ever have one of these days..
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNAlJtOWpdE

Interesting S3 call. :D blind ump.

I can honestly say that although there are times when my strike-three-looking mechanic is animated, I've never called a pitch in an animated game.


Tim.

I was right behind home plate (and the backstop!) for a game once. So dead center I couldn't see the pitcher until the umpire got into his crouch. The first called strike three was like the animation and I said "that pitch just caught the corner...of the opposite batter's box! When that half of the inning ended the PU told me "If you want to stay here and broadcast this game, then do not question balls and strikes again." From then on I referred that same pitch as "catching the corner of the strike zone" without further explanation. I had heard of broadcasters being ejected before, so I wasn't about to be one of them.

:eek:

Nice looking corner. He must have gone straight to Williamsport from there.

And he is using SA's "speed skating" stance too. Very sharp:p .

Did you see his gut?
 

Surprised he's not wearing a HSM to go along with that skating stance.:o
Check out the other videos where he rests his forearm on his thigh.:cool:
I bend at the knees, not the waist. It is much more comfortable.;)
That stance would only make any lower back pain worse.:(
I would probably have some neck damage from that stance too.:eek:
Trying to rest my forearm on my thigh also looks painful. :p
I extend my entire arm and support my weight with my hand.:rolleyes:
My belly also reduces the chances of taking a direct cup shot.:D
I also keep my legs/knees closer together underneath me. :confused:
My knee problems have disappeared.:)

Another umpire making up his own rules. An umpire does not have the authority to eject a spectator. He may request game management to do so, but that's it.

Bob

Says whom?

An umpire can sure as hell get rid of a fan. An umpire should use game management, but if a fan gets out of line and starts affecting the play, you can sure as hell get rid of a fan and not continue the game until that fan is ejected. It is your decision as an umpire to use game management to eject a fan.

Peace

I rest my case.

Let's see...we have, here, a thread to evaluate the mechanics and strike zone of a computer generated video game umpire.

With apologies to Tee, this ties for the dumbest thread ever on the internet.

What was the other one?

Garth, i wasnt evaluating the computer game umpire. what i meant was, ever have a day where your strike zone seems like his?

Has Lance moved to Pennsylvania?

This was not a spectator, it was a media person broadcasting the game. The umpire certainly may eject any person from the media, or any club personnel (such as the organist for playing "Three Blind Mice" when the umpires walk out) which get out of line and cause trouble.

When I work a game, and there are not bleachers behind the backstop, I allow folks to stand there. But if they start in on my strike zone, I make them take a seat in the stands. Have never had any problems making them move.

Does not have the authority? Yeah we do.
Stupid thing to do? Yeah, probably.

But regarding scorekeepers / announcers, we SURELY have the authority to tell them to do things a certain way or stop entirely ... and even eject them from their position.

And we have. Had a high school guy who thought he was Bob Freaking Costas one day, announcing play-by-play over the loudspeaker. He was told to cool it, and he did. Until a play where the ball got away a few yards on a throw to first, and neither the 3BC or R2 (now on third) noticed it, "AND THE BALL GETS AWAY!!!!" alerted them both and R2 scampered home on a close play.

Buh bye Mr Announcer.

Had nearly the same thing in football 4-5 years back, except it was, "IT'S A REVERSE!!!!!" Tossed him too.

Just because you are the person that makes an ejection, does not mean you are the actual person that informs the fan that they are ejected.

Having said that I was working a basketball game about 5 years ago and my partners and I were confronted by a fan near the table (where we go after the teams leave the benches). I ejected him on the spot and the Principle saw me and got rid of the guy. So yes, we can eject fans or any spectator at any time. Most of the time we just do not do it ourselves. Does not mean we could not do it ourselves if the opportunity falls in our lap.

Peace

Tim, even thought im a young umpire, i support that. I focus on whats going on inside the fence, not outside. if your a specatator and you wanna yell and scream at me, i dont care, i might even get a few laughs out of it. :D You wanna act like a baby, go ahead, i dont care :p

there are many quality amature umpires who will not allow fans standing directly behind the backstop to berate them and disturb the flow of a game. When they're allowed to do this it not only effects the umpire on the stick, it also effects the players, both offensive and defensive.


Tim.

That would be Dan's next thread.

Well, you didn't just ask one question, so I'll answer all 3:

Because I'm not going to have some idiot standing behind me, who's sole purpose is criticizing my strike zone.

Who cares what they say from the stands? They paid their usually nothin' to get in, and can boo and hiss all they please.



I also have no problem with people setting up their lawn chairs behind home plate. I'm talking about obnoxious people who are just standing trying to disrupt my working the plate, and are not actually there to root for their team. I know when to say something and when not to. In well over 3,000 games, I can count on one hand the number of times I've made someone move from behind the screen.

There are thousands of good umpires who do work "kiddie ball" and have real issues with parents and spectators acting in an unsportsmanship manner behind the backstop. When this happens it can have a real impact on the kids attitude toward the game and umpires. Since the vast majority of baseball games worked in this country are at venues without a "site administrator" it falls to the umpire to maintain control of the game, the kids, the coaches and yes the spectators if their actions are affecting the others.
Since you don't work such venues perhaps you should take a pass on commenting on this issue.

GL

Well, Tee...
In the abstract, or in general, I agree: HOWEVER---

I have, ONCE, required a "fan" to move in "big boy" [Legion playoff] ball.

At a venue, very much like those you describe, where the "dugouts" are fenced areas directly behind the backstop wings, I called a site admin. and directed him to move or remove a fan who was not only commenting on my zone, parent's marital status and species, but was inciting the home team bench to similar excess. Since I could not be certain if any given comment [each deserving of immediate ejection if made by a "game participant"] was coming from this idjit or those on the bench, I found it impossible to confine my attention to disciplining the players and coaches.

This was also the occasion on which I removed a scorekeeper from the bench area because he replied to my directive to "take control of your bench, or I will" by whining that he was "just a scorekeeper". Fine: if you are useless and intend to remain so: do it from the stands.

Not my finest moment(s); but lacking other, better alternatives; .... you know ?.......

I too work inner-city schools, in some pretty rough, gang infested areas. Some of the backstops are even closer than 10 from the plate. Oddly enough, I usually encounter the least amount of trouble in these games.
Most often, it is the ritchie-rich schools in the 'burbs that produce the worst of all.

I did not say that I told fans to move. I said that on less than 5 occasions, I've had to tell a troublemaker (not a valid fan) to either be quiet, or move into the spectator area.

You can bet that if there was some crazed lunatic hanging over the dugout of a MLB game, and he was ragging on a player, that security would be right there removing said individual. I see it happen at the old ballpark frequently.

We, unfortunately, do not have security services working our HS games. We are the security, because there is nobody else there that will do it. I have rarely seen an A.D. at baseball games, and the coaches have no jurisdiction with the public crowd.

Good for you that you would never do what I have done on less than 5 occasions. You weren't there, so you really can't legitimately comment on my particular situations. Were it just some fan chirping about my strike zone, that would have been okay. But these were extreme cases, in which some individual decides to use profane, vulgar comments personally directed at me, which were said well within the hearing range of young children in the crowd. I have never felt that I was doing the wrong thing, and in most of the cases, I was praised by the fans for my actions.

Gee, I've only been on these forums since last year. From where do you get the last few years?

As I said, it was not fans that were moved, but baseball's version of an internet troll or spammer. I have no problem with fans, and the comments that accompany them. And I said less than 5 times. I can only remember a couple of times, which can be counted on one hand, as I stated.

He's right, Tee. It just seems like forever. :D

If the batter is in the box with the bat between his legs, does that mean his penis is part of the bat? Just wondering.

In summer of 05 in the finals of a state tournament of 16-18 year olds I asked the TD to remove a fan who was cussing at the pitcher for hitting the batter in the elbow. Turns out the batter was his son, and the count was something like 1-2 so I don't think he did it intentionally. This team crowds the plate, that I already knew. And I found out later they get hit quite often, which I could have guessed, and the fans complain about it alot. Duh!

In any event, the TD went over to talk to the guy, and I paid him no more attention. He must have talked the TD into letting him stay because he was still there when I looked over there later, but he never said another word. Mission accomplished.

That is about the extent of my involvement with fans during games that I can recall.

Now that is one of your best ones ever.:D