How often do you get chirping from the stands?

[SeeingEyeDog]

This has been mentioned in other threads and...it bears repeating...

Travel baseball is first and foremost a business. And like all businesses they exist to make money...and maybe some kids work on their abilities within the game baseball. While scholastic baseball is a feeder system for college baseball it is not a for-profit industry the way travel baseball is. And that is reflected in the parents. Many of who's children participate in both travel and scholastic. As umpires we know them. We have seen these same people in both environments.

At the scholastic level, rooting FOR your teams (with minimal negativity towards the opposition and or the umpire) is the norm. Is it church? No, but in my market, spectators know that bad behavior will not be tolerated. The umpires in my market will engage the AD or school administrator on-site and the people are then asked to stop, leave the premises, or move to a part of the ballpark where no one can hear them. If it continues, they are ejected. Now do Johnny Prospect's parents get treated the same as Brian Benchwarmer's parents? No but, everyone has their limits and it's very rare than it progresses to an ejection.

For travel baseball, tournaments, showcases, etc. the culture is...we need customers! Without parents paying for their kids to play baseball and fill these rosters, we have no baseball. And the parents KNOW they have the administration by the short hairs on this! As an umpire working a game, it makes no difference to me. In the travel leagues I work, the coaches are expected to handle their spectators and the umpires have the authority to tell the coach to warn and or eject a fan which also includes runners being put on base as penalty for parents' bad behavior and or the coach's unwillingness or inability to get them to leave followed by a suspension. So yeah...in my market it's more about the scholastic fans getting rowdy over the outcome and score of the game. Travel and everything else...it's all in play for them.

Brothers, do not think for a moment these issues will go away or take care of themselves. They will not. When you hear it or see it...address it. When you do this consistently, parents will see you taking the field and know you won't tolerate their shenanigans. When we ALL do this consistently, we change the culture. If you struggle with game management and handling these situations, find a local mentor and ask for help. This is something we all want to improve about The Game.
 

~Dawg

[ArchAngel72]

19 hours ago, BLWizzRanger said:

 

 

Not directed at you, Wolfe_man.

But, isnt giving top of shoulders to the ankles sort of giving them a trophy? Boy oh boy wasnt U10 F1 good tonight, an All-Star!, even though the half the pitches were at the extremes of the strike zone?

I know Its damned if you do or damned if you dont at that age. But lets not forget that umpires contribute a little to that issue.

Sent from my SM-F721U1 using Tapatalk
 

 

 

No wiz  its giving them an age appropriate zone and getting the batters to actually swing at a pitch.  A lot of these kids just came from hitting it off a tee or hitting a ball a coach threw.  They need that bat off their shoulder

 

Trust me at 8-10 U you still call more balls than strikes, unless you have a 10U at that level who is mature enough to be up with the 12U and their parents kept them back to give them a 10U all star year.  It happens yes but it is no where near the norm.

 

[ArchAngel72]

double post woops

[834k3r]

On 3/12/2024 at 10:10 AM, wolfe_man said:

And it is usually the pitching coach. LOL

This is one of the reasons I had to learn to stop listening or taking offense when I heard it.  The coaches feel a constant need to try to encourage F1 to keep him from falling apart when he isn't given free strike calls when he wants them. I've noted that F1's are getting rattled easier than they used to, and I blame society with it's 'everyone gets a trophy' mentality.  If you don't give these kids every close pitch, in their mind, then they fall apart and get wild quickly.

You have to learn to just call your game and ignore the comments (unless they're definitely directed at you and argumentative).  It probably took me about three seasons of HS baseball before I realized that they're not questioning me every time a statement is made.  Some encourage the batter, some do the pitcher - and some are just saying what they've heard others say - and most have no clue at all where the pitch was, so don't let them get in your head and keep calling your game.

Remember, it's nothing until you call it, so don't rush.  Focus, keep your head still, see it all the way, call it in your head and then you're ready to call it out loud.  It is amazing how much proper timing and positioning will do to improve your game and then you'll normally hear less as a result, but no guarantees.

But don't let them live in your head, forget what you can and ignore what you can - but if it crosses a line (coach, not fan) you need to address it and stop it using the tools you're given (Identify - Acknowledge - Warn - Restrict - Eject).  If you try to be the nice guy or let them intimidate you, you're in for a long day.  Stop it early on and set the tone and it'll be an easier day for you and hopefully with less chirping you'll be able to zero in and call a great game.

Have fun out there!

 

Some of you here may be familiar with the relationship book "The 5 Love Languages" by Gary Chapman. The author theorizes people can feel "loved" ("valued") primarily in one of five ways (Quality Time, Acts of Service, Gifts, Physical Touch, and Words of Affirmation).

I mention that because I'm solidly on team Words of Affirmation. That makes for a strange partner when I put on the CP, LGs, and mask for a game. I'm getting better at ignoring the crowds, but there's still 1 game out of 50 that I'll let someone (usually a spectator) get under my skin and I get less confident about my zone.

All that to say, it's a process and I'm still working on it--and my mechanics. No days off.