What should I do?

[UmpJM]

Gentlemen,

I have an issue that I would like to get your opinions and advice on.

On the 14U travel team I am coaching this year, the league requires that we use IHSA "patched" umpires and that the home team arrange for and pay the umpires. We have contacted a local association to provide the umpires.

For about half of our games this season, we have had the same umpire (I believe he lives nearby). The individual is a very nice guy, but, in my opinion, is not a very good umpire. The other umpires the association has supplied have all been very good.

There have been no "incidents" during any of the games, despite numerous blown calls (that have gone both for and against my team).

I am at the point where I am planning to inform the association that I do not want this individual assigned to any more of our games for the remainder of the season.

Should I?

If not, why not?

If so, what's the best way to go about doing it?

Thanks.

JM

[Carbide Keyman]

Originally Posted by CoachJM

Gentlemen,

I have an issue that I would like to get your opinions and advice on.

On the 14U travel team I am coaching this year, the league requires that we use IHSA "patched" umpires and that the home team arrange for and pay the umpires. We have contacted a local association to provide the umpires.

For about half of our games this season, we have had the same umpire (I believe he lives nearby). The individual is a very nice guy, but, in my opinion, is not a very good umpire. The other umpires the association has supplied have all been very good.

There have been no "incidents" during any of the games, despite numerous blown calls (that have gone both for and against my team).

I am at the point where I am planning to inform the association that I do not want this individual assigned to any more of our games for the remainder of the season.

Should I?

If not, why not?

If so, what's the best way to go about doing it?

Thanks.

JM

If you feel that this individual is much less than competent, you are within your rights to ask that he not be scheduled further this season. I don't know how you can go about it without it sounding like just a whining "rat". I think that how you stated the situation in your post sounds very measured and reasonable to this "outsider", but when directed at the source of your consternation, might not be accepted as graciously.

The association may tell you that due to scheduling constraints, this is what you're going to get. Or, in a fit of pique, withhold scheduling anyone. I would like to believe that these are "never-would-happen" sceniaros, but I've seen such action before. I don't know the politics of the umpire association in your area, but you might want to look into scheduling umpires yourself.

Only you know how egregious this situation is. Good luck !




Doug

[C'monBlue]

JM,

You raise an interesting and problematic question. From your posts, you seem to be a reasonable and conscientious student of the game. Others, as we well know, are not. You could well imagine the repercussions of allowing coaches to scratch any umpire whom they felt wronged them.

On the other hand, in my association high school coaches are allowed to submit a scratch list for their games (3 or 4 per year--not sure). BUT the scratches are not in effect until the following season. You might ask the local association if there is any such thing in place; otherwise, there's probably nothing you can do other than to politely mention your concerns. Good luck!

[bossman72]

14U???

If it's a 14U game, the umpire is probably new/inexperienced so he's getting your young level games because he's probably not getting very many legion/colt games.

Coaching the young age group that you do, you won't get the highest quality veterans every time. The assignor probably can't "downgrade" the umpire to lower level games because the association probably doesn't do games lower than that, so you're probably stuck with him.

But it's worth a shot though to give the assignor a call. Let me ask you this: if you were to call the assignor, what good reasons could you give him that would persuade him not to schedule that guy anymore?

[UmpJM]

bossman,

The gentleman in question is older than I am, and I ain't no spring chicken. I have no idea how long he has been umpiring, but I would guess it's been for quite awhile.

I think your point about not getting the best the association has to offer for a 14U travel game is a perfectly valid one, and I wouldn't expect that. However, the other umpires they have sent have been, in my opinion, very good.

As to the reasons, I'll admit that I'm struggling with the best way to articulate them. This probably isn't the best way to say it, but it really comes down to multiple blown calls in each of the games he has called for us.

Some of these I would describe as "gross misses" on judgement calls; I'm not talking about bangers where I think my runner was safe and he calls him out. I'm talking about plays where both coaches agree that the call was missed, both for the team that benefitted from the call and the team that got the short end of the call. If this were to happen every now and then, I wouldn't think twice about it. But it seems to happen three or fout times every game.

I get the impression that he knows the rules pretty well, but he seems to "pick and choose" how and when he applies them according to a personal notion of fairness that doesn't always make sense to me. Again, sometimes my team gets the benefit of the misapplication & sometimes the other team does.

His strike zone I would describe as random at times. I know that there is really no way I can tell from my vantage point whether or not a "close pitch" should have properly been called a strike. However, there are certainly at least some pitches that I can tell perfectly well should have been called a ball. When they are called strikes, and my pitcher threw it, Im pretty sure my perception is accurate. Again, if this were an "every now and then" thing, I wouldn't think twice or think to mention it. But it's not.

I don't keep a journal or anything, but I would guess that it's roughly 50/50 as to when my team or the other team benefits when he makes what I consider a poor call. I'm not suggesting that he's out to get me or my team or anything like that. I don't believe he is. I just don't think he's a very good umpire.

JM

[jicecone]

After many years assigning I can tell you that I never minded receiving a phone call like this,

Hey jim this is so and so and I am the coach of the blah blah Team, in the
14u league. Your guys are doing a great job this year and we really appreciate having them for our games. It seems as though we tend to see a lot of So and So and he does a good job , but would it be possible to see more of the other gentlemen from time to time. If the assignor is not a horses patut he will probably say "I understand and I'll see what I can do".

Every assoiciation has their A, B and C officials and they should know it and be able to work around that in their scheduling. Bottom line is, they have contracted with you to send officials and if they receive enough calls about individuals not trying to do a good job , then that is their fault for not working and training officials, to keep your business.

It is not always easy to get the right mix for every game but, they are in the business to give you a product, that is somewhat commensuate with the fee they are charging. There is nothing wrong with expecting good officiating, even if it is not the best officiating.

[DG]

Originally Posted by jicecone

Hey jim this is so and so and I am the coach of the blah blah Team, in the 14u league. Your guys are doing a great job this year and we really appreciate having them for our games. It seems as though we tend to see a lot of So and So and he does a good job...

Now you have gone and told a LIE. The reason your calling is because you don't think he is doing a good job. Tell the assignor the truth or don't call.

How about this instead, "Hey jim this is so and so and I am the coach of the blah blah Team, in the 14u league. Your guys are doing a great job this year and we really appreciate having them for our games. However, it seems as though we tend to see a lot of So and So and he gets more than his fair share of close calls, and rule interpretations, and I think his percentage of getting them right is not comparable to the other guys. Plus, since we see him so often he is building up a reputation with the fans. It would be better if we did not see him as often.". Be ready with some specific examples such as you have mentioned.

If there is a league adminstrator for this league it would be better for this call to come from him, so it don't sound like a coach complaining. It would also be better if the administrator has actually observed the umpire instead of just taking second hand information.

[bossman72]

JM-

I see what you're talking about. Like i said in my original post- it's worth a shot as long as you have some good reasons/examples like DG said.

[BlueLawyer]

J:

You are a consumer of our services. If your don't think you are getting what you should be on a consistent basis, you are entirely within your rights to call the assignor and ask that the blue in question be taken off your games. Here are the caveats:

1. This is like the "smart-bomb" on Asteroids- you probably get one per year or maybe one per career. Make sure you want to use it on this guy.

2. Be respectful. You don't need to be told this, but I need to say it.

3. Be articulate with why . . . specific calls in specific games. If you can't recall them, you probably don't need to call.

Strikes and outs!

[GarthB]

"What should I do?"

Nothing. Play ball. Coach your team.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by CoachJM

On the 14U travel team I am coaching this year, the league requires that we use IHSA "patched" umpires and that the home team arrange for and pay the umpires. We have contacted a local association to provide the umpires.

Let me let you in on a little secret. There are many leagues that require umpires or officials to get an IHSA license so they can alleviate some believed liability. What happens is many umpires get their license and do not work any HS games during the season. They get the license so they can work these local leagues but clearly have no ambition to work outside of these leagues. That is why there are so many X umpires in baseball as compared to other sports.

Originally Posted by CoachJM

I am at the point where I am planning to inform the association that I do not want this individual assigned to any more of our games for the remainder of the season.

Should I?

If not, why not?

If so, what's the best way to go about doing it?

You have the right to contact anyone within the association. Just understand that if you contact the association/assignor and you do not have a specific incident or rule the umpire kicked, you might just come off as a whining coach. I also know assignors that would send that official right back to illustrate this is a good umpire or to see if there is going to be future problems. If you are going to complain, I think it is better and more professional to state the reasons why in detail. If you are talking in general terms, the assignor cannot help this umpire get better. Also let us face the reality here. You are not going to get the best umpires at this time of year. Right now this is playoff time and most umpires that want to work the IHSA playoffs and college ball are going to work those levels and not work any travel league. I know I never work any travel ball during the spring and I will not likely work any this summer either. I am not the only one that feels that way. If I do work any summer ball, it will be HS and college wooden bat type games. Without there being a special tournament or event, most of the top umpires in any association are not going to make themselves available. So if you get another umpire to come and work, that umpire might not be any better than the guy you want to get rid of.

Peace

[WhatWuzThatBlue]

I can't believe that I'm agreeing with him...

Garth is correct; coach the team and control the things that are under your immediate purview. While you are certainly the customer, scratching a veteran (even one who is known not to hustle and guess at the outcome) gets around. Even in 14U travelling leagues, you will be viewed as the guy who got Ol' Man Winter dumped.

The best advice a coach can give his players - adjust to the umpire, he won't adjust to you.

Lastly, I finally saw the documentary of ESPN 360 about Jim Moore. He sounded like a really special guy. He was umpring out of a love for the game and it was his reason for living. Some of those old timers relegate themselves to those fields because they know they can't keep up with the higher level game. They also know that without the chatter, booing and smell of the grass they lose a big chunk of their life.

My ego is often in need of minding, but I know that when you think you are good enough, there are usually people that disagree. Cut the old guy some slack and remember, even though the call was blown, umpires don't win and lose games. Adjust and remind the kids that even the WUA guys blow calls.

[LMan]

Geez, JM, if you were THAT upset about my umpiring, you could have just talked to me about it instead of throwing it out on a public forum......

[RPatrino]

JM,

Let me answer this question from 2 different perspectives, coach and assignor. I have been a coach, an assignor(UIC of an association), and now I umpire exclusively.

From a coach's perspective, I fully understand your frustration. I have been there and done that!! In the long run, I believe that bad calls and bad umpires will always happen. Our job as teacher's is to teach our players to adapt and adjust. I never once as a coach made an umpire, the weather, the ballpark or anything a scape goat for my teams play. NEVER. We play, we win or we lose.

As an assigner, I would like to get this phone call. I'll be honest with you, I might listen to your comments about calls, but I let them go in one ear and out the other. Calls will be blown and mistakes will be made. I will talk to the umpire in question, might even go observe them, but I won't pull an umpire from games. Now, what things will get an umpire pulled from games? Attitude and behavior issues will for sure. Plus, I don't ever want an umpire or teams to get too familiar with each other. That causes more problems than you can imagine.

Some leagues don't have the luxury of a large pool of umpires. So, you might see the same crew or umpire many times during the season. The answer to that problem is to recruit or strap on the gear yourself. I once coached in a league that required the manager's to "volunteer" themselves for umpiring. That was a nightmare, and the league decided to invest some money and pay into a local HS association for umpires. But, it was there that the umpire bug bit me and as they say, the rest is history.

Bob P.

[FVB9]

Coach, I suggest emailing your Assignment guy and suggesting it. There are a lot of factors that go into the umpires you receive. First and foremost, your Association you chose may have 30-40 schools they cater to in the Spring. You need to realize that those schools take priority over youth travel games, which means on some days you may get umpires who are not up to par. Also, most travel games start at 6PM, which opens the door to umpires who cannot do the traditional 4:30 HS starts.

But to get back to your question as to whether or not you should contact your Assignment Chair...yes, you are the paying customer and you have that right. Someone made the post that it's like a once in a lifetime request...that's pretty true. Your assignment chair may not honor it...that's his right. But he may want to know that someone out there is not cutting it. There's a rule of thumb in my neck of the woods...if a HS coach calls the Assignor and complains about an umpire and wants to never see him again, our Assignor has been known to send him back the next day (under certain circumstances). Everything works out, and the scratch list remains blank.

In other cases, an umpire may have been flying below the radar, unseen on the field by peers or evaluators, and this info needs to be known.

Bring it on Coach, but not out here.