Hijacked from Basketball Board... with a baseball twist

[TussAgee11]

Perhaps I'm fighting a losing battle here, and hopefully it is because I can't convey what I mean.

Here is the baseball sitch. Let's say you got a rain delay, teams head across the field back to the building. You get to your dressing room as well, only to hear the home coach through the paper thin walls railing his team with profanity, some of which is directed at you and pard.

I would advocate for ignoring it and nailing him the first chance he gives you after the delay. If we don't get back out there, I'm calling assignor and letting him know what happened for the continuation, so he can talk to the new crew if he wishes.

Some would advocate ejecting him from the game as soon as he steps foot back onto the field, directly for his actions in the locker room. I don't like it, myself. Seems like a battle an official can't win.

Thoughts?

[Kevin Finnerty]

I played and I coached and I scouted and I was in a few clubhouses in other capacities.

What goes on in the locker room stays there. Period. And that goes for the fruits of eavesdropping. To act on it is beyond unprofessional. To beware of the guy and to warn others is normal and almost expected behavior, but you publicly kill anything and everything you overheard as far as any public response.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

I played and I coached and I scouted and I was in a few clubhouses in other capacities.

What goes on in the locker room stays there. Period. And that goes for the fruits of eavesdropping. To act on it is beyond unprofessional. To beware of the guy and to warn others is normal and almost expected behavior, but you publicly kill anything and everything you overheard as far as any public response.

This sounds like the coach who yells about the umpires in the dugout and then claims the umpire has rabbit ears when he acts on it. It isn't rabbit ears when he's essentially yelling at you.

Let's take it a step further. The coach knows the walls are paper thin and spends 15 minutes profanely ranting about the officials, calling them cheaters, telling the kids that the umpires are stealing their chance to win, etc.

In a high school environment, is there a line here that can get crossed and get the umpires involved?

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

This sounds like the coach who yells about the umpires in the dugout and then claims the umpire has rabbit ears when he acts on it. It isn't rabbit ears when he's essentially yelling at you.

Let's take it a step further. The coach knows the walls are paper thin and spends 15 minutes profanely ranting about the officials, calling them cheaters, telling the kids that the umpires are stealing their chance to win, etc.

In a high school environment, is there a line here that can get crossed and get the umpires involved?

Absolutely not. It is inside the locker room. It stays there. Be a pro.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

Absolutely not. It is inside the locker room. It stays there. Be a pro.

I may not eject the guy from the game, but I would not hesitate to send a sportsmanship report to the state office. As a parent, I would not want my daughter subjected to that kind of behavior and/or language. For me to sit idly by while minor children are subjected to that would not sit well with me.

BTW, I'm not a pro, just a little, old HS umpire.

[PeteBooth]

I do not agree especially in a HS environment

If you are the parent of one of those kids on the team wouldn't you want to know what kind of 'stuff" is being taugt.

HS coaches for the most part are also teachers and should be teaching the kis about life THROUGH sports.

Also, suppose you hear the coach say this to one of his players.

Jimmy the umpires are letting Tommy (the other teams F2) get away with "murder " on plays at the plate.

The next time you are on base I want you to "take out" Tommy

There is no place in HS sports for this kind of nonsense.

It's one thing if the coach is giving strategies etc. and says "Hey guys let's try the "skunk in the outfield play" or something along those lines then I perfectly agree "what is said in the locker room stays there" with regard to strategies of the game BUT

when a coach is telling his players that the officials are cheating or instructing one of his players to possibly cause harm to another player is IMO crossing the line and should be reported.

Pete Booth

[ozzy6900]

What goes on in the locker room is none of our business! If you want to inform your assignor and/or "red line" this school, fine. But you have no business saying anything to anyone else about this. There is no "rule" for this, it is just common courtesy - just like when you are with your buddies, you yap and curse about a coach.

[UmpTTS43]

I would tend to make a note of it mentally, and put it in my "tool box" so to speak. If "Tommy" did get taken out, by chance, player and coach are gone and what I heard will probably be in my report. I have talked about coaches and some players myself between myself and other umps. Should I do it? Probably not, but it does happen. Lockeroom rants stay there, but I will have my mental notebook available for the rest of that game. If I feel that someone's safety is in jeapordy, I will pull coach aside, prior to resuming, and let him know about the conversation I happened to have heard while in the lockeroom. There are more times than we care to admit that teams are told we are the reason for their failure. Heck, I cost at teams at least half their games I officiate it seems. Who hasn't had the discussion with your partner about how coach A is a real pr*ck and will be on a real short leash today? I have had partners actually tell me "I think I'm going to dump someone today" prior to the game. If it happens and I think my partner did it to satisfy his whim, then I will take postgame actions myself.

Giddie up Tangent.

Bottom line, what is said in the lockeroom tends to stay in the lockeroom, until it affects my ability to provide the service I am hired for.

[Kevin Finnerty]

I have several stab wounds in my back, but never as much as a hangnail from delivering one. And I have had some pretty objectionable partners. The never-throw-the-partner-under-no-matter-what approach will get you universal respect in the long run.

[BigTex]

Last summer, college wood bat league--

Pickoff at second, R2 slides into F4's foot which was in front of the bag (not blocking the entire bag, probably about 1/4 of the bag). F4 tags runner, I call runner out. O head coach want OBS, I say no, the runner had a clear path to the bag, back and forth we go. As he walks away, he says to me, "I am going to tell them to come in spikes high next time."

I did not reply. I did not eject him there, but it did go in the memory bank. If someone had come in maliciously later in the game, I would have ejected the player, then the HC.

All we can do is call the things we see.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by ozzy6900

What goes on in the locker room is none of our business! If you want to inform your assignor and/or "red line" this school, fine. But you have no business saying anything to anyone else about this. There is no "rule" for this, it is just common courtesy - just like when you are with your buddies, you yap and curse about a coach.

Okay? The man's right. And when he's right, he's usually very, very right.

The game is the game, irrespective of everything, including the level of play. If it's going on in public, you are responsible for it. In private, store it away if you want, but it stays there. Period.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

The game is the game, irrespective of everything

Of all the things you've said, this one is the most wrong. A Little League game is not a college game and a LL coach yelling at/around 10 year olds like this would be much different than a college coach.

[w_sohl]

Originally Posted by ozzy6900

What goes on in the locker room is none of our business! If you want to inform your assignor and/or "red line" this school, fine. But you have no business saying anything to anyone else about this. There is no "rule" for this, it is just common courtesy - just like when you are with your buddies, you yap and curse about a coach.

sorry if I'm repeating someone elses comments.

Ozzy, you're full of it if you think this is true. Do you honestly think that if the coach overheard you through paper thin walls making despariging comments about him and his team that he wouldn't make his first phone call to your assignor? What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room till everyone leaves the locker room. Then it is fair game. I might not penalize the coach, but I sure as hell am going to let him know I'm not a fool and I know what is going on. In the case of him telling a player to take out another player, as soon as we get back to the field, I'm letting him know that if any of his players take anyone out the rest of this game not only will that player be ejected, but he can go warm the bus up.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by w_sohl

sorry if I'm repeating someone elses comments.

Ozzy, you're full of it if you think this is true. Do you honestly think that if the coach overheard you through paper thin walls making despariging comments about him and his team that he wouldn't make his first phone call to your assignor? What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room till everyone leaves the locker room. Then it is fair game. I might not penalize the coach, but I sure as hell am going to let him know I'm not a fool and I know what is going on. In the case of him telling a player to take out another player, as soon as we get back to the field, I'm letting him know that if any of his players take anyone out the rest of this game not only will that player be ejected, but he can go warm the bus up.

With all due respect, baseball has been around a long time, and so has the locker room code. What is said there--however brazenly or childishly--stays there ... period. To act on it publicly is a breach ... period. It's how baseball works ... period. It's how it must work.

Your words: "What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room till everyone leaves the locker room. Then it is fair game." The previous quote, in particular, shows a pronounced level of baseball naiveté on your part. Not Ozzy nor I wrote the code, we're just quoting from it. You should learn it.

How to handle the threat of malicious contact is a separate issue that you combined with the fruits of locker room issue.

[ozzy6900]

Originally Posted by w_sohl

sorry if I'm repeating someone elses comments.

Ozzy, you're full of it if you think this is true. Do you honestly think that if the coach overheard you through paper thin walls making despariging comments about him and his team that he wouldn't make his first phone call to your assignor? What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room till everyone leaves the locker room. Then it is fair game. I might not penalize the coach, but I sure as hell am going to let him know I'm not a fool and I know what is going on. In the case of him telling a player to take out another player, as soon as we get back to the field, I'm letting him know that if any of his players take anyone out the rest of this game not only will that player be ejected, but he can go warm the bus up.

Well, my friend, if you pulled something like this on my crew, you would not be on the crew any longer. And before you start to become sanctimonious, I know a lot of FED and NCAA Basketball officials that would have you tossed off their crew, also. What you hear off the court or the field is not to be taken to the court or field. I agree that if you hear a coach telling his players to do something against safety rules, you should make note of it, mentally! You should be on the lookout during the game and if such an infraction occurs, you should take immediate and appropriate action. But to openly say something to a coach about something he said in the locker room (his locker room) is just wrong, period!