Self Soothing Psychology or Something More?

[Velho]

What do people think about some common phrases and attitudes in postgame like the below?

       "Yeah, we got that wrong. Oh well, X team won anyway."

       "I’m fine with how we handled that. ABC team won anyway."

(FWIW, I'm not referring to the never has and never will be faded navy only umpires. They are their own class that don't need further discussion.)

 

[Richvee]

 No one wants a blown call, or worse, a miss application of a rule play a part in the outcome of a game.

I know, I know…… I’m a firm believer that there are thousands of other variables that affect the game, and you can’t say one call was the reason for a win or loss.  Yet we all know what public perception is when we get something wrong and a big inning ensues, or a potential big inning comes to a screeching halt after a miss.  

Blowing a call never feels good, miss applying a rule is worse.  Never should either be treated as an “oh well, 💩happens.”  You have to learn from it and get better. But it doesn’t matter if or how it affected anything else. We just need to get better and learn from it. 

[Richvee]

That’s not to say it doesn’t enter our minds. I’ll give you an example from yesterday. 
I’ve got the dish on a real good 14-17 prospect tourney. (Some of the best summer ball I’ve seen in long time, but I digress)

semi final, tied top 7. 2 outs no one on, 3-0 count. I ball a pitch that probably caught the outside corner. Two hard hit singles and one run later, I’m wondering if that pitch I balled was a game changer. I mean, all it would have done was make it a 3-1 count, but the thought goes through your head. 
 

Home team scores two in the bottom for the win. 
 

Do I feel better that my ball call “didn’t matter, they came back and won anyway?”  Maybe for some, but not me. It’s still a call I’d like to have back, regardless of what happened after it. 

[SeeingEyeDog]

I like to begin post-games with..."What did we miss?" followed by "HOW did our misses impact the outcome of the game?" I don't dismiss missed judgements and or rule applications as insignificant if they did not impact the outcome of the game. A miss is a miss and needs to be addressed regardless of its impact...real or perceived. I review the miss and we talk about it and how we could have been better and avoid that miss going forward.

Someone here is fond of saying..."Pressure is a privilege." Part of that is, you don't get that slot if leadership doesn't feel you should be there. Another part of it is...it's far easier to work a lower stakes game than a higher stakes game. And then finally, part of umpiring at ANY level is learning The Craft and also...how do you react when a call is blown? Learning how best to clean things up is very, very helpful the higher and higher you climb. Get high enough and a blown call is your end at that level.

~Dawg

[Umpy]

7 hours ago, Velho said:

       "Yeah, we got that wrong. Oh well, X team won anyway."

       "I’m fine with how we handled that. ABC team won anyway."

I remember my bad calls a lot longer than I remember who won the game I made them in.

[Baseballer]

You need to think how it could have been handled better or if it's a play with a mechanics issue, talk to your partner about it. If your partner has this attitude of, oh well, then take it for what it is because you will not change his attitude. Then inform your assigner that you prefer not to be on a crew with that guy because he brings the crew down.

Personally, at the end of the day, I have to look at myself in the mirror. I take my work on the field very personally and with pride. If I miss something it bothers me more than anyone. 

[JSam21]

48 minutes ago, Baseballer said:

You need to think how it could have been handled better or if it's a play with a mechanics issue, talk to your partner about it. If your partner has this attitude of, oh well, then take it for what it is because you will not change his attitude. Then inform your assigner that you prefer not to be on a crew with that guy because he brings the crew down.

Personally, at the end of the day, I have to look at myself in the mirror. I take my work on the field very personally and with pride. If I miss something it bothers me more than anyone. 

While I agree with you for the most part, I think it is just as important to "flush it" after you have reviewed it. I think what the OP is talking about is some people's flippant way of doing that. We cannot dwell on something that we missed, because that is how the snowball starts rolling down hill. In the moment, forget about it; after the game, let's talk about it, go to sleep and put it in the past. 

 

There was a question that was asked of me by someone who has had a very large influence in the development of my career at one of the first clinics that I went to and it has stuck with me ever since. That question was, "What is the most important pitch of the game? The next one." 

[The Man in Blue]

After one particularly thorny incident I have posted about, the UIC made a post-game comment that rubbed me a little wrong: In the end, the right team won.

I really respect this UIC, but that one poked me between the toes a little.  I don't care who won and I never give that any consideration pre- or post-game.  I know he was trying to reinforce that the call and controversy didn't matter, but that verbiage was sticky for me.

I give the close calls and botched mechanics consideration through the post-game.  I look for the lessons, then it is, as @JSam21 said, "Flush it" for the rest.

 

[Richvee]

3 hours ago, JSam21 said:

I think it is just as important to "flush it" after you have reviewed it.

Easier said than done. I can "flush it" during the game and not let it affect me, but post game, and usually at least for the ride home, it sticks with me. Some longer than others. To the OP...Who won, is never the reason to be able to flush it. That' a cop out.  

[Baseballer]

5 hours ago, JSam21 said:

While I agree with you for the most part, I think it is just as important to "flush it" after you have reviewed it. I think what the OP is talking about is some people's flippant way of doing that. We cannot dwell on something that we missed, because that is how the snowball starts rolling down hill. In the moment, forget about it; after the game, let's talk about it, go to sleep and put it in the past. 

 

There was a question that was asked of me by someone who has had a very large influence in the development of my career at one of the first clinics that I went to and it has stuck with me ever since. That question was, "What is the most important pitch of the game? The next one." 

I absolutely agree. Can't dwell on mistakes because we got the next pitch/play to get right. 

[834k3r]

On 7/22/2024 at 6:45 PM, Richvee said:

That’s not to say it doesn’t enter our minds. I’ll give you an example from yesterday. 
I’ve got the dish on a real good 14-17 prospect tourney. (Some of the best summer ball I’ve seen in long time, but I digress)

semi final, tied top 7. 2 outs no one on, 3-0 count. I ball a pitch that probably caught the outside corner. Two hard hit singles and one run later, I’m wondering if that pitch I balled was a game changer. I mean, all it would have done was make it a 3-1 count, but the thought goes through your head. 
 

Home team scores two in the bottom for the win. 
 

Do I feel better that my ball call “didn’t matter, they came back and won anyway?”  Maybe for some, but not me. It’s still a call I’d like to have back, regardless of what happened after it. 

I'm with you, though I've never worked a prospect tournament. Just this year I had one on the outside that I should have called a strike (would've been strike 3 and the third out). Instead the batter walked and the next batter doubled to right center and R1 (the guy who should've struck out and ended the inning) scored. That one wore on me for a while despite my efforts to flush it.

[Velho]

Great stuff all. Appreciate the discussion.

[love to ump]

here's a weird sidetrack....anybody here play some serious poker...cash or tourney?

I do on occassion.

I can clearly remember  (from several years back) the action and results of big hands I lost....big wins, not so much, cause I got it right.

Same with the Umpire calls that I coulda/woulda/shoulda made...that may have led to game changing results...remember them clearly even if a few seasons back.

Yes....the next play is the most important....but some time the call sticks in the back of the mind....it's not which team won, but maybe why they won.

my 2 cents worth

[Richvee]

16 minutes ago, love to ump said:

here's a weird sidetrack....anybody here play some serious poker...cash or tourney?

I do on occassion.

I can clearly remember  (from several years back) the action and results of big hands I lost....big wins, not so much, cause I got it right.

Same with the Umpire calls that I coulda/woulda/shoulda made...that may have led to game changing results...remember them clearly even if a few seasons back.

Yes....the next play is the most important....but some time the call sticks in the back of the mind....it's not which team won, but maybe why they won.

my 2 cents worth

I could fill a whole thread on "Bad beats" 😩