[jkumpire]

Okay, let's play with this a little. For example, this game is a Regional final, and the winner goes on in the tournament...

1. Manager comes out and disagrees with this call. This is not a judgment call, it is a rules error.
2. Umpire gives him some trash to justify his call.

You are the manager, what do you do? Your options are:

1. Suck it up, lose the game, and use it as a teachable moment to teach players the hard lessons about life not being fair, and how you have to be able to overcome such trouble in life and you have to be strong and deal with it with class. But, now your season is at an end, your Seniors are done, and your school may not get back to this level again. ...

2. Continue to disagree in a manner that is not offensive, but eventually get ejected, and in some states loses multiple games to a suspension, pay a 3 figure fine, and take a mandated on-line coaching course or be suspended by the state organization. Meanwhile umpire X gets off more or less scott free, though if the state association or an assigner hears about this something might get done.

My point: I have a hard time with states fining coaches for getting ejected unless the behavior is such that they are a definite bad example of bad sportsmanship. If I was coach X, and knew this was an incorrect call, then I would probably push the discussion far enough I would get ejected.

Education and sportsmanship are a high priority in HS athletics, nobody doubts that. But winning matters too, doesn't it? Where is the line here: Senior player X who hit the HR spent years getting to this point, and probably will not play college BB, so this is it for him. Is winning of such little importance that it fighting this point, even hotly, or even if it costs and ejection is the worse option?

To me, it seems that in some places, the importance of winning is being devalued in athletics. Heaven knows there is too much emphasis on wining in some places where out and out cheating is going on. But I think that in too many places, winning does not matter enough, and the lines between winning and other values in sports are being redrawn in an unhealthy way.

Opinions?

What would you do in this case? What is the solution for the manager, who has a lot riding on this game?