[tankmjg24]

Alright guys I am looking for everyone's opinion on something that happened to my partner and I over the weekend. We were working a travel ball tournament for an association for the first time and had games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

On Friday evening we had a game with a team that had some rather obnoxious coaches. I was the field umpire and my partner was on plate. The game was rather close and Team A eventually won by 1. Team B complained about every call that went against them and I eventually ended up warning for their actions. With a runner on 3rd and 2 outs Team A hits a ball deep into the hole at short stop. F6 makes a good backhand play and throws to F3 to try and get the batter runner who is safe by a good 2 feet. I signal safe and Team B dugout erupts. The assistant is mouthy and throws his hat onto the ground as he is complaining. This led me to grant a warning to the coaches. The game continued without incidence.

On Sunday this same team is playing in bracket play and we have their first game. Again I am the field umpire and my partner is on plate. Game starts off well until the third inning when they are in the field. Ball is hit to F3 who fields the ball and tosses to F1 who is running to cover. I am in C position as there was an R2. From my vantage point F1 never comes close to the bag and dances all around it so I signal safe. The dugout comes unglued and the next thing I know the manager is running out (my partner did grant time for him). He is adamant that his player touched the bag and began demanding that I appeal to the plate umpire. I did not really like his tone so I denied this request, stuck with my call, and told him the conversation was over and to return to the dugout. He does so but he and his coaches continue to mouth but never get out of line. 2 outs later the inning ends. After middle inning warm ups and as the bottom of the inning was getting ready to begin my partner calls time and begins to walk over to the offending teams dugout. I begin coming down the line to get an angle to see and hear. Apparently the manager continued mouthing about the call and my partner had heard enough. As he was talking with the manager I can hear one of the assistant coaches mouthing. He is complaining that we sucked on Friday and that we still sucked on Sunday. We cost them the game on Friday and we were probably going to cost them the current game. Then he states that I am a lazy official and was out of position and that if I hustled over to 1st I probably would have seen the player touch first. I had heard enough so I ejected this coach. The coach wanted to sit in the stands and did not want to leave. After some encouragement that if he did not his team could just forfeit, he left the field. The game continues with a few more issues but nothing major. This team won.

After returning to the locker rooms we are informed that this particular team has stated that they refuse to play their next scheduled game if we are umpiring. The site director says that as far as he is concerned they can just forfeit. The coach comes and begins a conversation with the site director outside. Upon the site director coming back inside he tells us that he has our backs and that they are acting ridiculous. About this time he gets a phone call from the tournament UIC who is at a different site in a different city who instructs him to switch us from that field onto the alternate field and to move those umpires onto our games. The site director tried to explain the situation to him and how he did not want to move us, but the UIC felt it would be best for us and the team if we just switched up the umpires. This was a semi-final game that was beginning and my partner and I were also scheduled for the championship. The UIC instructed the site coordinator if this particular team won their semi-final game to put the other umpires on the championship and that if they lost then to move us back to it. This team did end up losing their semi-final game. No incidences occurred as they had 10 runs scored on them in the first inning and the other umpires stated things were rather quiet the entire game as a result.

I felt kind of cheated in the deal as did my partner. The other umpires were kind of upset too as they felt as if we were getting a bum deal and that the UIC was not covering us but giving into the coaching staff. The site coordinator felt as if we were being wronged, but he answers to the state committee and this particular UIC is on it making him a boss. In contacting the UIC to place my complaints his response was that it was nothing against us but rather protecting us from a situation. His explanation was that by removing us from the game we then did not have to put up with this team.

What are everyone's thoughts?