Critique, Please

[CraigD]

Thanks for the replies guys.

It's interesting that so many of you concluded that our league is out of control when we have had a total of ONE incident (the one described) in 6 years of operation. The truth is, umpiring this league is quite simple, other than suffering through a lot of bad baseball and the pay isn't so good.

Some of you directly or indirectly questioned my grasp of reality, but never enquired why I think the pitchers weren't throwing at this particular batter. The main reason is that none of the three pitches were more than 6 inches inside. The batter was hit on an extended elbow all three times. He moved just enough to meet the demands of the "must make an effort" rule.

Beyond that, I know these players well. Some will scoff that I only think I know them well, but our baseball community is very small and those who are active wear many hats. We don't have the luxury of having an umpire community that is separate from coaching or playing, so we all know each other very well.

I appreciate the replies and agree that I should have given a warning sooner - probably after the second occurance, perhaps after the first, in spite of the fact that I'm certain they weren't throwing at him intentionally. And that was the real point of my enquiry: If I didn't think they were intentionally throwing at the batter should I still give a warning?

Mr. Booth, the reason that no one filed suit is that Israel isn't America and people don't usually run to court because they had an argument with someone. We don't have jury trials here, so we don't have the kinds of outrageous awards that seem to be regularly handed out in the US, thus people are less inclined to run to court.

Garth, the sky in my world is generally blue unless the winds are coming in from the desert or buildings have been bombed and are burning. In the case of the former, the sky is a dusty orange. In the latter, it's kind of smokey grey. And, no the sky is not falling as some of my fellow umpires seem to think.

Mr. Patrino, I considered finding work elsewhere, but the leagues in Gaza and Lebanon have suspended their schedules so the boys can kill each other in civil wars.

Mr. Jenkins, how would you have addressed the situation without giving an official warning? What would you say, and to whom? Thanks for your previous thoughts.