Mouthy Moment

[tankmjg24]

Rather long post, but looking for feedback here.

HS playoff game between 2 schools that have zero history between each other. From the first pitch both teams are cheering and carrying on, but no negatives.

In the bottom 1, Team A scores off a passed ball. In the top 2, Team B catcher grounds out. As he is running back into the dugout, he throws his helmet into the equipment area and is visually upset. He then turns toward Team A dugout and gives the middle finger. I tell the manager who is coaching 3rd to take care of whatever that is about and I do not want to see it again. In between innings manager stops the kid and talks to him. He then motions for me (I'm in the outfield). He informs me that someone from Team A dugout yelled out that the kid couldn't catch and he couldn't hit either. He tells me that the kid lost his cool for a minute but all is good.

Top 3 Team B scores 3 runs. The bases were loaded and F8 lost the ball in the lights allowing R3, R2, and R1 to score. Cheering picks up and F5 yells over to the dugout "shut the f**k up". I tell him to watch the language and not yell into their dugout. He starts to mouth about them yelling, and I tell him that they are cheering and not dripping F bombs and that I don't want to hear it.

Batter walks and we have R1 and R3. I can hear the 1st base umpire telling R1 and F3 to cut it out as they are mouthing back and forth. Batter then grounds out to end the inning.

End of 3rd and the first base coach is talking to the batter who grounded out. As they are walking past Team A huddle, a different kid yells out "shut the f**k up". The coach stops and says something towards Team A huddle. PU starts to talk to the coach to get him back to the dugout and I and the other field umpire run in. Then kid from first incident yells to the coach to go back to the dugout. I yell for him to cut it out and then yell to the coach to control his team. He then out of nowhere leaves the huddle and starts to yell at me for yelling at hus team. He is trying to tell me that we need to take control of the game, and that they were not saying anything and that it was the opposing team. I shut him down and tell him to control his team or I would, and that 2 separate players had dropped F bombs in the direction of the other team and that we were not going to tolerate it. During this, the plate umpire is dealing with Team B manager as he is upset that Team A kid cursed at his coach.

We bring both coaches together and give official warnings and instruct them to control their teams or we would start ejecting. They agree and the game continues.

No more incidents happened and the game fininishes without problems.

These two will probably meet again. How would you handle their game if they do.

Thanks

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[noumpere]

6 minutes ago, tankmjg24 said:

Rather long post, but looking for feedback here.

HS playoff game between 2 schools that have zero history between each other. From the first pitch both teams are cheering and carrying on, but no negatives.

In the bottom 1, Team A scores off a passed ball. In the top 2, Team B catcher grounds out. As he is running back into the dugout, he throws his helmet into the equipment area and is visually upset. He then turns toward Team A dugout and gives the middle finger. I tell the manager who is coaching 3rd to take care of whatever that is about and I do not want to see it again. In between innings manager stops the kid and talks to him. He then motions for me (I'm in the outfield). He informs me that someone from Team A dugout yelled out that the kid couldn't catch and he couldn't hit either. He tells me that the kid lost his cool for a minute but all is good.

At this point you should go to the Team A manager and say "I'm not saying that your team said anything.  I am saying that they shouldn't be saying anything else.  And, I gave the same message to Team B."

 

Then, start ejecting.

 

If you have the same two teams again say, "I am aware of what happened last game.  I am not casting any blame on either team.  But, I will not tolerate anything of the sort this game."  Then, start ejecting.

[kstrunk]

It is the swiftness of punishment, combined with the certainty of it, that prevents or reduces crime. For my part, the official warning might have been after the first 'f bomb' incident, with an EJ of a player and restriction of the HC after the 2nd. 

[ALStripes17]

F bombs that are yelled across the field in a HS game come with immediate ejection. The initial middle finger could come with a warning if it was not in plain sight where all could see it. But anything that grandma can see or hear in that regard is grounds for immediate ejection in HS.

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[NorthTexasUmp]

1 hour ago, ALStripes17 said:

F bombs that are yelled across the field in a HS game come with immediate ejection. The initial middle finger could come with a warning if it was not in plain sight where all could see it. But anything that grandma can see or hear in that regard is grounds for immediate ejection in HS.

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This!

At the very least, at the point U1 was getting involved with the 2 players, that is when I would have gotten the coaches together and told them to control their teams and this is a warning to both. Any further instances will result in ejections.

[blue23ll]

I'm thinking you got lucky, because the situation could have escalated quickly. As people have said, once an F bomb is let go, you got to dump the person who said it. Once the first monkey is sent away, the others quiet down. I have learned a long time ago, being lenient isn't doing anyone any favors in the long run. I had a game where both teams were jawing back and forth, coaches, players and parents ended up getting into it. It escalated to the point of one pitcher being ejected for throwing at a batter. We don't want it to get to that point. 

[tankmjg24]

Well the problem was nothing really blew up until the last incident between assistant coach and player. The rest was kind of quiet enough that not everyone was aware a problem even existed. I thought of immediately going to the coach, but then was not sure if this would only make the matter worse. I was going to talk to him when he came to coach 3rd, but sadly we never made it that far.

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[JamesC]

I used to think I had a quick trigger (and in some cases maybe I do) but now I'm glad that I handle my business. I don't know why we aren't issuing ejections for things like this after the first "knock it off!" It's like us telling our children if they do something they're going to get in trouble, but when they do it we just tell them not to do it again. When you told them to knock it off the first time, especially considering the F bombs and gestures that were being dropped, start ejecting them after that. One of two things will happen: A) they will quit (which is what you want), or B) there will be no more players left to play the game. They'll get the point after 1-2 ejections, I'd think, and realize you are serious and they better cut it out.

[MidAmUmp]

To be very blunt, you guys lost control of the game and you've made it harder on the crew who works the next time they play.

If you guys had run the kid for flipping the bird and then ran the first player for the shut the f up, chances are it would have cleaned up the rest of the game. 

Use this as a learning tool. Know what to do better when you have a similar situation. 

Situational management is what separates the good umpires from the great umpires. We all get balls/strikes & safes/outs right (most of the time). How you manage the game is how you advance.

[Welpe]

To echo MidAmUmp, you let them run roughshod over you in an attempt to keep people in the game. Also I think there was too much done in terms of bringing coaches out and trying to explain to them. They crossed the line early in the game and you kept letting them do it. I don't care if it was a playoff game, if they deserve it, eject them.

[HokieUmp]

If not at the "you're number one in MY book" moment, you should have ejected at the first eff-bomb.  Look, I'm the worst when it comes to my language in real life, and spending six years in Australia probably didn't help, since Aussies use the eff-bomb as a noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, etc.  But we're talking about minors.  Yeah, they're HS varsity, but they're still minors, of (if 18) wards of the state at that particular moment.^*     

So you missed all kinds of chances to control the situation.  As to the next time they play, you'll probably need to mea culpa, but then let them know it's going to be different:  "Look, it was a circus last time because we kept people in the game.  It's not happening that way this time."

 

^*Note:  all legalistic interpretations given here are, well, utter bullcrap.