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Wasn't umpiring this game, I was in the stands for this one. Quite interesting, though....
Babe Ruth district tournament, 15-and-under (although most of the players were 13 or 14). I knew we were in trouble when the umpires showed up in button-up, light blue shirts with no patches or anything (which I haven't seen worn in several years). I had worked with one of the guys before and knew he was lousy; the other one I had never seen before.
Anyway, end of the top of the second, player from visiting team strikes out swinging. He casually tosses his bat toward the dugout and starts to walk to his position. PU yells, "You're out of here!" No warning, nothing. Manager comes out to ask why he got tossed. PU says he threw the bat. Manager asks why he didn't get a warning. PU keeps saying, "I don't care, he's gone." Manager tells PU he was wrong for tossing him without a warning. PU says, "OK, you're gone too."
Manager then leaves and takes a seat in the stands (permitted by OBR 4.07). Middle of the next inning, PU turns around and tells ejected manager, "If you don't leave the park, I'm going to forfeit the game." Someone tells the PU that the rulebook says that he can take a seat in the grandstand after being ejected. He says, "I don't care what the rulebook says. And if you don't shut up, I'm gonna throw you out too."
Next inning: PU calls home manager and visiting "acting" manager, tells them that if the kids don't hustle on and off the field, he's going to throw them out, too.
4th inning: Home batter is hit by pitch, throws his bat high in the air toward his dugout, goes to first. Visiting bench and fans go ballistic, and finally the umpire relents and throws him out, too.
Also in this game: At least eight balks were called (I counted). He called four more in the next game. Of the 13 ways to balk listed under OBR 8.05, he called 6 of them....plus one that wasn't even listed. Then I saw a big one that he didn't call. They missed a big interference call at 2B, too (that would have gone against my team had they made the correct call).
Bottom line: the guy wasn't anywhere close to being certified, he was an assistant coach for a local high school team that umpires summer ball. He tried to call the game by FED rules, which sometimes don't apply to OBR. And it was a district tournament.
Granted, the team I was there watching probably wouldn't have won anyway. But having their best hitter for the first game might have made a difference.
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