God damn, Blue...you got a baseball any better than that?!?!?

[SeeingEyeDog]

Men's league, guys in their thirties, OBR with mods, 9 innings, 2:45 no new, 8PM start...3 or 4 guys on each team played D1. I work this league 10 or 12 games per year. The visitors I had worked before while the home team was new to me. This was a playoff game that was won by the visitors 15-7 and it was never close. At the plate meeting, I got 4 baseballs from the HTM. 2 of them were pearls, 2 of them were used...and after I inspected them, I allowed them to be used for the game. As is my custom, I put the pearls in my left ball bag and the non-pearls in the right ball bag. I am right handed. The pitcher takes the mound for warmups and brings out a pearl.

After completing warm ups, I put the ball in play, the pitcher winds and delivers the FIRST pitch of the game...and it's fouled WELL out of play. I reach into my right ball bag, grab a non-pearl and hand it to F2. From his squat, he looks it over and then throws it to F1 and says, "God damn, Blue...you got a baseball any better than that?!?!" And I replied completely neutral and flat, "Yes. I absolutely have a ball better than that." He remains in his squat, slowly pulls his mask back still looking forward and puts his throwing hand back over his shoulder, palm up. Presumably, he was waiting for me to give him another baseball...

[crickets...a barn owl...the buzz of the field lights...two old ladies cackling about their bridge game earlier that day...more crickets...]

Finally, still in his squat, head forward, hand palm up over his shoulder he says, "Well, SH*#...can I F*#King have one then?"

At this point, I called time and walked calmly out in front of the plate. The clueless batter steps back to the edge of the dirt circle, peacefully examining the outfield. I pull out my brush and bend over and start brushing the already clean plate. As I come up, I lock eyes with F2 and say just loud enough for him to hear, "That's a warning, if you continue...you will be ejected. I'm happy to give you and anyone else out here any one of the baseballs in my possession to play this game with but, I'll only do so once you've asked me for one...with respect. We are gentlemen, playing a gentleman's game."

He said, "Ain't nobody got time for that...I got a full-time job!" I handed him a pearl and we resumed the game. After 3 outs, he turned to me, took his mask off and said, "I apologize, Blue..." and held out his fist and I bumped it with my own and said nothing. The game was completed without further incident.

1) What do you have on this, brothers?

2) I have never been told by any camp instructor, association training staff, crew chief or senior partner ANYTHING about selecting the "best condition" baseball at my disposal...am I missing something here? I do inspect all baseballs presented to me for proper stamps, defects, cuts...and will take baseballs out of play that are unsuitable.

~Dawg

[grayhawk]

Seems to me that you created a problem that was avoidable. I do the opposite - I put the pearls in my right ball bag (I'm also right handed) and the gently used ones in my left ball bag. I use the pearls first and when I run out, then I put the used ones in play. What happens after that doesn't matter because they're all used. Also, I prefer to start with 8 baseballs, if possible. If they only give me 4, I'll be asking for baseballs all night even in the middle of at-bats. And unless they have a designated ball runner, it gets to be a pain in the ass.

[Tborze]

Um, maybe just give him another baseball, from your right bag!   
 

 

[Aging_Arbiter]

You indicated you had 2 pearls, 2 used.  Pitcher entered game with a pearl.  

This is just what I do personally. Now using the premise that 3 pearls started the game, and 1 fouled out, I would just give him a pearl.  If that goes out of play, we go to the used bag.  TO ME......again PERSOANNLY, I am giving the VT pitcher an opportunity to start with a pearl as well.  

After that, they are ALL used, and this is no longer an issue.

YMMV

[Richvee]

I have to agree with the comments here. Start with pearls. Pearls on the right, used on the left. 

10 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

I have never been told by any camp instructor, association training staff, crew chief or senior partner ANYTHING about selecting the "best condition" baseball at my disposal

In between innings I will often rotate baseballs in my 2 bags, putting the worse ones in the left side pocket and better ones in the right. Later in games, if I'm not getting fresh new baseballs from the bench, and F1 or F2 want another ball, and I'm already out from behind the plate for whatever reason, I pull 3 or 4 out and offer them up. "Here's what I got, take your pick." Of course if we're all in position and F1 just requests another ball, he's getting whatever ball I pull out. 

[Kevin_K]

I use one bag almost all the time. Its one of @Razzer's great designs. They hold about 7. I rarely have that many outside of collegiate and upper level HS games.

When a ball is fouled off and I reach for another. F2 doesn't like it? OK. Here's another.

This is not the hill that I am dying on, especially in the top of the first inning. What difference does it make? Just give him another ball! 

 

 

[Vegas_Ump]

I borrowed this from another ump I met at Kutno, Poland:  tell the catcher "Do not blaspheme on my field!"

The looks you get soon break into laughter.  But you can make the point.

Mike

Las Vegas

[ArchAngel72]

I am lucky if I get more than 2 balls and typically they are always all pearls but in LL that is usually all the balls I am going to get unless its raining and or they get lost.

 

Your exchange Im ok with I liked the tone and exchange

 

The need for it though. meh give him the pearl. 

 

[Coach Carl]

11 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

At this point, I called time and walked calmly out in front of the plate. The clueless batter steps back to the edge of the dirt circle, peacefully examining the outfield. I pull out my brush and bend over and start brushing the already clean plate. As I come up, I lock eyes with F2 and say just loud enough for him to hear, "That's a warning, if you continue...you will be ejected. I'm happy to give you and anyone else out here any one of the baseballs in my possession to play this game with but, I'll only do so once you've asked me for one...with respect. We are gentlemen, playing a gentleman's game."

When I read this, it comes off as a Colonel Jessup-like "you have to ask me nicely" who's-in-charge power play.  Maybe your tone was different, but it doesn't read that way.

[SeeingEyeDog]

3 hours ago, Coach Carl said:

When I read this, it comes off as a Colonel Jessup-like "you have to ask me nicely" who's-in-charge power play.  Maybe your tone was different, but it doesn't read that way.

Nobody has to ask me anything nicely on a baseball field, but for a men's league game they can't "overly blaspheme on my field." Baseball is not high tea with the Archduke of Kenosha. I don't know where exactly where my line is and I will admit he wasn't directing anything directly at me. There was no use of "you". He was over my line and I did my level best to address it as professionally and quietly as I could.

Lesson learned here...I will absolutely reach for the best baseballs available to me going forward in order to avoid a repeat of this. Psychologically, I think this was a case of...he was dealing with something from earlier that day prior to the game that had nothing to do with The Game. Even if I was aware of that, he had a choice. He could have peaceably said, "Hey Blue, if you have any pearls could I have one of those?" But cussing around me off the first pitch because I made a choice that was different than his choice? I had to address it...what we permit, we promote. There's a lot of gray area between what he did and what my expectations are.

Thank you as always one and all, brothers...

~Dawg 

[Velho]

1 hour ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

There was no use of "you". He was over my line and I did my level best to address it as professionally and quietly as I could.

1 hour ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

But cussing around me off the first pitch because I made a choice that was different than his choice?

I think he may have said it in a way that came across differently than when I read the OP:

17 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

Finally, still in his squat, head forward, hand palm up over his shoulder he says, "Well, SH*#...can I F*#King have one then?"

I read that in a way with a laughing undertone or at most mild exasperation. Your reaction is understandable if he said it with an undertone of extreme malice. HTBT I suppose.

[grayhawk]

7 hours ago, Richvee said:

In between innings I will often rotate baseballs in my 2 bags, putting the worse ones in the left side pocket and better ones in the right. Later in games, if I'm not getting fresh new baseballs from the bench, and F1 or F2 want another ball, and I'm already out from behind the plate for whatever reason, I pull 3 or 4 out and offer them up. "Here's what I got, take your pick." Of course if we're all in position and F1 just requests another ball, he's getting whatever ball I pull out. 

I do the same.

[Velho]

This open discussion of pocket pool is making me uncomfortable.

[ousafe]

I thought pitchers liked the dirtiest (hardest to see), most scuffed ball possible?

[NVUmp]

As far as the cursing issue, there’s no way I would ever issue a warning in something like this.  In a Fed game, yes, but certainly not Men’s League.    They can curse or use whatever language they want, as long as it’s not directed at me - these aren’t kids, these are all adults.   The catcher wasn’t cursing at you; he asked for a new ball, and for some reason, you refused.  This is a self-inflicted situation.   

[NVUmp]

As far as the cursing issue, there’s no way I would ever issue a warning in something like this.  In a Fed game, yes, but certainly not Men’s League.    They can curse or use whatever language they want, as long as it’s not directed at me - these aren’t kids, these are all adults.   The catcher wasn’t cursing at you; he asked for a new ball, and for some reason, you refused.  This is a self-inflicted situation.   

[BigBlue4u]

On 7/11/2024 at 10:56 PM, SeeingEyeDog said:

"God damn, Blue...you got a baseball any better than that?!?!" And I replied completely neutral and flat, "Yes. I absolutely have a ball better than that." He remains in his squat, slowly pulls his mask back still looking forward and puts his throwing hand back over his shoulder, palm up. Presumably, he was waiting for me to give him another baseball...

How about, "Sure." Hold two or three balls in your hand and say, "Take your pick." Remember, this is a MEN's league. The deportment rules are much more relaxed than in a youth league or high school game. And remember, this is the first inning.  What you do and how you do it will pretty much set the course for the rest of the game.  Credit to him for apologizing.  Handling the situation as described above would also have saved you an eight-paragraph description requesting comment.  🙂 

[SeeingEyeDog]

6 hours ago, BigBlue4u said:

How about, "Sure." Hold two or three balls in your hand and say, "Take your pick." Remember, this is a MEN's league. The deportment rules are much more relaxed than in a youth league or high school game. And remember, this is the first inning.  What you do and how you do it will pretty much set the course for the rest of the game.  Credit to him for apologizing.  Handling the situation as described above would also have saved you an eight-paragraph description requesting comment.  🙂 

Sometimes it's about the journey...not the destination...

~Dawg