Well I'm not going to sit around and debate with him.

I sent the video link to a friend of mine at work, a big baseball fan. He has a tripped plan in late May to 4 major league stadiums in 4 days with some of his baseball buddies.

I told him about what happened and the coach was suspended, but resigned instead.

He came to me later and said "wow, he really did deserve to be suspended, but what did they do about the umpire?" I said "what do you mean?" and he said "he head butted the coach".

No one said you had a monopoly on being wrong.

I find it interesting that after reviewing the episode, the association that said the umpire did nothing to be punished for was the NCHSAA, a state association of schools, which, according to their material, is primarily run by AD's and coaches, not umpires.

Wow, your buddy is a big baseball fan? Unbelievable the treasure trove of baseball knowledge big baseball fans have, especially if they visit major league stadiums around the country!:rolleyes:

Why should anything happen to the umpire? Like Rich F. and others have pointed out, this dumb a$$ of a coach got up in the umpire's grill. When someone is up in your face, when they are supposed to be gathering their sh*t and leaving the park, they are liable to get hurt. The polite speaking distance is 3 feet, not 3 inches. Lots of bad stuff can happen when you get in the umpire's bidness.

The only thing I saw the umpire do wrong in the argument was not remove his mask. Perhaps that is why the coach biatch-slapped him. It's the only excuse I could buy in this case.

Wow, you missed the point entirely, most likely because you don't care to see an umpire err either. The travel information was NOT part of the point.

I didn't miss the point, but why didn't you just say your friend told you that the umpire should have been punished? You prefaced your post by giving me the information that your friend was a big baseball fan, as if that gave him some kind of special baseball knowledge. Was this information relevant to the situation at all? No, it wasn't. So why did you include it in your post if you didn't think it lent to his credibility? If I want unbiased opinions on umpires, the second least likely people I will solicit opinions from are fans (coaches being #1).

Gentlemen,

While it is obvious to me that the coach was the one who went "berzerkers" in this sitch, and, in my opinion, the umpire should NOT receive any sanction of any kind, to me it certainly didn't "look good" when the cage of the umpire's helmet hit the coach's face.

Up until that point, the umpire had done everything right (well, he really should have removed his helmet, but, in and of itself, not that big a deal) and the Coach had done everything wrong. Upon the cage/face contact, the perception of behaviors shifted a bit.

My only point is that, in addition to doing the right thing(s), it behooves us all to "look good" while doing them.

JM

Buncombe, actually.

As of July 6, I will have been to all 30 current MLB parks. That and $4 will buy you a latte at Starbucks.

I gave it to a baseball fan to see what he would say. I included this information so you would know I didn't give to a guy on the street corner who has never seen a game and would not know anything about what he saw. It was relevant information. I wanted an unbiased opinion, but from someone who would have one, and not someone who didn't know what they were looking at.

Partial Umpire?
 

I would say the UMPIRE did something wrong. Wish I could ask the coach why he put his face so close to the cage to begin with. I'm sure he wasn't trying to smell ump's breath. I'm sure it wasn't all about balls and strikes, either. Would be nice to know. In fact I am sure a reasonable man would suspect that the umpire knew he did something wrong. Why can't you boys admit that the umpire may have done it?

Went to another HS regional playoff game today. Score VT 0 1 1 HT 2 8 0 Southpaw lost a no hitter in top of 7th on a flailing duck just over 2nd base. First run scored on a {suicide} squeeze. Second run on walk mixed into 3 consecutive hits. Solid defense on both teams.

Could hear VC arguing balls and strikes after the 5th inning in a very windy atmosphere. Chirping from the dugout had been going on for about 2 innings prior to this incident. Umpire walked over and had a discussion with the coach between innings. No one knew what was said. Umpire then continued his business as usual. No punches or ejections needed.

Yeah, I wouldn't ask Phyliss Diller what she thought of the play either. I just find that the majority of "big baseball fans" have about as much knowledge of baseball as the seats they occupy. Most fans blame the umpire first, ask questions later. That is why I wasn't surprised that your friend said this.

The bottom line is still that if the coach wasn't in the umpire's face, it wouldn't have happened, so the onus is on the coach in this case.

Yes, he should have removed his mask to toss him, and then put more distance between himself and the coach.

Well, he tried walking away, but the coach insisted on grabbing him from behind. He's lucky I wasn't the umpire. He would either be in jail or the hospital.