Handling situations: Dealing with catchers

[lawump]

I've posted this story before. Minor Leagues, first game of a DH. My partner was on the plate. Dumb kid straight out of high school (1st year as a pro) catching.

Every so often, the manager would yell, "where's that at?" About the middle of the game, my partner realized that if the catcher hit his mask with his throwing hand, that was a signal to the dugout that he thought my partner had missed the pitch. When the catcher hit his mask, the manager would yell something else. When he didn't hit the maske, there would be no follow-up from the manager.

So, of course, my partner said something in passing along the lines of: "you're not telling your manager when you think I missed a pitch by hitting your mask, are you." My partner did not show him up (in fact I didn't know about it until after the game in the locker room). Of course the kid responds with, "no sir."

We finish the game with no problem. Between games the catcher went and cried to his manager that they had been caught.

At the plate meeting for the second game the manager started going off on us. "Do you really think we do that..." and on-and-on. Finally (as the plate umpire) I said "o.k. skip we've heard you. That game is over; its time to get this one started."

He responded with, "who asked you? You're F'n Horsesh!t, and you've been so all season."

He got tossed. He kicked dirt on me on three different occassions before leaving the field. He then came out and sat in the bullpen (in street clothes) in the fourth inning and I chased him out of there. It was a long, long ejection report.

But you know what? I didn't hear sh!t about balls and strikes all game long!