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Originally posted by Rich Fronheiser
Quote:
Originally posted by David Emerling
Quote:
Originally posted by JRutledge
That is the problem with many umpires. You are more concerned with getting rid of problems instead of dealing with those problems. If that is the only way you feel you can control a game, then do that. I just think that is the easy way out and does not advance umpiring. I have made mistakes in games and never had to eject a coach or they never complained. It is the way you carry yourself that also has to do with how a coach responds. Because if you have a certain demeanor, they might not even realize you made the mistake in the first place. 
Peace
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Exactly!
Some umpires have to eject because they do not have the "tools" (i.e social skills or game managment skills) to manipulate the game toward a peaceful continuation/conclusion.
Manipulation sounds like a harsh word, but there is such a thing as constructive manipulation. A good umpire is a psychiatrist, of sorts. He understands what motivates people and what they *really* want. A crafty umpire can often steer a potentially volatile situation into calm waters without necessarily having to resort to any ejections.
That is not to say that an ejection is not always appropriate. It may be. But some umpires are too quick with the trigger. Ejections are not always in the best interest of the game and they are not necessarily a means to get a game under control.
If an umpire lacks these people skills, he probably *should* eject - because there are few good options left.
David Emerling
Memphis, TN
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Some of us would rather not take the effort, Dave. Some of us expect that people will behave appropriately and they can go home if they don't. ESPECIALLY in summer baseball where it isn't the coach's JOB on the line -- those HS/College guys I will give a lot of rope to, but those guys are also the ones who will leave the field when you remind them that you're pretty close to ejecting them.
I've never had a HS or college coach tell me I "suck." I had two summer coaches say that this season (along with one tell me that I was an "idiot"). Why should I even TRY to deal with people like this? Goodbye, wait for your team at the bus or by the cars.
--Rich
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Oh - I agree! If a coach gets personal with the umpire by calling him names or insulting him - HE'S GONE! No questions asked. This is especially true at the youth league level.
My only coach ejection of my umpiring career (I've ejected several players) was for the outburst, "You're clueless!"
Those are easy ejections, however. I don't think anybody would disagree that a coach who verbally insults an umpire on a personal level should be ejected.
To me, what gets a coach ejected has much more to do with the level of disruption he is interjecting into the game. I'll have great tolerance for whatever hair is up his butt as long as the game moves along smoothly.
I haven't had many ball & strike issues come up in my games. But the few times it has, I have always given a warning. It has always stopped.
The tone and demeanor an umpire uses has a way of either escalating or quelling some disputes. This is often an intrinsic part of the umpire's personality. Some people naturally exude an aura of arrogance and confrontation. I've seen many umpires like this over the years. They have more than their share of problems.
To be fair, there are coaches who have similar traits. They, too, have more than their share of confrontations.
The real fireworks begin when two arrogant and stubborn individuals meet on the same field, one being an umpire, the other being a coach - neither of whom have the tools or skills to avert Armageddon.
It's not always about making some kind of extreme effort to manipulate the game once the fireworks begin. More often than not, it is the ability to avoid the fireworks in the first place.
Knowing when to ignore comments.
Being thick skinned.
Body language.
Choosing your words carefully.
Knowing when to listen and when to take control.
These are all small elements of manipulating a game.
To those not inclined along these lines, this is all very repugnant. To them, this is just a bunch of mamsy-pamsy psycho-babble bullcrap that they don't engage in. To their way of thinking, it is simply more expedient to eject. There's no doubt ejections are more expedient - whether they are in the best interest of the current game is another issue. Some umpires don't make such discernments - nor care. Which is fine - as long as their method works for them. But such umpires should not be too critical of umpires who get similarly favorable results with different methods.
There are hard-nosed coaches who get good results from their team just as some easy-going coaches oftentimes get just as good results. Is one right and the other wrong? Only the results matter.
It's not so different with umpires.
David Emerling
Memphis, TN
[Edited by David Emerling on Sep 5th, 2004 at 12:58 PM]