Definition of an Umpire

[GarthB]

As with most things, it's not necessarily the quantity of ejections, but rather the quality.

I've had years in which I had one ejection in more than 150 games. I've also had years in which I've had five ejectons in one half-inning.

As long as one is appropriately taking care of business, ejections are not an issue. It is when one is inappropriately, or needlessly taking care of business, or when one ignores taking care of business that really needs taking care of that ejections, or lack thereof, ejections become issues.

[DG]

There is a difference between a coach who knows where the line is and one who doesn't. The first is more likely to walk up to the line and not cross it, the second has not a clue so he doesn't even know when he crossed the line so toss him quick and get on with the game. If a coach who knows where the line is (and an experienced umpire will know who this is) crosses it's because he is either 1) doing it on purpose or 2) out of control.

My last ejection was a college pitcher, who after a call I made on the bases screamed at me "you are f*ck*ng kidding". Heck, I could have blown the call, although I don't think so, but he clearly did not know the line. When the manager came out to ask what happened I told him and he asked me how much time he had to warmup the next pitcher. I said "as much as he needs". The manager knew the line. He didn't say a word about the call.

Most sub-varsity coaches don't know where the line is.

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by DG

There is a difference between a coach who knows where the line is and one who doesn't. The first is more likely to walk up to the line and not cross it, the second has not a clue so he doesn't even know when he crossed the line so toss him quick and get on with the game. If a coach who knows where the line is (and an experienced umpire will know who this is) crosses it's because he is either 1) doing it on purpose or 2) out of control.

I haven't tossed a head coach in years. For the most part they know what they can and can't get away with. Assistant coaches, on the other hand, at least locally, come and go and often either don't know the limits or haven't been around long enough to know me.

[ctblu40]

Originally Posted by Tim C

I would state, with all due respect to all of you, that there is no "magic" percentage to evaluate ejections.

The NFHS really wants restriction (a "technical foul") before ejection. I work with college umpires that call BS on that . . . you either do or you don't.

I am talking here of ejections not DAN . . . different umpires have different requirements -- I have often talked of "elephant hunters" (umpires sent to "difficult games" by assignors to regain control of teams) and that can affect any % of ejections.

As with Garth, documented several times, I have ejected SEVEN players and coaches on one pitch . . . I was not "wrong" . . .

During my first 3,112 games I ejected 312 people. Math is pretty simple -- one ejection every ten games. Our "wannabe" MLB umpire on the boards said: "that's too many" . . . I would contend it might have been too few . . .

Different things affect different situations . . . I have had two ejections in the last five years . . . am I that much more mellow? Or is it that High School progams now get fined for ejections . . . or . . . am I better at "verbal judo" . . . or am I just so good I "never" miss a call.

See there are lots of reason why statistics don't tell the story.

Hey, Dan still suckls! He is a child that may never mature . . . but umpire ejections statistics are not how he should be evaluated.

Regards,

Wow! One of your best posts in a while IMO T!

[DG]

I have been warned ahead of time, about trouble teams, and these games usually work out fine. Maybe they know me. When I'm not warned is when sh*t happens. Maybe they don't know me, or it's just me, I don't like when unexpected sh*t happens. But I am pretty sure I'm not an elephant hunter.

[bossman72]

Tee- good point about the "elephant hunters."

To pile on that one, it's also dependent on what league you work. If you work a ton of over 30 games, sometimes you chuck those has-been cry babies left and right because they just b*tch and moan about how YOU cost them on that call since they could beat out that grounder in college. hah!!

[ozzy6900]

Yup, I've been sent to games as an "elephant hunter" also. And same as DG, nothing ever happens (which is fine by me). I have a reputation of being a decent person but not taking any $hit. I simply let the game proceed to it's own finality. If I have to make a minor "adjustment" to get things back on course, no problem.

Newcomers, please be advised that Tim C., myself and many others that seem to have "trouble free" games are not officiating youngsters. We rarely drop below High School level and that makes a big difference in how the games proceed. I don't think that I would put up with the shenanigans of some of these youth coaches anymore.

[lawump]

Originally Posted by Tim C

I would state, with all due respect to all of you, that there is no "magic" percentage to evaluate ejections.

The NFHS really wants restriction (a "technical foul") before ejection. I work with college umpires that call BS on that . . . you either do or you don't.

I am talking here of ejections not DAN . . . different umpires have different requirements -- I have often talked of "elephant hunters" (umpires sent to "difficult games" by assignors to regain control of teams) and that can affect any % of ejections.

As with Garth, documented several times, I have ejected SEVEN players and coaches on one pitch . . . I was not "wrong" . . .

During my first 3,112 games I ejected 312 people. Math is pretty simple -- one ejection every ten games. Our "wannabe" MLB umpire on the boards said: "that's too many" . . . I would contend it might have been too few . . .

Different things affect different situations . . . I have had two ejections in the last five years . . . am I that much more mellow? Or is it that High School progams now get fined for ejections . . . or . . . am I better at "verbal judo" . . . or am I just so good I "never" miss a call.

See there are lots of reason why statistics don't tell the story.

Hey, Dan still suckls! He is a child that may never mature . . . but umpire ejections statistics are not how he should be evaluated.

Regards,

Might be the best post on this site I've seen since I started posting here.

Last year was the first year I ever went through a season without an EJ. It still surprises me (my nickname at umpire school after all was "Mr. Red A$$"). What was the reason? According to my own self-analysis:

(1) I'm more mellow (just the nature of growing older). I tend to employ the "let them talk for 10 seconds, before you respond" philosophy of handling "discussions" than I ever did in the past.

(2) I'm a veteran with multiple state championship assignments...which by its nature earns respect from coaches. (Frankly, the coaches propably even think, "even if we don't like him, we better get used to him because he's done x number of playoff games...). Being a veteran also means coaches no longer "test" me. (And they do "test" our new guys!)

(3) I have, on NUMEROUS occasions, had an on-field "discussion" over a rules interpretation with a coach in which the discussion ended with the coach convinced I was wrong. However, each time, the coach came up to me later in the game or after the game and said, "we looked it up in the rule book, and you were right." I've never had an argument with any of those coaches since. It is funny to me how many times this has happened to me.

(4) In my own self-evaluation of my work in 2006, I had my best balls-and-strikes year ever, period. (That's my own self-evaluation. I'm not comparing myself to anyone else. I'm not saying I'm God's gift to plate umpires. I'm just comparing myself in 2006 to myself in previous years).

(5) I'm very, very relaxed on the field (as opposed to prior years when I was more anxious/nervous). I have an attitude of, "don't worry. You've been doing this for so long now that you can handle anything that comes up." Being relaxed truly allows me to get more calls right...which leads to fewer "non-routine situations".

(6) I hustle. I've had several coaches say "we see you hustling," during the course of a game. They immediately have a level of respect for you.

(6) Luck. I had few third-world plays in 2006, and when I did have one, I was able to calm down the respective coach with a coherent rules explanation. They might not have left happy, but they left with an explanation they could grudgingly accept.

(7) Some more luck.

[bossman72]

Originally Posted by lawump

(6) I hustle. I've had several coaches say "we see you hustling," during the course of a game. They immediately have a level of respect for you.

A big AMEN, law. I'm a younger guy and i needed a way to convey some respect when i did varsity games for the first time this year- i hustled my butt off; and you are right, i've gotten tons of compliments about my hustle which brought some respect along with my solid rules knowledge. These helped me get some playoff games when the post season rolled around.