before we start (an equal opportunity post...)

[bobbybanaduck]

Originally Posted by griff901c

They (coaches) will be allowed outside of the dugout....not roaming...but outside none the less.


griff

for what purpose?

[bluezebra]

Originally Posted by bobbybanaduck

posted this on another site, but thought i'd throw it up here for those that don't do both...

the following took place at a legion state tourney game.

game one of three game set of first round in playoffs. 3 man crew. i ask to work 1B cuz i have an indy ball plate job the next night. assignor says no prob as he would prefer i be out on the bags to kinda direct traffic due to the lack of three man experience of the guys i am working with. i know the PU well. VP of my local association. the guy working 3B is fairly fairly young, mid 20's i'd say. i've heard of him, but never met him.

so we head out to the field for the plate meeting, and everything is kosher. PU goes over his stuff, then asks if i have anything to add. i say, "yep. keep everyone and everything inside the dugouts, please. those guys sitting on the buckets gotta move back so their feet are inside." (the dugouts at this field sit at ground level. they are about 30 feet long, with about a 10 foot wide opening in the front for player access.) both managers say no problem and we break the meeting.

i head down the 1B line and out to short right. when i head to my starting position for the beginning of the game i notice that all three adult coaches on my side of the field are outside the dugout. i wait to see if they are headed inside, but they aren't. the PU points down to me to see if i'm ready (which i HATE, but that's another story for another day) and i hold my hand up to him shaking my head. he steps out and looks quizzically at me. i point to the coaches outside the dugout. he looks over and tells them they need to be inside. skipper apparently doesn't hear him, cuz he says, "what?" and starts walking out toward me. he asks, "can i have time?" (game hasn't even started yet... )

he walks out to me and says they have been outside all year and nobody has said anything. i inform him that i'm not overly interested in the rest of the year, and for this game everyone is going to be inside the dugout. he continues to argue with me about it and says that the district supervisor has been at most of their games this year and has made the players stay inside, but has never said anything about the coaches. my response to that was that i had spoken with him about the need to keep everyone inside, and he agreed with me. (i DID actually talk to him, though it was at the high school state tourney where the same guy was the TD.) he asks me the guys name cuz he thinks i'm making crap up or something, and i told him. he's agitated, but he now retreats. however, instead of going back to his dugout, he goes back to talk to the PU for a minute. i head back over to my starting position.

their meeting breaks up and he heads back over to the dugout. he sends his two coaches inside, but he stays out. PU points down to me again, and i again hold my hand up and shake my head. PU looks over at the dugout, then motions for me to come talk to him. i walk down and he says, "i told him that one guy could stay outside."

what do you do?

i'll tell you what i did later.

This isn't a pre-teen chat room. Use capitals where necessary. It's difficult to read with all lower case letters. If you can capitalize PU and VP, you can type properly in the rest of your post.

Thank you,

Bob

[bobbybanaduck]

nO. iF yoU doN't lIke It, don'T Read iT.

[UmpJM]

bobby,

I was taught that at the plate conference, the PU/UIC does all the talking. His partners confine themselves to introducing themselves and, after the PU has finished coverng ground rules, saying "No" when he asks them if they have any questions. So, that's pretty much what I do.

I'm curious why you didn't just bring this up with the PU prior to the coaches arriving at the plate for the plate conference and asking him to address it with them. Seems like a lot of this unpleasantness, unnecessary delay, and damage to the credibility of the crew's authority could have been avoided if you had.

Perhaps you didn't notice the buckets and coaches out of the dugout prior to the plate conference, maybe they waited to come out until you were already engaged in the conference, maybe your practice is different. For whatever reason, you find yourself in the situation where your partner has contradicted your legitimate instruction to the coach.

I think I would have gone to talk to my partner and asked him if he recalled the instruction given during the plate conference and if he realized I had just instructed the coach to get in the dugout. Then, I'd try to convince my partner that we needed to be on the same page and that the best page would be to get the coaches in the dugout like they're supposed to be by rule.

If he found me unpersuasive, I would drop it and take it up with the assignor after the game.

JM

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by bluezebra

This isn't a pre-teen chat room. Use capitals where necessary. It's difficult to read with all lower case letters. If you can capitalize PU and VP, you can type properly in the rest of your post.

Thank you,

Bob

Sorry Bobby and Brian Curtain....I must agree. It's a forum, not a chat room or a text message. Proper punctuation is the norm.

[bobbybanaduck]

it's not my job to point out everything that should be covered in the plate meeting prior to said meeting. if he doesn't cover something and then asks if i have anything to add, you can be damn sure i'm gonna add it if it is relevant, and especially if it is ground rules related. that point is moot, though, as the plate meeting was not the issue. he asked me, i said yes, then added what i added. everyone was cordial and said, "no problem." the issue arose post plate meeting when the coaches were hanging out outside. the "shut up and stand there" routine that i've seen posted on here is fine for the most part. however, if it is ground rules related, you'd better pipe up if you do have something to add.

[bobbybanaduck]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Sorry Bobby and Brian Curtain....I must agree. It's a forum, not a chat room or a text message. Proper punctuation is the norm.

my punctuation is proper. it's my capiTaliZation he has issue with. when the day comes where everyone on here spell checks their posts and uses proper grammar, i will gladly capitalize the needed letters. until then, either deal with it or use the iggy button if you are so inclined. no skin off my back. have a nice day.

[griff901c]

Originally Posted by bobbybanaduck

for what purpose?

Around here the dugouts are ground level and enclosed with chain link.The doorways are small so having the coach outside is a normal thing to allow.

From there they can call pitches..put plays on..etc.

But NO BUCKETS......

griff

[SanDiegoSteve]

I guess I should have specified capitalization. Proper capitilazation is the norm. But, you dowhatchalike, as Digital Underground used to say. Just remember how difficult it is to read long paragraphs when the sentences don't begin with capitals.

[JJ]

Hmmm...
I would tell my partner that at the home plate conference we said "Everyone and everything inside", and the coaches "had no problems with that". Then YOU changed things after the fact. Well, big boy, you're the UIC, but be aware that Legion ball plays OBR with only a few exceptions, and NONE of those exceptions are allowing people out of the dugouts who shouldn't BE out of the dugouts. So now you're not only changing what BOTH COACHES agreed to at home plate, you're also making up a rule that you can't back up using the rules we're playing by. Unfortunately, that sets a precedent for not only the other team, but for the rest of the games being played in this tournament. Are you sure you want to do this? Oh, I will also be filing a formal report with the appropriate commissioner. Your call.

JJ

[canadaump6]

You explained to the coach that he was to stay inside the dugout. He not only tried to overrule you, but created a dispute between you and your partner. I would have no problem ejecting him for his antics. After the game I would hope you chewed the hell out of your "partner" and made sure you 1) Never work with him and 2) Never assign him to any games you cover.

[ozzy6900]

First, I would eject the coach for being an a$$hole. Then I would tell my ex-friend at the plate to have a nice day. Once I leave, I don't care if the coach comes back on the field either.

[Rita C]

Having had similar situations in the past, my answer is simple.

The coach will be following my instructions since they were issued first. I will do my best to deliver this message in a way that salvages any precious male egos that may be offended.

Somebody will have been trying to show me up. It doesn't matter who. But I will stand my ground. It's been my experience that the whole game goes a whole lot better if I do.

Rita

[DG]

If they have been told to stay in the dugout at plate meeting I don't wait for my partner to point at me, if they are out of dugout. They get in the dugout without a conversation with partner. Conversation with manager will be short.

[PeteBooth]

Ok Bobby "let's have it"

What did you do

Thanks

Pete Booth