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Originally Posted by David Emerling
On some matters - yes, I do care.
For instance, I want them to think I'm a good umpire.
If you want the coaches to think you're a good umpire, then you, too, care what they think. True?
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Of course it would be nice if they feel I am a good umpire, but it is not one rule that is going to make them feel that way. If they feel I am a good umpire, I can persuade them to do what I suggest. That is not going to be affected by what others do.
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Originally Posted by David Emerling
I'll agree that when a coach says, "no one else enforces that," that he is frequently just being manipulative and it oftentimes isn't even true.
But, in this case, it would be absolutely true!
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Well that is his problem.
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Originally Posted by David Emerling
Did you see the umpire in the videoclip? That gentleman is a typical Memphis-area umpire. And the players you are observing are members of the region's most respected baseball program with an outstanding staff of competent coaches.
It's not about what ONE coach thinks ... it's about what they ALL think.
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Does the umpire in the video not have a mask on? You are telling me he cannot quietly tell the batter to stay in the box? You do not have to make a Federal case over it. Just tell the kid to stay in the box and I bet they kid will stay in the box. Baseball is the one sport we can hide behind something and make a point and no one knows we even said anything. For God sake man, just tell the kid to stay in the box and I bet no one will say anything. The coach might not even know you made such a request.
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Originally Posted by David Emerling
Believe me, if you grated on the nerves of EVERY coach in the area, you can stand on a righteous podium all you want and point to the page and paragraph in the book ... it won't do you an ounce of good. Your umpire career will be stagnant. If that's not important to you, then fine. You can be a crusading trailblazer with a righteous cause - and perhaps change the world.
Fair? Probably not.
Just a harsh fact.
David Emerling
Memphis, TN
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I did not say call a strike on the kid for the first or second minor offense. I said tell them to stay in the box. Once again it is your game and your time that you are wasting. If you want to sit there for another 30 minutes because kids think they are Major Leaguers that is you problem. I am going to tell them (with my mask on) to stay in the box and most of the time no one even knows I made such a request.
Also, the NF put out a POE stating that we are not to ignore rules we do not like and enforce only the rules we do. In my state these issues are supported by our state and evaluators.
My last playoff game last year my game took 1 hour and 13 minutes. It took that long largely because both teams had seen me many times during the year and over other seasons I knew what I was about. I did not have to worry about kids going to the back stop after every pitch and I did not have to worry about how many warm-up pitches are taken between innings or just about anything I requested to be done. When I enter a field I enter with a purpose. I am not there to be friends or to chat. I do everything I need to do and when I need to talk to a coach I talk to the coach at those appropriate times. If an umpire cannot get these little things done without a major fight, I wonder what those umpires are doing in other aspect of their games.
Most of all the last thing I care about is what some coach that will not be around in a year thinks of me.
Peace