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[Mattinglyfan]

Kyle,
The problem I have with that is, why should you have to say that to a 13 year old . Umpires aren't even supposed to talk to the players in this league. Talk to me . Don't threaten a 13 year old by telling him that if he doesn't answer his coach, his team will suffer the consequences.
If you have ever coach , or played, you know that you don't have a great angle of the pitch from the dugout. Please keep in mind that this is a kid on the hill who hasn't even pitched out of the stretch before. I am trying to teach him how to pitch, the catcher how to frame, and I should have a right to no if the pitch is if I can't figure it out. This guy has had several complaints beside myself. How far do you think I would hace gotten if i would of asked him??

[ozzy6900]

Umpires aren't even supposed to talk to the players in this league. Talk to me.

I don't know where your league gets this from but never the less, I say to you, if you have a problem where the pitch was, the last thing you do is shout to your catcher "Where was that pitch?"!

Don't threaten a 13 year old by telling him that if he doesn't answer his coach, his team will suffer the consequences.

I don't threaten the team. At my level, I simply tell the catcher quietly that if he answers the coach's question, the 2nd stringer will take his place. If he wants to tell the coach between innings in the dugout, that's fine.

I am trying to teach him how to pitch, the catcher how to frame, and I should have a right to no if the pitch is if I can't figure it out.

First off, do your teaching at practice, not during a game. If you can't figure out what the umpire is calling, instruct the pitcher to send a few down the chute. That may "reset" the umpire.

Look, I may be back there with a varsity (FED or NCAA) pitcher hurling his best and I'm the one having the bad day. I try to work with the catcher and get him to hold the ball a second or so longer for me so I can get back into the flow. Nothing irks me more than to have the coach start yammering from the dugout about where the pitch is. You are correct, from the dugout you can't see the location of the pitch. Your asking the catcher is not helping at all.

Now at the age level that you are dealing with, you should be thankful that you even have umpires! I don't care what the age of the umpire, he is the umpire! I don't agree with the statement that he made but your questioning the catcher put you all in a bad position.

How far do you think I would have gotten if I would of asked him??

I don't know, but if you ask me that question, I'll suggest that you return to the dugout and run your team. The ball and strike call is the umpire's judgement and is not your concern, just something you have to live with.

By the way, I (as an umpire) don't question you when you screw up, do I?

[kylejt]

Umpires aren't even supposed to talk to the players in this league

I've never heard of such a thing. Man, the first thing I say to catchers is "you're my new best first, ya know why?", "Why?", "because you're going to protect me today". I've had some paranoid managers try to tell me not to talk to players, funny really. Probably thinking we're talking about him (we are, ususally).

Give 13 year olds a little more credit. You put him on the spot, I'm just giving him his options. I'll bet he's a smart fellow, or he wouldn't be your catcher.

Your umpire shouldn't have stated that he wouldn't call strike for your team, that was wrong. He just should have stated he would dump the manager if this line of questioning went any further. Didn't you say you were warned not to ask location anymore, then you did it again and were dumped?

Again, just ask the umpire between innings. I get it all the time, "hey Kyle, we can't tell from the dugout, where's Mikey missing?" I manage too, that's what I do.

[Edited by kylejt on Oct 24th, 2003 at 01:56 PM]

[Frankwag]

Dude, you take 13 year old baseball to a level it's not. Why do you even care what the coach says to his catcher? Work on developing a deaf ear to this stuff. Unless he blatantly shows you up, chances are no one else even knows what is going on. There's very few fans to begin with. I don't know how long you have been umping, but if it's not long, you're soon gonna burn yourself out, and if it is a long time, it's a wonder you haven't already.

Obviously, a coach questioning every other pitch needs to have a stop put to it. But don't put the burden on the kid-it's not fair to do that to a 13 year old who is just learning a different kind of game on a larger field and has enough on his/her mind. Tell the coach to stop asking instead, unless talking to adults intimidates you-maybe explaining why you go after the catchers.

Another small common-sensical point- you have a catcher back there who is blocking everything and calling a great game. You mean to tell me that if he starts talking to the coach about the strike zone you'll have him removed and have someone else get back there who has no clue and puts you at risk? At 13, you're lucky to get 1 catcher who knows what he is doing, forget 2.

[kylejt]

Frankwag, (frankwag!?)

Please read the other responses from all the umpires. I know you're young, and I'm an old geyser, but the original manager, through a 13 year old catcher, was attempting to show up the umpire. You'll find the consenses, from some very wise gentlemen, agrees.

I like catchers, my son's a catcher, some of my best friends are catchers. Most good catchers know better than to answer a coaches questions about location of close pitches. Some just need to be educated so they can keep their managers in the dugout. We're just here to help. Trust me, no malice is intended toward the kids. It's rarely their fault.