Good Toss or Bad Blood?

[UMP45]

 

 

 

 

 

It is now taught as:

1 Ignore  

2 Acknowledge  

3 Engage  

4 Warn  

5 Eject

I get why this s taught but it just simply doesn't work. Well I should say it doesn't work as well as ignoring when necessary, warning when necessary, and ejecting when necessary. Not every situation is the same therefore situation handling shouldn't be handled the same way. Yes it's a good base to start out with and it helps to bring everybody to a similar standard but all it has several down falls as well. It also depends on the level of ball you're working and how that league or conference handles their situations/ejections. I've had several college assigners say throw that out the window all it will do is get you run over. Just my $.02.

 

 

You're arguing against something that hasn't been said. No one has said that this method should be used all the time. It's a method for dealing with chirping, whining, and bitching and moaning, not for egregious acts. If someone starts off whining about balls and strikes with "Get the dick out of your mouth and start calling strikes," I'm not using this.

 

Also, who are these mystery "college assignors" who keep putting out horrible advice? You're the second poster (that I know of) in the last ten days that has stated that their college assignor has recommended something entirely counterproductive at best, and horrifically career-stalling/ending at worst. At least in the other case, I know the poster is full of SH*# and has integrity issues. I don't know if you have bad assignors or are misunderstanding what they said.

 

Definitely not misunderstanding what they said. I don't think that should be considered giving out horrible advice. It's all dependent on what your goals are. Mine are to move up the professional baseball ranks and in professional baseball they typically don't embrace the ignore, acknowledge, engage, warn, eject approach.  If I had any desire to move up the college ranks to D1 where that system is encouraged then yes it would probably be bad advice but quite frankly that has no appeal to me. 

 

So your saying this is not taught in pro school?

 

At pro school they don't teach the ignore, acknowledge, engage, warn, then eject approach. At pro school when they go over situations they teach warn if possible then eject. If the situation doesn't call for a warning or escalates too quickly for a warning then eject without a warning.

 

Hate to burst your bubble but this is what I'VE been taught by PUBC and Harry's instructors the past three years in a row. Should I get my money back?

[CentralOhioUmp30]

Game management (which to me mostly means people management) separates the pretty good umpires from the really good umpires.  We've all worked with partners who are sound fundamentally, have fine judgment, generally call a solid game.  But they hang themselves with their lack of people skills. Sounds like your partner has a history with this guy, and he let the past seep into the present.  One of the things I used to really like is the baseball tradition is that you could EJ a manager today and a general sh!tstorm, but tomorrow it's a new day.  That is eroding somewhat in anything but pro ball, and I understand the reasoning, but I did like the clean slate approach.  We expect that from coaches, but we also have to hold ourselves to the same standard.

 

Now, especially in school ball (and many tournaments) there are automatic suspensions that result from EJ's, and I find myself trying very hard to keep coaches in the game if they will let me.  I have worked over 100 games this year and can think of only one game where in the past I would have easily EJ'd the coach.  I didn't launch him, and that's okay. In retrospect, I feel like I didn't because I knew that if I did, it's a $100 fine and an automatic suspension from the state.  The world didn't fall apart, my authority on the field wasn't diminished, and everybody lived to fight another day.  I used people management skills to defuse the situation.  I happened to see him again three days later on the same field.  At the plate conference, he looked at me and said, "hey, we battled the other night but we got through it."  I just told him yeah we did, but today's a new day, let's have fun.

 

I also referee basketball, and a rule of thumb that is used in regards to technical fouls is "will calling it make the game better?"  Meaning that is the behavior enough that it's affecting MY game, or the general atmosphere of the game itself? If I had launched that coach, I think it would have made things measurably worse, so I felt like I handled it okay.  20 years ago, I wouldn't have had the people skills to handle that coach and he would've been gone.  I'm not saying I'm now a doormat: if they gotta go, they gotta go, and I'm not afraid to get rid of them if I have to. So far this (my first year back on the diamond in a long time) has served me okay. 

 

That said, I have a doubleheader Saturday, and since I've jinxed myself I'll have three EJ's and both games will go extra innings! 

Not my job to keep the coach in the game if he doesn't want to be there.  And if he's causing a disturbance in the game, then I just assume he has another place to be.  Not my problem if he's fined and suspended.

 

I've almost always found that after an ejection (I have about 20 of my own in eight years and I've witnessed dozens of others via partners), the game moves much more smoothly.  Keeping a rat in the game after causing problems encourages fans and players to get a little mouthy.  Nip that in the bud.

 

Just my two cents.

[FleasOf1000Camels]

Bad toss.

3 major errors.

1. Don't let last week or last year impact today's game.  Leave the baggage behind.

2. Not a big fan of the "death stare".  It just pours gas on the flames.

3. Why grant that request for 'time'?  Do that and you've just invited him to come out and confront.

 

Ask yourself this simple question.  What was your partner's REAL objective as the game began?  Was it:

A. To run a clean game as an impartial official.

B. To show that rat that I'm not going to take any of his crap. 

[Stan W.]

Its incumbent on the umpire to come to each game with a clean slate............the only person's attitude you can control is your own............as said above our goal is stated to us to run a clean game as an impartial official.....Coaches dont get that instruction.........and some coaches bring the baggage with them..........in times when the coach and the umpire bring the baggage, I have had less luck in diffusing the resultant train wreck that usually leads to an ejection............