[tankmjg24]

Alright guys, I feel the need to vent some frustrations over a situation that occurred to me during youth ball. This is rather winded to warn you. I am currently working my 9th year as an umpire however this is my first year working the particular area I am in as I recently relocated due to work.

So the area that I am in now does not have any real sanctioned youth baseball such as Little League, Cal Ripken, Dizzy Dean, etc. Instead, each youth league is ran by the park board for that particular city.

At the completion of my high school season I started to umpire more youth ball. I quickly noticed that each team had at least 5 coaches and it seemed like the dugout had volcanic lava instead of cement as every coach wanted to be outside leaning on the fence. Every game that I officiated I reminded the coaches that they were not allowed outside the dugout. Some coaches questioned me as all the other umpires allowed them to be, but after citing their own rules and the fact that this is a safety issue for the kids playing they stayed in their dugouts.

During one game I had a manager that adamantly disagreed with me to the point that I about ejected him during the plate meeting. This is when things began to get interesting. This manager returned to his dugout and informed his assistants that they were not allowed outside the dugout. One at this point left the dugout and proceeded to head away from the field.

At the time I did not know where he was going, but now I know that he was attempting to call the UIC of the league who did not answer. This coach then went and talked to the board member who was representing that particular age division (10 year olds).

Around the second inning I see the assistant coach return to the dugout and then during a visit to the mound I hear "umpire", "hey blue" coming from behind me at the fence. I turn and see the representing board member who calls me over to the fence. He tells me that he knows I am new to the league, but they usually allow the coaches outside the dugout in order to call pitches and better instruct the players. He tosses in that he contacted the UIC who said to allow it. My response, which was very polite and professional, was that I was umpiring the game and was going to enforce the coaches having to be in the dugout as this was a safety issue and we could discuss it more after the game if he wanted to. This board member becomes a bit upset and starts questioning why I am trying to take control of the game and not allow the coaches to coach. My response was that we were not going to pick and choose which rules to play by and that I was going to resume the game at this point. I leave him in giving him my name as he requests it as in his words he is going to call the UIC and get things straightened out.

Around the 4th inning, the catcher for the team that has given me trouble goes in to pitch and a new catcher comes out. I notice that he has a regular fielders glove so I instruct him that he has to have a mitt. The kid goes back to the dugout and then I have the manager and his assistant coach come out all upset. I will save the words exchanged, but I ended up ejecting both for their behavior. The game continues after they leave.

The new pitcher is struggling and about 5 minutes later there are no outs and runs have scored so the new coach (who was pleasant if it matters) calls timeout to speak with his pitcher. It is at this point that the board member walks out onto the field and I notice that both the manager and assistant are leaning on the fence. The board member notifies me that I am over officiating and that the manager and coach did not deserve to be ejected and that they were returning to the game. He also tells me that the coaches are going to sit where they please and that I am going to allow the catcher to use whatever glove he wishes to. He was being rather disrespectful so I asked him to please respect me and allow me to umpire the game. His response was that I did not deserve respect and that he ran the place and I was going to do things his way. I respectfully asked him to leave the field so the game would continue and his response was that he wouldn't until I did as he said. He tells me that he was the power to make sure I never umpired again and that he was in charge not me. At this point I put both teams in the dugout as we are getting no where. I also ejected the board member to try and get him to leave. After a period of time the board member leaves, the manager and coach that were ejected leaves, and the game continues.

At the conclusion of the game I see the manager and the coach walk back onto the field to shake hands. I later found out that they went into the press box with the board member and watched the remainder of the game from there. As I was walking out the manager walks towards me with his hand extended. Trying to not look like a jerk I shook his hand. At this point he pulls me in towards him and proceeds to tell me how long he has been coaching and how much he knows and that I know nothing. I, not wanting to cause a scene, pull away and walk off the field towards the umpire dressing rooms.

Upon entering the dressing rooms the president of the league (who I have never met) walks in and informs me that I have been removed from the league and that I was not welcome back. He throws in that he has the power to make sure I never umpire in town again and that I was going to listen to what he had to say. He told me I had 5 minutes to pack my stuff and leave of he would contact the police to remove me. I tried to talk to him in a civil manner yet he would not listen.

That evening I receive an email from the UIC that I have been suspended indefinitely pending a board meeting and that he would try to get me back but the chances seemed slim. I asked to be present for this meeting, to which he replied the board would not allow me to be as it is a closed meeting. I proceeded to write up a statement that was rather detailed that I sent the UIC.

A few days later I receive an email from the UIC that I have been suspended for the remainder of the year. I proceed to call him to get the details. He tells me that the board voted unanimously to have me removed. They said that I acted unprofessional, was over officiating, and then ignored the board representative. My UIC, while being polite, proceeded to tell me how I got myself into this situation by enforcing rules that were never enforced and by ignoring the board representative. I will save how the remaining conversation went.

I feel as if I was royally screwed over in the situation and that my UIC allowed the board to walk all over me (and all the other umpires in the league) in fear that he would lose the league and lose his money train. To me I remained professional and did nothing wrong while the coaches and board members caused all the trouble.

What does everyone think of this?