" Coach, Please tell me what you saw" ???

[Umpire_Jeremy]

This is not really a rules question....

But lets you say you have a play at home and the coach disagrees and comes out to question your call, (for the sake of argument lets just say he was very respectful about it) and his question to you is, " Please tell me what you saw" Now, I read on another message board that an umpire posted that veteran umpires would not let the coach get away with that. What/How do you respond in this type of situation?

Just looking for better ways to handle my situations as I continue to do high level baseball.

Thanks for any replies.

[Jim Porter]

Originally posted by Umpire_Jeremy
This is not really a rules question....

But lets you say you have a play at home and the coach disagrees and comes out to question your call, (for the sake of argument lets just say he was very respectful about it) and his question to you is, " Please tell me what you saw" Now, I read on another message board that an umpire posted that veteran umpires would not let the coach get away with that. What/How do you respond in this type of situation?

Just looking for better ways to handle my situations as I continue to do high level baseball.

Thanks for any replies.

Let me get this straight -

If a coach comes out to question a judgment call, is polite and respectful to me, and asked me what I saw, how would I handle it?

By golly, if I don't kiss him, I'm sure as heck gonna tell him what I saw.

[Umpire_Jeremy]

Thanks Jim,

That was my first thought but I was confused as to why he said that most vets wouldnt let him get away with it.

Hmm, maybe I should ask the person who said it. Thanks anyway.

[Bfair]

Originally posted by Umpire_Jeremy
Thanks Jim,

That was my first thought but I was confused as to why he said that most vets wouldnt let him get away with it.

Hmm, maybe I should ask the person who said it. Thanks anyway.

I don't know if I'd consider his statement accurate.



Just my opinion,

Freix

[Umpire_Jeremy]

Thats cool, could you at least tell me why you wouldn't consider it accurate?

[Bfair]

Originally posted by Umpire_Jeremy
Thats cool, could you at least tell me why you wouldn't consider it accurate?

IMO, most seasoned umpires will show the coach providing them respect the deserved reciprocal respect. Advising what you saw and why you called what you did is not out of line when discussed with mutual respect.


Just my opinion,

Freix

[Jerry]

When officiating, one must avoid the compliments just as easily as one must avoid criticism. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts! After your nice explanation to a Coach who asks, "Hey, Blue. What'd you see?", it opens you up to . . . "Too bad. You're missing a good game." Or some other snide remark. Maybe that won't happen . . . but you're the one that initiated the discussion by allowing the Coach to question what you saw. Sparky Anderson was a master at this one!

If you're typical and have been officiating for some time, you know that simple "arguments" and "comments" can be addressed easily and professionally and even by acknowledging to the Coach that things probably looked a little different from their angle.

I'm always skeptical of coaches that question a call, no matter how nicely they phrase their arguments. I actually have more respect for one that gets in my face and hoots and hollars. (Earl Weaver by contrast, is the master at this one!) At least I can throw him out. The "nice guy" can make you look like an idiot . . . and you didn't even see it coming.

Jerry

[Jim Porter]

Originally posted by Bfair

IMO, most seasoned umpires will show the coach providing them respect the deserved reciprocal respect. Advising what you saw and why you called what you did is not out of line when discussed with mutual respect.


Just my opinion,

Freix

Hmmmm, I'm confused. Isn't that what I said? What did I say that was inaccurate?

[Jim Porter]

Originally posted by Jerry
When officiating, one must avoid the compliments just as easily as one must avoid criticism. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts! After your nice explanation to a Coach who asks, "Hey, Blue. What'd you see?", it opens you up to . . . "Too bad. You're missing a good game." Or some other snide remark. Maybe that won't happen . . . but you're the one that initiated the discussion by allowing the Coach to question what you saw. Sparky Anderson was a master at this one!

If you're typical and have been officiating for some time, you know that simple "arguments" and "comments" can be addressed easily and professionally and even by acknowledging to the Coach that things probably looked a little different from their angle.

I'm always skeptical of coaches that question a call, no matter how nicely they phrase their arguments. I actually have more respect for one that gets in my face and hoots and hollars. (Earl Weaver by contrast, is the master at this one!) At least I can throw him out. The "nice guy" can make you look like an idiot . . . and you didn't even see it coming.

Jerry

I don't know if I can see your point, Jerry.

Let's say you've made a call. The manager doesn't like it. He's going to:

A. Keep his trap shut, stay in the dugout, and swallow the bad call
B. Make comments from the dugout
C. Enter the field and nicely ask what you saw
D. Enter the field and hoot and holler in your face

I don't know about you, but I respect manager A the most. But, if he's got to say something, I'd prefer it be like manager C. Certainly, he can then turn into manager D. But at least manager C came out on the field to begin with.

Point is, yeah he might be coming out to be nice to you so he can set you up for an insult. Or, he might not. But that, to me, is head and shoulders above manager D who is a jerk from the outset.

I mean, you can't seriously be proposing that we become intolerant to a manager who enters the field to question a judgment call, can you? In my opinion, that intolerant attitude really makes you, the umpire, look bad.

[Bfair]

Originally posted by Jim Porter


I mean, you can't seriously be proposing that we become intolerant to a manager who enters the field to question a judgment call, can you? In my opinion, that intolerant attitude really makes you, the umpire, look bad.

Jim, I didn't understand Jerry's post to mean intolerant at all, but rather, to be cautious.
All may not be what it appears to be..............


Just my opinion,

Freix

[Jim Porter]

Originally posted by Bfair

Jim, I didn't understand Jerry's post to mean intolerant at all, but rather, to be cautious.
All may not be what it appears to be..............


Just my opinion,

Freix

No, Steve, I wasn't implying that he meant that we should be intolerant. Obviously he wouldn't mean that. That's why I worded it the way I did.

What I can't understand is how to be, "cautious." There's a coach on the field who asked me politely what I saw. How do I respond if I'm being cautious as opposed to simply explaining to him what I saw? I think in either case we just explain what we saw. If he gets insulting after that, deal with it then.

A coach is sure to react negatively if he detects that you are suspicious of him from the outset.