I am split on this issue of ejecting spectators.... I have never ejected a parent or spectator from a game in my umpiring career....
I considered it once though.... I was umpiring a PeeWee game (13-14 yr olds).. and I was used to doing older games... I was assigned this game because it was a play-off game or something....
And I realized that my strike zone was not great, as I was used to my batters having bigger zones. The visiting team parents were ALL OVER ME... for the whole game. I would clean the plate and they would say "NOW MAYBE YOU CAN SEE IT!!!" and they would say something after almost every pitch.... but I just kept my cool and went on and called the game....
After the game, they were chirping at me on my way to the parking lot... and I just left and went to my car... I did have one comment for a fan though after the game... I won't disclose this though...
Also, in another game where I had to eject a coach, I had a parent in a motorized wheelchair come up to me after the game saying "I OTTA RUN YOU OVER!!!"... it was kind of humourous thinking back, but she was 100% serious.
|