batter shows up ump
 

what would you do?
close game between 2 varsity rivals. you ring up a right handed batter on a back door breaking ball. as the batter walks towards his dugout he draws a line in the dirt about 6" outside of the plate. obviously, indicating that he thought the pitch was well outside. your reaction?? ejection? warning?

Likely it would be an ejection. It would depend on how the player did it and who saw it in my opinion. But if there was an ejection on a strike out that is likely how I would handle it.

Peace

ejected.
this happened twice in a league i worked this past summer, and im sure it will happen again this summer.

Drawing a line draws an ejection. Every time.

Batter draws line to indicate outside pitch....gone.
Coach draws line to indicate where catcher tagged runner...gone.
Pitcher draws line across his legs to indicate knee high pitch...gone.

Demonstrations are intended to show up the umpire and incite the fans...they are not allowed.

I used to measure the circumstances before deciding, but no more. I'm with Garth on this one. Drawing a line is to be penalized.

thanks. i think ejection is warranted also. i'm working the same league today with my assignor as my partner. i'm going to run the situation past him to get his input. i'm not sure he is going to agree - i think he is too worried about the coaches sometimes.

So you're asking for permission to eject a player who shows you up? Not in my game. Do what you have to do and if you're not supported it may be time to find a new league.

What about what my friend did - next time the guy came up he tapped the catcher and said, "he's all yours". Rung him up on three pitches that were WAY outside. When the coach came out to discuss he told him that the kid showed him up and that he won't see a pitch to hit the rest of the day. The coach went back to the dugout and soundly chewed the kid.

My buddy does HS, NCAA, and has done MiBL. Do you see that as a viable option?

I guess the coach didn't think it was so bad since he ripped the kid and not the ump . . . Personally, I'd never have the balls to do something like that.

That's known as an FYC. Effective FYS's are ones used judicially and in situations where everyone know what was done and why, no explanation necessary. Three in a row is a bit much.

The MiLB has fired umpires who used FYC's so blatantly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pFQMMY234U

If you have to explain it to the coach, it is not a viable option. NEVER explain to a coach that you just cheated against his team. When the coach came out to "discuss" he has left his position to argue balls and strikes and you basically told him that he is right, you INTENTIONALLY missed pitches and it was going to continue. It can only go down hill from there.

All that being said.....message calls and pitches happen all the time. Unfortounately if you have to explain to the coach what you are doing, the message is lost and the coach thinks you just suck.

I see this as lack of balls to take care of the problem when it happened. Then he gets the "courage" to just make bad calls, instead of pulling up his big boy pants and running the guy when this first happens.

I see this as a very bad choice in game management.

Yes I do see this as a viable option. First of all I hate to use the terms "automatic" or "always" as it relates to any officiating or umpiring situation. Also what one person sees as being shown up and an ejectable offense, someone else might see it as a warning or something you talk to the coach about.

First of all if this is a HS game, not everyone is privy to what this means and why there would be an ejection. There are coaches out there that will not see things your way even if everyone saw the line being drawn. As you go up the ranks, coaches and players completely understand their roles and the way the game is played. They also know what will happen if they do certain things or they will quickly learn. Different strokes for different folks.

Also I would never tell a coach what I will not call the rest of the game, but I just would call strikes short of the ball being in the dirt or over the kid's head. And I would not hold it over the head of every player and every situation this player was involved in.

Peace

Personnally I don't need to lower myself to bring attention to me.

Either dump the kid right there and get it over with or call time, call the coach over and with your line-up card in hand, tell him that Player ## is now scratched. Most good coaches will handle it from there.

Be the professional that was hired to officiate the game.

TOTALLY agree.

Bob

The aforementioned is good for debate, but in general the FYC is done at the time the player shows you up.

In the situation presented it was already strike 3 so the player should be dumped in a heartbeat.

In addition the particpants need to be knowledgeable.

Example: I had a CBL game (good talent) in which F1 had a mean curve. I called strike 2 on the batter and he proceeded to draw the line. Unfortunately in baseball unlike other sports, we do not have anyway to penalize the team other than ejection, however, in certain situations and not all game long we can send an FYC.

In the aforementioned situation I didn't tell F2 anything as I didn't have to. When F2 saw that I didn't toss the batter, he knew what I was doing. He set up some 5-6 inches off the outside edge of the plate and I proceeded to ring up the batter.

The next time the same batter came up he said "Blue can we start over" and I said sure. No problems the remainder of the game.

Summary: You need to know the teams, calibur of ball being called etc., however, once it is strike 3 then IMO it's already too late to send an FYC and the player then has to be dumped.

Pete Booth

The only time I'd tell a catcher to do anything is when i have a batter wandering aimlessly in between pitches, I'll tell the catcher (if I tap you on the back that just means have him pitch, tell him this in the dugout).

I'll also alert the batting team's manager next time he runs out to coach third base to have his kids staying around the box (preferably with a foot in it).

Then if the crap continues of the kid taking 10 steps out and 2 practice swings, look at the coach for 10 seconds, then step back in, I'll just tap the catcher and I know it won't happen again.

Only had to do it once my whole career.

Is this cheating too?

Hopefully without sounding too stupid (a usual occurance for me) - what excatly is FYC?

I was talking to another buddy about this, who lives in Ohio, that does college ball - D1 & 2. He called a ball on a batter in a D1 game that the pitcher disagreed with - and the pitcher came off the mound and stared at my buddy and then pointed at him! My buddy told the catcher to go tell his "buddy" that he just f--ked up. Next 3 pitches were balls including one right down the middle. The coach came out and said to my buddy, "Charlie, that pitch looked right down the middle" - "Yep it was, best advice I can tell you coach is to get someone else on the mound". By the time someone was ready, they had walked the bases loaded. The coach didn't get pi$$ed at the ump but rather immediately went to the bull pen.

Thanks for the help!

Great example of an FYC.

It would appear that PeteBooth, unlike a certain MiLB umpire who got caught on video, was paying close attention the day they covered FYCs at the umpire school he attended. ;)

JM

Your buddy is an idiot.

No doubt! That's a big finger ejection every time. I wonder where some of these men learned these ridiculous game management skills.


Tim.

More like a p*ssy. A pitcher points at you , and you don't dump him?! Jeez, do you even bother to wear a cup?

:D I was PU at a D1 game and F1 did not like my inside corner position, after I sent the catcher out twice, i asked the catcher to talk to his manager between innings as his pitcher was getting into trouble. the manager brought out a new pitcher the next inning and we had a good game with no complaints

By D1 do you mean Division 1 NCAA, or LL District 1 somewhere?


Tim.

:D I was the fill-in that got called for the NCAA in my area. I did fill-ins for a couple of years, but my job restricted me too much, so I stopped.

:D I have to say that this was not me! I have never screwed over a team like this. I've always talked to the catcher or the manager. those two are the only ones on the team I normally talk to.

FYC will get you hurt. Pull that nonsense on a team with any baseball savvy, and you'll have a hit/inside pitch that "crosses up" the catcher. Stupid, juvenile and dangerous. It might have been taught years ago, but I can't imagine it being taught now. If it is, it should be buried right next to Joe Wests plate stance.

I don't know about anyone else, but I get really tired of hearing ejection advice from those who have never seen fit to eject anyone. Please don't hold a grudge for me pointing this out.

I will only apply a FYC on the next pitch. Did one last summer on a adult game. The batter, who played college ball locally, complained about an alledged outside pitch (it definately caught the corner). Said "That was horrible". I replied "You think that was horrible?". The catcher, who played at Long Beach State a few years before set up outside casually and had the next pitch thrown about 8" off the plate. Strike three! :) The batter said "You gotta be kidding me!". The catcher said "That was a great pitch". :D I did my best not to crack up! The catcher told me the next inning "I KNEW you wanted that pitch outside and at the waist blue".

Good catcher. :D

Oh, the batter didn't complain another call the rest of the day. Good for him! ;)