[BlueLawyer]

The "fails to avoid" language in 7.09 does not change the fact that it's an umpire's judgment call. That, if for no other reason, is why you don't reverse the call on the coach's barking. The umpires may consult (and in this case it appears they did) and the calling umpire may reverse himself after that consultation, but the very last thing we (and I'm including you in that "we", Coach) want is an umpire who changes judgment calls when a coach doesn't like the call. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out where that will leave a ballgame in pretty short order.

Coach, I respect your profession. Having said that, it reads to me like you don't like how much power we (umpires) have. Years ago, I went to a basketball camp. One of the classroom sessions was presented by a DIII basketball coach, entitled "What Coaches Want from Officials". I listened as he lamented the fact that we were "part-timers", he was a "full-timer", and yet we had all the "power" on the court. That may have been true from the opening tap to the final buzzer, but coaches and ADs have a lot more power over the overall picture than we do. That's the subject for another post. Here's the point: yes, if you are on the field I am working, I can eject you. However, only the most unprofessional of umpires will eject you for "anything he wants to." There are a few of us, a VERY few, who go into a ballgame with a chip on his shoulder. They don't last long (around here, at least) because that umpire will get no good games and not move up and that umpire will usually self-select another part-time job. It's not much fun, for most of us, to yell at people and be yelled at.

With all due respect, the "power", such as it is, is all on your side. Can you IMAGINE, seriously, what would happen if, after an unsuccessful bunt, hit and run, squeeze play, whatever, I, as an umpire, came over to where ever the coach was and said, "That's just poor judgment. Why are you hitting and running in that situation? That's just terrible. You're cheating the kids." What if I just yelled down the third base line after a called third strike, "Been a strike all day! You'd better get your kids to swing at that or I'll sit them down for you!" Lord knows I have wanted, a hundred times in my career, to retort to a coach who is yelling at me, "And I suppose the three errors your players have committed this inning have nothing to do with the fact that you're behind?"

No umpire who did that even once would work again, at least not around these parts. Yet that kind of childish behavior is accepted and even expected from coaches. Outside of ejecting him, which is a one game penalty, he suffers no real adverese consequence. He keeps his job (whether volunteer or paid), and at some levels, he is given a hard time in the media (and maybe from his AD) if he doesn't "work the umps" enough.

I have never coached, and maybe I should. I have tremendous respect for coaches, especially small-school coaches here in my area, who work 60-80 hours a week from August to April. But I think you'd have to admit that there are a lot more jackasses in coaching who are allowed to be jackasses than in officiating.

Strikes and outs!