will not let you discuss my partner to me."

He threw his hands up and had an attitude of "so I guess you're unapproachable too! Why are all of you guys in this high and mighty attitude?"

I just gave him the stop sign and said "talk to me about MY calls... not my partners."

He looked at me with a curious look and went back to the front of his box. Came and apologized the next inning. No more major issues after that (other than constant chirping about balls and strikes that I finally got tired of hearing and said "that's enough")

[Jocko]

Awww.....my first best answer :blush:

[bluejerred]

Awww.....my first best answer

Well deserved.  That's the type of advice that all who read this thread will evaluate themselves with.