Why the line…

[BlueClue]

Had a fun one yesterday.

Working a local 22U summer league under OBR, VT was very short on bodies to the point where they had called up two players from an affiliated 18U league so they could field 10 players.

First inning they’re getting pounded 7-0, their first pitcher can’t seem to find the zone, and F2 is struggling heavily behind the plate (not for a lack of trying to frame pitches well inside). They eventually yank the pitcher and put a new guy in who’s having more success, but F2 is still struggling, and you can see him getting frustrated. Finally, bases loaded, on a wild pitch where the ball ends up by the backstop on the 1B side, F2 bumps me while I’m pivoting towards the 3B side, he immediately stops, starts walking to the ball, reaches the backstop, kicks the fence, throws his glove, and underhands it to the pitcher, only after two runs had scored. When his coaches ask what just happened, he starts complaining he couldn’t make a play because he was bumped, but VTHC shuts him up real quick.

Fast forward to Top 3, 2 outs, same player is up to bat. Some players on the VT had been disagreeing on pitches on the outside corner, but their coach shut them up again after seeing that same pitch called for a strike multiple times. The player swings and puts himself down 0-2, he then takes a pitch inside before they throw a slider to the outside corner. I ring him up and he immediately looks at me, flips his bat around, draws a very clear line on the batters box line, and begins to walk to his dugout, at which point I run him.

immediately afterwards, the VTHC (who is a good buddy of mine) comes up to me, and is not happy whatsoever that the kid is leaving his team short-handed, went on a rant just to vent. I listened and then once he was finished I calmly said “I would’ve been fine with him saying something about it, but as soon as he draws that line there’s nothing else I can do.

so the game goes on with 9 players and an empty bench, the VT ends up losing 15-4, and the VTHC go out for some drinks afterwards where he says “yeah you did the right thing, hell I would’ve tossed him”, and we had a good laugh about it.

[834k3r]

17 hours ago, BlueClue said:

...and the VTHC go out for some drinks afterwards where he says “yeah you did the right thing, hell I would’ve tossed him”, and we had a good laugh about it.

Personally, I was fine with everything up until this point.

Others may (and probably do) have other opinions, but after a game is not the time to go out with a coach (that's a friend). Next day is fine, but after the game is not the time to do it.

Again, YMMV.

[ArchAngel72]

Had a 18u Babe Ruth game a couple seasons ago.  One of the kids pitching was throwing curves over that outside corner and I was hitting them for strikes when he was pitching them.

Bottom of the inning he gets up the other pitcher throws a beauty of a breaking ball over that corner for strike 3

He ga-faws and draws a line at which point I knew I should have ejected him but they are playing with 9 players.. So I'm like bite my tongue while giving the back of his helmet a laser burn with my eyes.  He the flips his right arm around backwards with his middle finger up. OK NOPE  Boom #6 ( or whatever he was) You are gone and I give the toss signal .

 

3rd base coach comes down the line "what?  you just tossed him? "   Yup coach he gave me the bird. He also drew a line in the box. I should have tossed him for that"

 

He denied it but then showed the coach the "gesture" he made and the coach yelled at him "you do not make any kind of gesture at the umpire at all. "   

SO I am positive the coach knew he was full of crap.

anywho.. they ended the game right there as the coach refused to try to play with 8

 

And yes I should have tossed him at the line drawing I knew it then I knew it after I still know it..

 

[JonnyCat]

3 hours ago, 834k3r said:

Personally, I was fine with everything up until this point.

Others may (and probably do) have other opinions, but after a game is not the time to go out with a coach (that's a friend). Next day is fine, but after the game is not the time to do it.

Again, YMMV.

Why not?

[BigBlue4u]

4 hours ago, ArchAngel72 said:

And yes I should have tossed him at the line drawing I knew it then I knew it after I still know it..

Welcome to that ever-expanding group of umpires expressing dismay over not running a coach.  As the saying goes, "You'll sleep better knowing you DID eject the coach, rather than staying awake asking yourself why you did NOT eject the coach.:

[JonnyCat]

9 minutes ago, BigBlue4u said:

Welcome to that ever-expanding group of umpires expressing dismay over not running a coach.  As the saying goes, "You'll sleep better knowing you DID eject the coach, rather than staying awake asking yourself why you did NOT eject the coach.:

Yep! I don't remember everyone I've tossed, but sure as hell remember everyone I didn't.

[BigBlue4u]

1 minute ago, JonnyCat said:

Yep! I don't remember everyone I've tossed, but sure as hell remember everyone I didn't.

🙂 

[834k3r]

19 hours ago, JonnyCat said:

Why not?

We're supposed to be neutral arbiters. If someone from the another team sees me and a coach out for drinks or dinner after a game, it could appear as I'm not exactly neutral.

As I said, others have different views and lines in the sand.

[JonnyCat]

16 minutes ago, 834k3r said:

We're supposed to be neutral arbiters. If someone from the another team sees me and a coach out for drinks or dinner after a game, it could appear as I'm not exactly neutral.

As I said, others have different views and lines in the sand.

Fair enough.

IMO, it's not professional baseball, and how many people are going to know you had a beer with the coach? Probably no one. Who cares really? Life's too short to put up with all the BS. Enjoy yourself at every opportunity. If that means having a beer with a friend, F*#K anyone that doesn't like it.

[834k3r]

Just now, JonnyCat said:

Fair enough.

IMO, it's not professional baseball, and how many people are going to know you had a beer with the coach? Probably no one. Who cares really? Life's too short to put up with all the BS. Enjoy yourself at every opportunity. If that means having a beer with a friend, F*#K anyone that doesn't like it.

I'm in a pretty rural area (there are probably just over 250,000 people in a 40-mile radius from me) and teams see each other a lot. Others in more urban areas probably don't have to worry about it as much as I.

[beerguy55]

2 hours ago, 834k3r said:

I'm in a pretty rural area (there are probably just over 250,000 people in a 40-mile radius from me) and teams see each other a lot. Others in more urban areas probably don't have to worry about it as much as I.

In my experience no matter where you are the ball community is surprisingly small.  Even moreso when you consider the umpire community is VERY small...it's harder to avoid overlap...the smaller the community would make it even harder.    I live in a city of over a million people and in the course of a tournament weekend, whether I'm coaching, playing, TD'ing or spectating I can easily run into umpires I work/worked with (ie. literally had the same boss), played ball with/against, coached, went to school with, went to school with my kid, knows my wife, or would at the very least consider an acquaintance.  I can only conclude that would be exponentially more likely in a less populous area.

If I avoided any umpire (or they me) that could potentially be interpreted as a conflict of interest I wouldn't be able to go to the ball park.

People can grow the F*#K up.

Until FanDuel shows up and starts putting odds on amateur ball tournaments there is no reason to think this way, or worry that others are doing so.

 

[kylehutson]

6 hours ago, 834k3r said:

I'm in a pretty rural area (there are probably just over 250,000 people in a 40-mile radius from me)

Hehe. Around here, we'd call you "city folk"

[aaluck]

On 6/13/2023 at 10:41 AM, 834k3r said:

We're supposed to be neutral arbiters. If someone from the another team sees me and a coach out for drinks or dinner after a game, it could appear as I'm not exactly neutral.

Not to pick at this but then why is this okay...

On 6/12/2023 at 11:31 AM, 834k3r said:

Next day is fine, but after the game is not the time to do it.

If someone still sees you but its the next day, or maybe the day before the game, does that make you neutral?

[Mussgrass]

We all take ourselves too seriously sometimes. Not only on this subject. We're umpiring because it is fun. Just go and have fun and let the chips fall where they may.

[BigBlue4u]

On 6/12/2023 at 10:11 AM, ArchAngel72 said:

And yes I should have tossed him at the line drawing I knew it then I knew it after I still know it..

As the saying goes, "You'll lose more sleep thinking about the coaches/players you should have dumped, than the coaches/players you actually did dump."