Umpire HIT BY PITCH

[Atl Blue]

Again, if the pitcher and the catcher are intentionally trying to hit me, different issue. Both of their little a$$es are out of here.

But a lazy catcher is not an unsportsmanlike catcher. Kids go brain dead now and then. I coach them every day, beleive me, it happens to the best of them. Shoot, I saw an NFL tight end shoot off the line this weekend, a good two counts ahead of his teammates, then turn around and look back and wonder why no one else was moving.

Are these actions "unsportsmanlike"? Of course not. If the catcher is moving outside and not protecting you, get behind him. If he isn't getting the inside corner, he'll figure it out real soon.

In 35 years, I have gotten hit by a pitch for which the catcher did not move at all a grand total of once. I have had bad catchers many times, even in just the past season.

It's not the umpire's job to tell the coach to get a new catcher. Some umps want to tell coaches to change pitchers just because their pitcher has hit (pick a number) of batters. "Thanks for your opinion, I'll manage my own team thank you."

If you think it's intentional, run him. If it's not, I will say it again, suck it up and do your job. Just wanted to make sure you didn't miss my point.