Player Ejection

[His High Holiness]

Originally posted by WindyCityBlue


I know a lot of guys who will not tolerate non-playing contact between players (you used the word "shove"). The catcher was doing his job, the batter had not reached the dugout...why allow a player to push another. If he did that on the street, he could be arrested for battery.

Organized baseball doesn't allow it, even when the guy is upset. That said, unless the catcher tagged him hard (read: pushed him) or did it in a provocative manner (read: in the face), I'd dump the batter, too. It may have been a non- event in your eyes, but if you allow that, what happens next?

Agreed, at a minimum, the batter has to go. Failure to take care of the small stuff is what leads to big stuff.

Too many umpires fail to do their job all in the name of "keeping them in the game."

Here is what failure to eject the batter can lead to:

Most of the time, the game continues normally without any problem. The umpires congratulate themselves for "handling the situation" and keeping everyone in the game.

However, 25-50% of the time, something bad happens later, a bean ball, a collision, or some random event. Everyone traces it back to the little shove that the umpires "did nothing about" and now you have a big mess that an assignor has to clean up. Believe me when I say that those umpires are not on the assignor's preferred list any more.

An ejection after a "little" shove can always be defended by the umpires. A "s$$$house" later on cannot be defended and your career takes a hit. You will be held at fault for any further incidents EVEN IF the incident had nothing to do with the "little" shove. The cause and effect will be firmly planted in everyone's mind. Perception becomes reality. It's far better to have the perception of an OOO than the perception of an umpire who does not take care of business.

Peter