1. I don't concern myself with the "next crew". I have never thought about the next crew.

2. I umpire the last pitch just like the first one, with one exception

So, if a player does something after the last pitch that would get him ejected after the first pitch, I eject him.

In FED, carelessly throwing a bat is a team warning and next player ejected. For deliberately throwing a bat or helmet an ejection is warranted. Judgement as to careless or deliberate is the umpire's responsibility. Unless he says something personal or profane to me after the last pitch I lean toward careless, and head for the car, and expect the coach to deal with it. Whether he does or not is his business not mine.

The exception is I don't bother to issue a careless warning as I am heading out the gate, since it has no meaning after a game.

As for me and mine:
 

Seems there's two issues here. The first is the 'I'm mad throw' and the second is the 'I can't hang on throw'.

As a Coach I've never had a kid (9-14) dumped for the first. However, that is probably because I pounce the kid before Blue has the chance and somewhat harder I'm sure. Plus we have an impromtu team meeting right there that ends usually with 'the next guy.....' However, if he got dumped all you would hear from me is a sideline conversation of 'remember what we talked about in practice!' I feel part of being a quality athlete is self discipline.

With regard to the guy that can't hang on... as the Commish in our 9-10s, I wrote a local rule similar to FED; first time 'you're out' and a team warning. Second time and that player is out and ejected'. I told the Coaches and parents it was a SAFETY issue. No complaints, and the bats stopped flying. Sometimes a tough call though... tracking the ball and trying to figure out if the bat rattling against the fence was flipped or flung, but believe it or not, almost to a man the Coaches backed Blue up on this one and would 'call' their own guy out if Blue missed it.

I've always wondered why OBR didn't address this. One time when I was filling in as an 'Umpire', I had a Coach during the inning change mention to me after a warning that I couldn't really dump the player could I? I just smiled and said '9.01 (c), (d) say I can... and don't pull your book out either'. (I'd say if you can't hang onto your bat, then you're not exhibiting the sportsmanship necessary to play the game.:-) But then again, I'm untrained.

SD

The rule you wrote is not "similar to FED" - FED does not call the batter out for carelessly throwing a bat. No national youth program has such a rule, either.

If it's a SAFETY issue, then why apply a gameplay penalty? Why not simply warn for a first offense and eject for a subsequent one?

my mistake
 

Dave H.

My bust. I thought in FED it was an eject for a thrown bat period.

I understand where you're coming from wrt a gameplay penalty. However, my reasoning was to make it 'memorable'. Coming from a family with six brothers, and having two sons myself, and having been 10 at one time (long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away) I just didn't feel a warning would penetrate/stick. Being called 'out' you remember. As do the the others with loose hands awaiting their turn at the dish. Maybe I was overly harsh. If I ever get talked into being the Commish again I'll consider your comments. Then again if I ever do it again, my wife will probably take a bat to me:-)

SD

Taking a quick look at the rules section of Dizzy Dean's website, it appears that rule is only in place for coach-pitch level munchkins. It goes away when they turn 9.