Parent calling out catcher setup

[ValleyUmp]

Saw this online, want some thoughts.

This was a 90' field so older kids.

Player A is at bat. F2 habitually sets up early, before pitcher starts his motion. Middle aged woman's voice (presumably Mom) is calling out "Inside" or "Outside" every time as the pitcher begins his motion. It's loud enough for the batter to hear, which means PU is hearing it too. She's only doing this when A is batting - not for any of A's teammates.

Do you:

A) Do nothing, "ignore the fans" as she's not saying anything personal or profane?

B) Call over offense's HC and tell him the woman needs to stop or OHC will be ejected?

C) Directly address/attempt to remove the woman?

[noumpere]

A.

 

She's only hurting her own kid in the long-run.

[mac266]

DO NOTHING. We have no authority outside the fence.

[Coach Carl]

"A" all the way. 

 

[eddieq]

I'm for option A.  It's not my problem. 

 

If I'm the defensive coach, I'm working with my catcher to use that.  Set up later OR set up early but once she calls out the position, change the setup at the last moment.  She'll eventually knock it off once she's repeatedly wrong.

[MadMax]

Please, @ValleyUmp, please tell me this was copied & pasted from online, in its entirety... 

12 hours ago, ValleyUmp said:

B) Call over offense's HC and tell him the woman needs to stop or OHC will be ejected?

C) Directly address/attempt to remove the woman?

From what universe do these two options come, that would or should ever even be considered??!!

It is painfully obvious that querier has never attended a professional baseball game, much less a high-end (college, large high school) amateur baseball game. If you truly listen to the game outside the game, you hear this stuff all the time, whether it be tip-telling prognostication or sly, insidious deceit. 

Example: How about all those fans telling a batter to swing (early, of course), hopeful for a strike out? Are we hushing and censoring them?

This is an utterly ridiculous question. 

[The Man in Blue]

Not saying I agree with B, but I’ll make a case for it.  All coaches and team personnel are to be in the team’s dugout.

If mom is being mom and making the same “swing!” comments as the crowd, I have nothing.

If mom is communicating specific information directly to the player and conveying information relevant to the game/enhancing his performance, she is coaching.  That isn’t cheering.

A one-off parent conversation before an at bat, going to let it slide.  Continued calling out of information every at bat, not going to slide.

”Coach, all of your coaches belong in the dugout.  She either isn’t a coach, in which case she needs to stop coaching and the TD needs to handle it, or she is a coach and belongs in the dugout on the bench with you.”

I’m surprised the other team’s battery did not take care of the problem.  (Like I’ve said before, I played with a chip on my shoulder in a different age.)

[eddieq]

5 minutes ago, The Man in Blue said:

 

I’m surprised the other team’s battery did not take care of the problem.  (Like I’ve said before, I played with a chip on my shoulder in a different age.)

You mean the "whoops, sorry about that fastball to the ribs"?  That's how we handled stuff like that as kids.  Not condoning it of course.

[The Man in Blue]

5 hours ago, eddieq said:

You mean the "whoops, sorry about that fastball to the ribs"?  That's how we handled stuff like that as kids.  Not condoning it of course.

I'm sure that is not what I meant by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[ValleyUmp]

I agree with the consensus for Option A. That said, I disagree with MadMax's premise. If the players are 18 and up, yes, it's a ridiculous question. But 13U-17U is not adult baseball.

The umps in the video chose A, but the commentator (an umpire trainer) strongly disagreed and said B was correct on game management grounds.

The stated rationale was (paraphrasing) "this is still youth baseball; we DON'T want the defense to 'take things into their own hands' and possibly start a sequence of retaliatory HBP. Address it now so it doesn't become a s-t-show later."

[Jonump]

With great respect for Mr. Madmax, I don't think it's a ridiculous question at all. I recognize we don't have jurisdiction beyond the fence, but we do have a game management role.

I had it in a JV game with very few around in the stands except for a clearly-close-to-the-team parent who was kinda/sorta coaching the players informally doing this right behind a short cramped backstop, so about 3 feet from me and the players.

Isolated, rough and ready city field. Two very rough teams, though with excellent, development-oriented coaches. No admin for miles

Ridiculous and distracting. Same as relaying signs by someone in the crowd, and I think appropriate to stop. 

I did address it. Was going to say something to the coach like "Is that a coach over there? If not, please ask your parent to stop signaling the hitter before we continue"  and he would have done it, but I opted for the low-key direct approach. Its a neighborhood where there is a LOT of back and forth at the games.

"Hey man, do me a favor, can you not call out the catcher position before the pitch?"

"hey I"m I'm being polite!" (which come to think of it is a slightly odd response and indicative of someone who may have had similar discussions before)

"You are being polite, and I'm not asking you to move. Calling out positions is a little different and its distracting, and I'd appreciate it if you can stop"

He grumbled off and I heard the coach ask him what was going on a little later, parent said "yeah, I get it actually."

So, it worked. Which I recognize does NOT mean its the right approach. But I think it was right for this game.

My other/next step would have been to go to the coach and say I'm going to treat your guy as a coach since I've seen him interacting with you and the team a lot today, and I need you to tell him to stop this, Or I've gotta restrict both of you. Lets not go there. I'll hold the game till he stops, and you go talk to him.

Again, this approach felt right and in keeping with the vibe of the day. 

Have at it.

[JonnyCat]

On 6/11/2026 at 3:46 AM, Jonump said:

So, it worked. Which I recognize does NOT mean its the right approach. But I think it was right for this game.

Often times, parts of officiating are not a one size fits all approach. Sometimes you do what you have to do and what works best for your game and situation.

I think sometimes we as officials are very stubborn in our ways and reluctant to think of a different approach to certain situations. I do realize that some procedures should be set in stone, but often times there are better ways to handle a situation than the "accepted" norm.

I appreciate your thought process on this one. To paraphrase a welder I watch on YouTube, "this is not a how to do it repair video, this is how I did it." 😄 

Sometimes the "wrong" approach turns out to be the right one.

[MadMax]

On 6/11/2026 at 5:46 AM, Jonump said:

So, it worked. Which I recognize does NOT mean its the right approach. But I think it was right for this game.

@JonnyCat absolutely nailed the meat of my point. I'll get down to the bones of it... 

What you speak of, here, is context. Within the context of the specific game you were working, considerate of level, ages, location and everything else, and using the authority you are vested by the rules (and, rules that fit/match the context), you adjudicated it in that way. You used authority; you did not impose authority. There's a difference. 

In no way am I against what you adjudicated on that (singular) game. What I am against is codifying it as some kind of overarching generalization, or worse, campaigning for it as some kind of imperative protocol... to use in all cases.

Case in point: 

On 6/10/2026 at 12:56 AM, ValleyUmp said:

Do you:

A) Do nothing, "ignore the fans" as she's not saying anything personal or profane?

B) Call over offense's HC and tell him the woman needs to stop or OHC will be ejected?

C) Directly address/attempt to remove the woman?

Imperatives in bold. 

On 6/10/2026 at 9:54 PM, ValleyUmp said:

but the commentator (an umpire trainer) strongly disagreed and said B was "correct"

And who is this "trainer", and what makes him an authority so as to dictate what's "correct" and "incorrect"???