Back in the saddle again

[HokieUmp]

Had this last week, but hadn't written it up.  To the best of my recollection, this is my first EJ in 5-6 years.

Legion Junior game, 5th inning, heading for a 10-run game.  Team that's ahead is up to bat, 1 out.  Had one or two questions about calls, but no real griping about balls and strikes.  I get a kid for a 3rd strike - didn't even seem that controversial to me.  Kid raises his bat over his head and proceeds to Paul Bunyan it (look it up, you young folk), hitting the ground and strides off.  I say "Number 6?" and when he turns, give 'im the hook as I say "You're done."  I don't even raise my voice for it.  Unsportsmanlike, demonstrating, acting like a douche ... whatever you want to put in the report.

It didn't blow up, but I was a little surprised at the resistance by the coaches after the inning.  (Since this was an offensive player, I didn't sweat making card changes until the inning ended.)  I spoke first, just to get ahead of it, and said "who you putting in for 6?"  He claimed to not have seen what he did, so I explained.  (He didn't understand "tomahawked the bat," so I had to go to Paul Bunyan.)  The AC, who is normally the HS head coach also came down, as did my partner, but was trying to give me the summer ball nonsense - I guess meaning the games are somehow supposed to be done differently.  (I was thinking "You pay me, and you keep score, so [excrement's] the same, skip!")  We cross-talked about warnings or not, and I mentioned teachable moments.  Finally, I just said "You've been doing this long enough to know there's not a warning for that," and he knew he wasn't getting any further with me.

So as he walked away, he tossed over his shoulder "I thought you just mentioned a teachable moment!"

"I did!  I just gave him one!"

That may have seemed long, but it took about the length of warmups for the next half-inning.  But I was a little surprised - other than just a desire to "stand up for their player" - that I got that kind of pushback.  I know MLB looks the other way when bats and helmets are flung at the dugout to end an inning, but this was a two-handed chop, in clear dispute of the call, before the inning ended.  Oy.

[umpire_scott]

I wasn't there so only you know if the bat slam was in dispute of the call or simply being angry at himself for getting backwards K'd.  I know I slammed my bat a few times in my playing days and I never gave any indication at the time that I was disputing the call.  If you felt he was angry at himself and not disputing the call would you have still dumped him?  One thing to consider is that push-back often results from one umpire ruling or interpreting in a way that previous umpires have not.  All that being said as a coach I would not have really complained as I'm well aware that there are two schools of thought regarding this.  I'm not of the school that all emotional demonstrations fall under "poor sportsmanship".  Show me a player that never has an angry outburst when he fails and I'll show you a player without the competitiveness necessary to succeed for very long (in most cases).

[StrikeToWin]

I'm not bashing the EJ since I was not there, but I am curious, did he only tomahawk the bat and hang on to it or did he verbalize something as well.  Maybe I have been interpreting actions incorrectly but I see this more as a frustration thing with letting a good pitch go by and will simply ignore as long as the bat does not come loose.  If this is something I need to reevaluate then I will.  

[LittleBlue]

Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems to me that he was likely mad at himself for taking strike three. As you say the pitch was not all that controversial, so the batter probably knew he should have swong and slammed the bat in frustration. Did he say anything that indicated that he disagreed with your call? If not, I'm not sure I would have ejected for a batter slamming a bat because he should have swong. 

[lawump]

This is an automatic EJ on a "called" strike three.  If it is a swinging strike three (with no other pitches causing argument during the at-bat) then I'm looking the other way.  But on a called strike three, he's sticking it up your backside and telling the whole stadium that he (violently) disagreed with your call...even if that was not his intent.  His intent MAY have been that he was mad at himself, but that is not what he communicated.  You need to nip that communication in the bud immediately.

I had this same EXACT thing (overhead chop of the bat into the ground after a called third strike) happen in an NCAA game last year, only I was the base umpire.  After the batter was ejected, the head coach/3rd base coach came running down defending his player.  He got much louder than the coaches in the OP...and was close to getting run himself, but he did not.  After the game, my partner asked me if he thought he should have ejected the batter.  I told him that if he hadn't ejected the batter, I would have kicked his (the umpire's) ass!" 

 

[HokieUmp]

@lawump's first paragraph describes how I see it, pretty much spot on.  Guys, this happened IN THE BOX.  He hadn't moved in any direction at all - just "Hassan Chop!" (for anyone that remembers the old Warner Brothers cartoons).  He may well have been genuinely only mad at himself - but as it's been said, 'who knows?'  The rulebook never talks about emotions, internal thought processes, needing-a-hug, whatever.  What he DID was show violent disagreement.  Thus, he exits.

I'm not going to write individual responses, but to those who asked:  I don't actually recall any words said, and no, he didn't lose grip of the bat.  But in return, I'm going to ask - and regardless of how it sounds, I'm not trying to be nasty - why would you be afraid to EJ in that situation?  And why are you doing mental flips to rationalize for the player?  I saw it, and I ejected - it only took longer because he was walking away, and I needed to make sure he knew he was done.

IF your games are always smooth as glass, despite that kind of activity, then by all means, feel free to ignore what I'm saying.  I'm not a red-ass;  I've had maybe five ejections in about 800-900 games, and this was the first one in more than 200 games.  So I don't think this constitutes "looking for scalps."  But an EJ, when warranted, can easily keep matters from getting out of hand.

[stkjock]

I remember...  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlMJfX_V6Ic