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Tue Jul 31, 2001, 11:06pm
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I was asked to cover a game for a league which i usually dont do games for. It was the final game in the championship series. The players were 11-12 years old. I did the plate while the head of the umpires for this in-house organization did the bases.
The game was played on a private field. The attendance for this game was huge, there was a ton of people present. The game ran fine No complaints with coaches or players not a whisper from anyone until around the 3rd inning when with one out no one on the batter swings through on a 3rd strike but the catcher misses the ball and it hits me in my chest protector, the ball gets picked up by the catcher and throws out the batter. A parent thought the batter tiped the ball which he didnt both coaches and I knew he didnt. At the end of that inning i walk over towards the fence where the parents are to get my drink and he screams out hey blue that was a foul tip on that last play. Now he is face to face with me but we are seperated by a fence he says again blue that was a tip i said no it wasnt the catcher totally missed the ball and it hit me in my chest, then he says "it was a tip now dont let me come over that fence" he said this in a harsh tone of voice, not joking in any way he totally meant what he said. My partner starts to laugh and says leave it alone the guy didnt mean it, i knew he totally did mean it. I wanted to have him taken off the feild and call the police cause the manner in which he said it made me feel totally threatened. In a close game like this and what is at stake i dont need to be threatened by a low class parent. The best part was that the head of the feild who also ran the organization for the team that was playing said dont worry to the guy and also laughed. If i ever wanted to have this man escorted off the feild I would of had no backing and would of looked like a complete fool since my partner and the head of the feild wouldnt back me up. It showed low class by my partner and also showed to all the parents that I would take being threatened and take abuse and do nothing about it. It was a complete mockery. Last game I will ever do for that league. 
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Tue Jul 31, 2001, 11:22pm
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What a complaint . . .
Like it or not . . .
I would have invited the fan to go around the fence. I've done it before and I'd do it again. BTW. keep your mask in your "punching hand" it makes a great weapon. I hope some of you see the humore in this post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Wed Aug 01, 2001, 12:18am
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Easy Solution, Chris
Repeat after me (with conviction):
I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans. I will not talk to fans.
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Wed Aug 01, 2001, 12:13pm
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To follow up on Garth's proper post, were you not told in your last thread that confrontation with fans will likely cause trouble and lead to further headache? So, are you surprised now?
Chalk this one up to the learning process, Chris. Sometimes the learning process of "on the field" can be avoided by heeding recommendations through the learning process "on the net". That's your choice. Freix
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Wed Aug 01, 2001, 04:39pm
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I wont work for that league no more. I was never part of that organization of umpires just that most of the games are weak and they have young guys do the games who dont do behind the plate. One of the guys from that organization asked me as a favor to help cover the game for him.
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Thu Aug 02, 2001, 09:58am
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Originally posted by Chris23
I was asked to cover a game for a league which i usually dont do games for. It was the final game in the championship series. The players were 11-12 years old. I did the plate while the head of the umpires for this in-house organization did the bases. The game was played on a private field. The attendance for this game was huge, there was a ton of people present. The game ran fine No complaints with coaches or players not a whisper from anyone until around the 3rd inning when with one out no one on the batter swings through on a 3rd strike but the catcher misses the ball and it hits me in my chest protector, the ball gets picked up by the catcher and throws out the batter. A parent thought the batter tiped the ball which he didnt both coaches and I knew he didnt. At the end of that inning i walk over towards the fence where the parents are to get my drink and he screams out hey blue that was a foul tip on that last play. Now he is face to face with me but we are seperated by a fence he says again blue that was a tip i said no it wasnt the catcher totally missed the ball and it hit me in my chest, then he says "it was a tip now dont let me come over that fence" he said this in a harsh tone of voice, not joking in any way he totally meant what he said. My partner starts to laugh and says leave it alone the guy didnt mean it, i knew he totally did mean it. I wanted to have him taken off the feild and call the police cause the manner in which he said it made me feel totally threatened. In a close game like this and what is at stake i dont need to be threatened by a low class parent. The best part was that the head of the feild who also ran the organization for the team that was playing said dont worry to the guy and also laughed. If i ever wanted to have this man escorted off the feild I would of had no backing and would of looked like a complete fool since my partner and the head of the feild wouldnt back me up. It showed low class by my partner and also showed to all the parents that I would take being threatened and take abuse and do nothing about it. It was a complete mockery. Last game I will ever do for that league. Chris, Garth has given you excellent advice, but your thread is another in which you continue to have troubles in the league in which you umpire. I know you "love" to umpire as do most of us, But you MUST start inquiring into various leagues that want your services. I was asked to cover a game for a league which I usually dont do games for. It was the final game in the championship series. The players were 11-12 years old. The aforementioned statement should have tipped you off Most umpires will agree that umpiring the major level is the best brand of ball and the games, especially when you get to the finals last only on average about 1hr and 20 minutes or so. Also, most umpires chomp at the bit to get a Championship Game. So if you were called in at the last minute - you now found out why. Do not talk to fans and inquire on specific leagues you umpire for. Pete Booth
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Peter M. Booth
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Thu Aug 02, 2001, 05:46pm
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I was working the bases in a 15-year-old Babe Ruth championship game a couple of weeks ago.
There was this seriously obese gentleman sitting outside the fence about 300 feet down the left field line. He was flipping K's over the chain link the whole game, as if Pedro Martinez was on the hill. Mr. Rotund's team was losing by a run in the bottom of the sixth. They had the bases loaded and two outs. The defense called for their lefty ace. Following his warm-ups, he stepped on the rubber, the ball was put into play, and F1 immediately fired a pick-off attempt over to third. R3 had, indeed, strayed too far. The throw was as perfect as one could get, and F5 caught it in front of the base with his glove just a half-inch above the ground. R3 slid head first, reached out for the base, and grabbed the glove with the ball in it instead. I gave a very casual out sign, since it was so obvious. At such a pivotal moment in such a big game, with such a large crowd gathered, one would expect to take some heat on a play like that. But no one said a word. Everyone could clearly see the runner was a dead duck. Everyone, that is, except Mr. Rotund down the left field line. He started screaming and yelling, telling me I wasn't even looking at the play. He called me terrible, and awful, and he said everything he could possibly say without being ejected by the tournament authorities. The guy was hot. I think what ticks me off the most in retrospect is how no one bothered to set the idiot straight. The game ended, and the huge man's team lost. As I walked through the parking lot to my car, that fat guy zoomed up in his mini-van and started giving me hell out of the driver's window. I ignored him as I continued to my car. He pulled around and got in front of me again, continuing to yell his fool head off. I was surprised by my reaction. I found the whole thing funny. I started to laugh, and the guy grew more frustrated. I laughed some more, and he just got angrier. Seeing the veins popping out of his forehead, and watching his jowl jiggle as he screamed, I was busting a gut. I was laughing about as hard as I could. Finally, seeing that I was not bothered by his badgering, he sped off. He was frustrated that he didn't make me crack, and he was probably disturbed by my maniacal laughter. Now, I don't recommend that anyone else laugh in the face of a volatile fan. But I must admit that I did get great pleasure out of it.
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Jim Porter
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Fri Aug 03, 2001, 07:46am
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Originally posted by Jim Porter
I was working the bases in a 15-year-old Babe Ruth championship game a couple of weeks ago. Finally, seeing that I was not bothered by his badgering, he sped off. He was frustrated that he didn't make me crack, and he was probably disturbed by my maniacal laughter. Now, I don't recommend that anyone else laugh in the face of a volatile fan. But I must admit that I did get great pleasure out of it. Jim with all your experience as an official, you were able to shrug this off and knew how to handle, unfortunately, the next group of umpires may not have your experience and something ugly can develop. The bottom line, individuals like the one in your game have to start being removed from complexes, because you can bet your bottom dollar , this wasn't the first time this guy acted like that and it will not be his last. No-one and I mean no-one should follow you or drive by your car except your partner. I do not want to be dramatic, but this guy should be reported, and if the league is soft and does nothing, then your association should refuse to service them. I know it's taboo here, but officials fearing for their safety was the number 1 reason for an overall decline in officials throughout the country as reported by Referee Magazine. Pete Booth
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Peter M. Booth
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Fri Aug 03, 2001, 01:33pm
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I normally post over on the basketball side but there are
3 lessons to be learned here that apply to any official working any level. 1. Don't talk to fans (already well covered by GarthB) 2. Carry a cell phone. Our fat friend might have driven off sooner if Jim had reached into his bag & pulled out a phone as he continued walking on (but I will say he handled it well & got a good story out of it!). Of course there are times when #1 & #2 won't work, which leads me to... 3. Know how to defend yourself. You'll probably never have to actually defend yourself against a physical attack but knowing how to will make you that much more confident & relaxed just in case. Let's face it, "Local ump questioned and released by police after game" is a much better headline than "Local ump treated and released from hospital after game".
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Sat Aug 04, 2001, 11:24pm
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On vary rare occassions it is impossible to ignore a belligerent fan and if you do ignore him the situation can get progessively worse. I think that if a fan is out of control, the coaches need to remove him or they need to call the police. If he can't be removed than the game should be forfeited. In short, in baseball as in real life you can't always ignore situations.
Greg
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Sun Aug 05, 2001, 01:51am
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Greg:
Nobody said that ignoring an unruly loudmouth was possible. That isn't the issue here. Chris actually walked to the backstop and started talking with the man. While you might not be able to control your ability to ignore, you always can control your legs and mouth. NEVER strike up a conversation with a disgruntled fan. NEVER. NEVER. NEVER. NEVER. NEVER. NEVER. NEVER. NEVER.
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Sun Aug 05, 2001, 02:58am
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"On vary rare occassions it is impossible to ignore a belligerent fan and if you do ignore him the situation can get progessively worse. I think that if a fan is out of control, the coaches need to remove him or they need to call the police. If he can't be removed than the game should be forfeited. In short, in baseball as in real life you can't always ignore situations.
Greg" By what rule would you forfeit the game? Bob
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