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

[bobbybanaduck]

allllrighty then. what i did isn't overly exciting, i just wanted to have people comment on and discuss the situation as they would have handled it, rather than on how i handled it. that being said, after he told me what he had said to the coach i simply turned and walked back to my starting position. there was nothing else to be said, in my opinion, as he had just cut my legs out from under me. doing anything else at this point would have resulted in an argument between me and my partner right there on the field, and that is not something that i am interested in.

after the game when we were in the parking lot...

i waited to see if he would bring it up instead of just starting in on him, as i likely would have bitten his head off and i was trying to remain calm. he did finally bring it up. after we discussed it a bit he said that it kinda caught him off guard when the guy came to him and he didn't want to get caught in the middle of the battle, so he just compromised. i told him that that was unacceptable by me because he had heard what i said both at the plate meeting and in my discussion with the coach. we continued to discuss it and decided that what it came down to was another example of the lack of proper training in our area. different guys enforce different things. nothing is universal. as i said in the OP, this guy is my association's VP. we brainstormed ideas on how to effectively deal with the situation so the whole group can benefit from it.

[Adam]

My God! That sounds.......


reasonable.

[tiger49]

Bobby,

Just wondering if the thought of addressing him as he walked to your partner entered your mind? I probably would have addressed the situation when he turned and headed to my partner and said "Skip, no reason to be going to him he is just going to reinterate what you have already been told, and that is everyone is in the dugouts including coaches, as was discussed at the plate meeting!"

Now if he heads to my partner and gets a different answer then there are bigger problem's...At least addressing it like this gives your partner a better heads up as to what is coming his way.

I am also wondering what was discussed in the pregame concerning this?

[bobbybanaduck]

i see where you're coming from, but, i had walked down to about the 45' line to have this discussion. when we finished, i turned and walked back to my starting position thinking that all was well and good. when i got there i turned around and faced the plate and that is when i noticed the conversation going on. i could have walked backwards to my position, monitoring him like a hawk...but, like i said, i thought all was well and good. had i known, or had any inkling, that he was headed to the PU to make an appeal, you bet your behind i would have been on his heels.

there was nothing discussed in the pregame about this. it came up at the plate meeting because there were kids sitting on buckets in front of the dugout. our pregame conversation was mostly about 3 man mechanics and coverages as i was the only one on the crew with any experience.

[oyaisee]

I don't get it what's the big deal.... your buddy Mr. I'm to scared to umpire is NOT going to enforce that rule again..... SO you the guy THE Only guy who sticks to the rules.... and actually tells the coaches to do that.

Everyone else does not care!!!! so you might want to start with your other Umpire buddies first rather than changing the world in this 1 game.

[SethPDX]

Yikes.

The big deal is that he told the managers what was expected with respect to being outside the dugouts. When a manager complained to his partner, his partner agreed to ignore what bobby had just (correctly) instructed the manager to do.

If you don't care about people hanging around outside the dugouts in your game that's fine. The fact is, they don't belong on the field. But where the coaches are is not as big a deal in this story as is the fact that bobby's partner threw him under the bus.

If we ignored rules because "no one else cares about that" we would have many more problems than we already have every game.

[Tim C]

oyaisee's signiture:

"It's for the kids"

Let's take a break while I vomit.

Regards,

[oyaisee]

If you are going to delete my post you need to delete the post slamming me for my signature!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come on.... that's b/s

[Matt]

Originally Posted by oyaisee

If you are going to delete my post you need to delete the post slamming me for my signature!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come on.... that's b/s

What Tim said wasn't personal. It's also based on a sentiment shared by most (if not all) of the rest of the populace on this board.

[SethPDX]

Originally Posted by Matt

What Tim said wasn't personal. It's also based on a sentiment shared by most (if not all) of the rest of the populace on this board.

Like me. And I work many kids' games.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Wow, I thought all this time that the "it's for the kids" signature was just being sarcastic. I never dreamed he really meant it. Go figure.

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by oyaisee

If you are going to delete my post you need to delete the post slamming me for my signature!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come on.... that's b/s

I see a post "slamming" your signature, not a post slamming you for your signature. Completely different. Having a discussion on the degree to which it's "for the kids" is on-topic. Feel free to (professionally) defend it.

And, I did delete post(s) slamming you.

[bobbybanaduck]

i thought his sig was referring to the hudsucker proxy.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Wow, I thought all this time that the "it's for the kids" signature was just being sarcastic. I never dreamed he really meant it. Go figure.

It's like "Think of the children." Something about that phrase makes my eyes roll involuntarily. And I have a 3-year-old.

[Rcichon]

Originally Posted by bobbybanaduck

i see where you're coming from, but, i had walked down to about the 45' line to have this discussion. when we finished, i turned and walked back to my starting position thinking that all was well and good. when i got there i turned around and faced the plate and that is when i noticed the conversation going on. i could have walked backwards to my position, monitoring him like a hawk...but, like i said, i thought all was well and good. had i known, or had any inkling, that he was headed to the PU to make an appeal, you bet your behind i would have been on his heels.

there was nothing discussed in the pregame about this. it came up at the plate meeting because there were kids sitting on buckets in front of the dugout. our pregame conversation was mostly about 3 man mechanics and coverages as i was the only one on the crew with any experience.

Umpires are like Parents: God gave you more than one for a reason.

When he (your [ex?] partner) admitted to throwing you under the bus, I would have immediately discussed with him alone the fact that we may not always like ALL of the rules we are charged with observing but that THIS one in particular has been proscribed by those that make such rules AND he must now advise said rat that this rule will be observed in this game as it is written.

Of course the parking lot discussion would encompass etiquette and food chain dynamics.