Umpires followed to car, assaulted post game

[The Man in Blue]

17 hours ago, NateWalter said:

My first ever ejection was with the partner I mentioned. It was a catcher who was getting really mouthy about the strike zone. After a warning, he dropped a magic word about a strike three call on his way to the dugout, and I wanted to make the demonstrative ejection... the kid deserved it. But I saw my partner have to eject a coach a few games prior, and he did so by just calmly telling them to leave. I managed to do the same. I explained to the coach and player what happened, told the player he's been ejected from the game and his day was done. It took a little bit for word to get around why the catcher wasn't in the game anymore, but I didn't have to look like the aggressor. I simply took care of it.

I get there are times where you have to take care of matters and do it firmly to make a point, but I'd challenge umpires on here, especially those who do HS or younger: try to just quietly eject the next time you have to. Be calm. If the other party wants to explode on you, then they are the bad guy.

Don't give anyone a reason to make you look like the jerk.

I like this ... I really like this.  I admit that I fall far too often on the "make an example" ejection when really we should be working the other way.  This is something that I will be more cognizant of.

 

I know we always say the worst ejection is the one you didn't make ... Last year I was working at a new complex, 12u travel ball.  In the top of the first inning the HT catcher was being a bit of a "naughty boy."  In the bottom of the first, he struck out looking and was not happy.  At neither point did he cross the line with me, but he was getting there quickly.  In the top of the second, a new catcher came out.  I looked at the dugout and there was nobody in there.  At the transition between I casually asked the coach what happened.  "I took him out and his parents took him home.  It was a long time coming.  I figured I had better take care of it before you did."  I thanked the coach for being aware and handling his players.

In the third inning I heard the crowd rumbling ... "He threw him out.  I don't know what for, but it's no surprise."  I admit I kind of giggled and never corrected them. 

[wolfe_man]

1 hour ago, The Man in Blue said:

I like this ... I really like this.  I admit that I fall far too often on the "make an example" ejection when really we should be working the other way.  This is something that I will be more cognizant of.

 

I know we always say the worst ejection is the one you didn't make ... Last year I was working at a new complex, 12u travel ball.  In the top of the first inning the HT catcher was being a bit of a "naughty boy."  In the bottom of the first, he struck out looking and was not happy.  At neither point did he cross the line with me, but he was getting there quickly.  In the top of the second, a new catcher came out.  I looked at the dugout and there was nobody in there.  At the transition between I casually asked the coach what happened.  "I took him out and his parents took him home.  It was a long time coming.  I figured I had better take care of it before you did."  I thanked the coach for being aware and handling his players.

In the third inning I heard the crowd rumbling ... "He threw him out.  I don't know what for, but it's no surprise."  I admit I kind of giggled and never corrected them. 

My first couple of ejections were rough. I took too much and exploded when I finally ejected. Thankfully, I haven't seen them on the web (yet).  They were Babe Ruth games and I was learning about game management then with very little training and OJT can be a hard teacher.

The last couple have been really quiet and probably only the coach knew why I had done what I had done.  My last one was HS Varsity and the Batter is rung up on 0-2 pitch (inside but on the plate) and says "you're full of s__t" as he walked away.   I simply pointed at him and then the he's gone (very slowly and without emphasis) as I said "you're gone".  The coach walked down to me and asked what happened, I told him what he said and he told me "well, he'll be running after this one" and we moved on.  I'm not even sure if the kid would have even been aware that I tossed him if the dugout and crowd hadn't oohed and aahed after seeing my EJ mechanic.

I totally agree that if we manage the game well and practice the Golden Rule, then normally (I say normally, not always) we will achieve greater respect and less problems during our games. Obviously, there are times that this will not be true, but even then we are to be the professionals and act with class and dignity.  We must never be seen as the aggressor or one who is enjoying the back-and-forth.  I show up to officiate baseball games and not to argue with fans, players or coaches.

 

But I digress, to stay on topic here,  I agree with others it feels like this is a rivalry and has something else going on too.   There's still zero reason for attacking umpires and all those responsible should be banned this year and have charges pressed against them or be given some sort of punishment that deters this type of behavior.   I'd love to know someone who was there and could shed light on what people were upset about. While there's not an excuse for this behavior, if we know the details then we may be able to prevent it from re-happening to one of us in the future.

 

[NateWalter]

1 hour ago, wolfe_man said:

There's still zero reason for attacking umpires and all those responsible should be banned this year and have charges pressed against them or be given some sort of punishment that deters this type of behavior.   I'd love to know someone who was there and could shed light on what people were upset about. While there's not an excuse for this behavior, if we know the details then we may be able to prevent it from re-happening to one of us in the future.

Yes. I don't want my "well, what was the behavior of the umpire" discussion to dismiss the fact that what happened was still 100% unacceptable.

I just think this kind of stuff can be avoidable. As us umpires work on being better with our calls, our mechanics, our people management skills, our attitudes, and our demeanor, we can make the game better and make the outcomes better for us as we do our jobs.

[Velho]

2 minutes ago, NateWalter said:

I just think this kind of stuff can be avoidable. As us umpires work on being better with our calls, our mechanics, our people management skills, our attitudes, and our demeanor, we can make the game better and make the outcomes better for us as we do our jobs.

Agreed AND the statement that "coaches eject themselves" still applies. Those two things aren't mutually exclusive.