Small Confrentation... How to handle it?

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

I simply would laugh if I heard that coming out of the mouth of a 14 yr old...honestly, at that level...I might consider ejecting...but we all have our own thresholds...

Some years back I umpired a kid from 13 thru high school. He was a very large boy for his age. At age 13 he was throwing around 85 mph from PONY league distance of 54 feet. He also had pinpoint control. He regularly struck out 15+ in 7 inning games.

I would not laugh at the prospect of this kid sticking the next one in a batter's ear. I would have immediately warned the catcher, pitcher, and manager that anything close to resembling throwing at batters would lead to all three being ejected.

[johnnyg08]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Some years back I umpired a kid from 13 thru high school. He was a very large boy for his age. At age 13 he was throwing around 85 mph from PONY league distance of 54 feet. He also had pinpoint control. He regularly struck out 15+ in 7 inning games.

I would not laugh at the prospect of this kid sticking the next one in a batter's ear. I would have immediately warned the catcher, pitcher, and manager that anything close to resembling throwing at batters would lead to all three being ejected.

great points...15+ K's per game is pretty sweet...you have a pitcher who does that consistently at any level, and your team is going to win a lot of games.

[TussAgee11]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Some years back I umpired a kid from 13 thru high school. He was a very large boy for his age. At age 13 he was throwing around 85 mph from PONY league distance of 54 feet. He also had pinpoint control. He regularly struck out 15+ in 7 inning games.

I would not laugh at the prospect of this kid sticking the next one in a batter's ear. I would have immediately warned the catcher, pitcher, and manager that anything close to resembling throwing at batters would lead to all three being ejected.

So Steve, you felt perhaps I should have gathered catcher, pitcher, and manager together immediately?

What would you have done about the batter and his manager for his comments towards the pitcher?

Thanks for the input.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by TussAgee11

So Steve, you felt perhaps I should have gathered catcher, pitcher, and manager together immediately?

What would you have done about the batter and his manager for his comments towards the pitcher?

Thanks for the input.

I don't see what was wrong with anything the batter said. He just said if you throw that same pitch again, I'm gonna lose it. That shouldn't have upset the catcher. I see the catcher here as out of control. If he wanted his pitcher to send the batter a message, he should have just signaled it to his pitcher, not announced it in front of the umpire.

If I was the catcher, I probably would have called for the same pitch again, only with better location, and challenged "big mouth" to hit it out.

[TussAgee11]

Well if I were a 14 year old catcher I may have been a bit upset too (wait, I was one day). Teenagers are wierd, thats for sure.

So in my sitch you would have recommended ignoring batter's comment and dealing with F2 (which is what I did). I'm getting good at this game management stuff!! It was one of my main goals for this year. Headed to the park now, bases tonight. Thanks SDS.

[waltjp]

We weren't there. We didn't hear how the batter's comment was said. Depending on my read of the situation following the batter's comment I may or may not have said something to him. I would, however, have warned the catcher following his comment about putting one in the batter's ear. My comment to the catcher may have been something as simple as, "Johnny, there's no need for that today" to something more overt if I deemed it necessary.

[David B]

Originally Posted by TussAgee11

Well if I were a 14 year old catcher I may have been a bit upset too (wait, I was one day). Teenagers are wierd, thats for sure.

So in my sitch you would have recommended ignoring batter's comment and dealing with F2 (which is what I did). I'm getting good at this game management stuff!! It was one of my main goals for this year. Headed to the park now, bases tonight. Thanks SDS.

Keep it simple, just tell them hey guys, lets play ball and cut all that out.

They should get the point. If they persist, I always start with the F2. He's supposed to be a team leader and should know. He's right in front of me and can hear everything I say. I've reamed out many a catcher and no one on the field ever knew about it except for us and the batter who is usually about to snicker cause he knows what's happening.

Always seems to work for me.

But as suggested, take care of it, and don't let it escalate to something that you regret later.

Thanks
David