[wish7694]

Background: I am a head varsity baseball coach who umpires during the winter and summer. I got thrown out of a game for the first time this season and just need to get it off my chest.

The PU had definitely projected that he would not take any grief. I had a freshman pitcher on the mound and had supported the PU every time he expressed frustration with a PU call, vocally saying "next pitch", to get him to focus on his job. After a close called 3rd strike to end an inning one of my batters stayed in the box and asked if the pitch wasn't outside while the PU walked to the 3B box. I clapped my hand at the batter and told my player "come on, let's go". As this was happening the PU approached my player and asked him if he wanted to umpire. My player said "sorry, no" and walked away. The PU then followed him to the dugout, continually asking if he wanted to umpire. The 3B coach came to try and get between and deflect the PU off of my player, The PU then yelled that "I need to get control of my players". I took a step towards the PU from about 15 feet away and as of yet had not said a word directly to him. As soon as I took a step towards him (at this point he was 5 steps from my dugout chasing after my player) he said "that's it" and ran me, which also got me removed from the next game. He refused to engage me and walked away when I asked what I was being ejected for. When I could not get a response from him I finally went ballistic, but the damage had already been done. To add insult to injury he said in his report I used profanity which I did not, before or after the ejection. I vigorously refuted his allegations but accepted my suspension.

I know that it is hard to judge w/o the other side of the story but these are the facts. The reason I posted on this site is just because when I see coaches and players being referred to as rats it just puts a bad taste in my mouth and gives a perception of a lack of respect towards the players and coaches. I know this language is not used by everyone and is meant only to apply to those who chirp or argue, at least I hope that is all it is meant to refer to, but the fact that I am not 100% sure coupled with the fact that their a rare few umpires like the one above, should give some pause. I think we need to be brave enough to call out a partner after (never during) a game who has acted unprofessionally.

As a coach and umpire I truly have respect for an umpire that is willing to briefly discuss a call with a coach. I am not saying to engage in lengthy discussions on every play, but a little effort towards engaging a coach in a positive manner goes a long way towards deescalating any situations. I truly believe most ejections can be prevented by better game management earlier in the game.

Sorry for the long post but I just needed to get this off my chest.