Quote:
|
Originally Posted by jkumpire
SNIPPED
Questions:
1. Was I unprofessional? In my opinion, no. I heard nothing else from the stands the whole night except for a snide remark or two as my partner and I left after the game. IMO just because I'm an umpire doesn't mean I have to put up with such abusive language from any stands. If there is 500 guys in the park, or it is a college game or HS game, I more than likely would have never head a thing. But 100 people is a different story.
2. Other than not saying anything, what other alternatives are there to what I did? Such crude language IMO can't be tolerated. Or is it simply I developed a momentary case of rabbit ears, and I'm just some old guy who has too thin a skin?
3. At this point in our rapidly eroding culture, is it time as umpires to just accept the fact that people are going to abuse us and say all kinds of garbage, and just ignore it, or get out?
Thanks for your answers and letting me let off some steam.
|
Okay you got it off your chest, now to answer the questions:
1. Yes, you were unprofessional. Your jurisdiction is
inside the fence! You
never go outside the fence for
any reason. If you get into an altercation, you have
absolutely no protection from the law.
2. Usually if you ignore the fool, he will go away. If he doesn't you can discuss it with the coaches (both of them) and if necessary, put the game on hold (pull everyone into the dugouts) until the idiot leaves. Usually if it comes to that, it's the fans that escort the jerk out of the area. By the way, the home manager
may want to take care of the problem but he is not bound to by rule. A TD on the other hand,
has to take charge of the fans.
3. You are a
baseball umpire, not a politician or a priest. Stick to your job. If you are focusing on the jerk
outside the fence, your not giving 100%
inside the fence.
Look, I'm not saying to "ignore the fans" because we all know that we can't. Some of the crap gets said hurts and hurts deep. But this is the job that
we chose so we have to suck it up and move on!