[L.G. Dorsey]

Pete,

Pardon the pun, but we have to be judicious when dealing with rowdy fans. I subscribe to Tim's philosophy. If there is no game administrator or field supervisor (I mean an adult athletics official, not a teenage scorekeeper, then you go to the home coach and tell him to quiet his fan down. If he claims no responsbility, follow Tim's strategy and get both coaches involved. You only need to call the police when you feel threatened for your safety. Otherwise, you'll seem to thin skinned and equipped with rabbit ears.

I understand where you're point is coming from. I have been at several games where I felt uncomfortable about certain fans. I think we can follow additional strategies when leaving games. First, if it's been a bad game for the crew, bust tail outta there. Don't run like you're scared, just double time it outta there. Second, if you're the base guy, wait for your partner to get out of his plate gear. I diffused a bad situation one night about 6 years ago by doing just that very thing. My partner (PU) had exchanged words during the game (wrong, dead wrong) with a fan behind HP during the game. I knew the fan from a prior league and knew he'd have to pop off at my partner after the game. Sure enough that's what happened and I got between both of them and sent the fan on his way. I've have only had to call the police once in 11 years and believe it or not it had nothing to do with a fan/umpire confrontation. It was a coach/parent confrontation and when I asked the coach "Is this guy capable of doing something?" He said "I don't know!". THat did it for me. Luckily, everyone went home safe.

Point is....use the coaches and field administrators. Crew support, Crew support, Crew support (back up your partner from the pre-game until the cars are in motion. Use law enforcement as a last ditch reponse...

L.G.