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Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA
Wimps!
IMO, AA is quite managable. The fact that they get to you means they win.
When they act like children, treat them like children. Let them rant and rave and when they are done, just smile and say goodbye.  |
I agree with Mike here. I think that, as a group, we umpires do it to ourselves by not addressing the situations as they present themselves. I hear a lot of fussing over balls and strikes, which is explicitly against the rules of any organization I've ever called for. We have the means with which to address it, the rule book backing us up, and yet, there are umpires who just let it go. Those umpires do NOT do the rest of us any favors, as the teams have now learned that they can get away with it. This makes our jobs that much more difficult when there are those of us who DO follow the rules as they are intended - to keep the peace in an impartial manner.
Last night, I called with a guy who was proud of the fact that in 20-some years of calling ball at various levels, he'd never ejected a single person. Reading between the lines: "I just made it harder for you, Dave."
A warning or an ejection does not have to be, nor should be, a display. On the website I'm working on, it goes into a bit of detail on this subject. If you've got teams being vocal about the balls and strikes, pull the coach/captain aside between innings and calmly say, "coach, there will be no more of this. This is a team warning, please let your players know." Quiet, subtle, no one's embarrassed or singled out, and the situation is usually addressed. If someone doesn't get the message, pull the coach aside and let them know a player just threw themselves out.
I don't like paperwork, either, but I don't let that stand in the way of doing my job. When an ejection is warranted, it's done without passion, hesitation or prejudice.