Quote:
Originally Posted by MrUmpire
Respectfully, if you believe the local umpires, who cannot leave the country as the Americans did, will take care of any Dominican manager, you are mistaken.
Further, if you believe the type of "security" at Dominican ballparks will assist American umpires, you are again mistaken.
You are assuming that whatever technique you use that works so well for you in the US will apply equally to the Dominican League, and, as in most cases where one assumes, you are mistaken.
This is not the first time American umpires were threatened, contacted the authorities, received no assistance, and left the country. The last time, I believe, was in 2006.
Umpiring in the DL is truly a different experience.
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So, we can see from this video that the technique of aggressive arguing, ganging up on the coach, putting your arms across your chest and "making a stand" in front of the coach really panned out pretty good!
Trust me, I have done every single mistake I witnessed in that video, and have had outcomes similar (I haven't been hit by a coach, but many years ago when I handled situations poorly like you see in that video, I was shoved several times).
I officiate any number of nationalities in baseball, soccer, basketball. The body language and verbal language used on players who cannot even speak much english that has PROVEN to be successful is universally accepted.
My experience with pro umpires has been that they mostly want to either be:
1 - Right
2 - "Send a message"
3 - Not have their "authority" questioned
4 - Can't seem to walk away from a jab at them
All very poor perceptions to give off via body language and in how to address somebody you should be having a discussion with, IF you have an eye towards keeping confrontations short and on topic.
It is behavior similar to many law enforcement officers. But, I won't go there.
Over the years, I have accumulated my share of "foes" on coaching staffs. But, I don't let the little stuff influence the big decision. As an ex major league indoor soccer referee used to teach to newer refs, "Set the bar high, but NAIL THEM when they go over it".
I have never seen where prolonged arguing with a known hot head has ever turned into a "good thing". So this guy has been taking jabs at them all game, series, season. Great. Was that game when the umps decided to "let him have it"? Great! Dump him quick and move on.
Seriously. All's I seen on that video was prolong arguing with a LOT of posturing from the umps, and ganging up on a guys who was obviously pissed. In confrontation, the longer you allow it to go on, the better chance of a bad outcome for one or both parties. The idea is to get it over with quick.
Once I quit having to be "right", and quick worrying about having the last word, and needing to "get back" at coaches, and quit caring that they want to question my knowledge and/or authority, things got better on the field. I was able to go into "discussions" without emotion being displayed or heard in my choice of words. I can now get to the facts, listen to what they have to say, state what I "have", and if they haven't left yet, simply say "We are done here". If the coach decides to keep pursuing it after that, I eject. It is pretty simple. I also don't stick around after the ejection. I get away and will keep walking away until my partner(s) get them out of the park. I don't respond to obvious "bait" comments anymore. "When spear thrown at head, move head".
So, when the coach wants to say something like "That is the worst call I have ever seen". I stare at them and say "Ok" without as much as evening raising an eyebrow. I mean, I KNOW I have it right, so what do I care about his opinion? Even if it was a bad call, I certainly am not going to change it because he doesn't like it, and arguing with him about it isn't going to make the confrontation end quicker.
Isn't that the goal? To end the confrontation as quickly as possible on the field? I will use whatever tactic will diffuse the situation as quickly as possible, even if that means I have to "duck my head" a few times. The idea is to get an idea of what the coach is arguing about, address it, then get the game going again. If the coach does not have this same interest, then he OBVIOUSLY wants an ejection, and I grant him that quickly and I walk away.