Conversation

[harmbu]

The next hitter did get a hit to score the go-ahead run. We were unable to score in the seventh and lost. I did not call the assigner. Had I done so, I would have shared what happened and left it at that. I would not request that he not call my games in the future. I have heard of cases where this happened and the umpire finds out and somehow sees that team again. That almost always leads to bad situations.

I chose to live with it instead of make my point and take the chance of getting run. I did think the safe call was incorrect and that is why I asked for clarification. This was probably his second close call of the game so I cannot say that he had a lot of chances to show his capabilities. He did not show a lot of hustle throughout the game (never has been known for taking the game too seriously) and this could have led to his lack of concentration on the play. He did not cost us the game by any means. We had our chances to put it away earlier and not make this call an issue.

As far as his partner throwing him under the bus, that is what I sensed and is why I walked away from that conversation. The "funny" thing was that his partner had a lot of the same tendencies as him and I would put them pretty much on the same level.

[Kevin Finnerty]

The plate umpire saying what he said about his partner on the field during a game makes him bottom level. Most of us here have never done that once--irrespective of how heavy the partner was to carry.

And you sound like a top level coach.

[Jimmie24]

Not much you can do here. I don't think any amount of conversation with a coach is going to get a judgement call changed. It sounds more than anything like this umpire just needs to slow down and let the play finish. Plate umpire was wrong for his actions. It never feels good to be hit by that bus.

[rookieblue]

I second Mr. Finnerty's comment.

I can't help but contrast the class shown by harmbu, both at the time and afterward, to the craven and contemptible behavior of the PU.

[jdmara]

Originally Posted by harmbu

The next hitter did get a hit to score the go-ahead run. We were unable to score in the seventh and lost. I did not call the assigner. Had I done so, I would have shared what happened and left it at that. I would not request that he not call my games in the future. I have heard of cases where this happened and the umpire finds out and somehow sees that team again. That almost always leads to bad situations.

I chose to live with it instead of make my point and take the chance of getting run. I did think the safe call was incorrect and that is why I asked for clarification. This was probably his second close call of the game so I cannot say that he had a lot of chances to show his capabilities. He did not show a lot of hustle throughout the game (never has been known for taking the game too seriously) and this could have led to his lack of concentration on the play. He did not cost us the game by any means. We had our chances to put it away earlier and not make this call an issue.

As far as his partner throwing him under the bus, that is what I sensed and is why I walked away from that conversation. The "funny" thing was that his partner had a lot of the same tendencies as him and I would put them pretty much on the same level.

Harmbu, I commend you for your attitude for this situation. We rarely have posts from coaches that are as reasonable as yourself. As bad as it may be, we all make mistakes and we are all at different levels of officiating. Unfortunately, some umpires don't take the job seriously and/or don't make a HUGE effort to improve every game. Hopefully the remainder of your season goes well.

-Josh

[harmbu]

Thanks for all of the kind words. I was actually a little embarrassed with myself after the game. After I left the discussion with the BU, I stewed in the dugout and vented on my assistant coach and bench players. Some of the parents and fans told me the next day that they could see that I was fuming. I hope that we can just chalk that up to being overly competitive.

[IowaMike]

Originally Posted by harmbu

Thanks for all of the kind words. I was actually a little embarrassed with myself after the game. After I left the discussion with the BU, I stewed in the dugout and vented on my assistant coach and bench players. Some of the parents and fans told me the next day that they could see that I was fuming. I hope that we can just chalk that up to being overly competitive.

I coached high school ball for a few years and loved it. Since I had umpired in the past, and I also work basketball, I never bothered to argue with umpires because I realized it doesn't do any good. The only time I would have a discussion with them is if I thought they had a rule wrong. Plus, I knew a lot of those guys and sometimes worked basketball games with them. Nothing wrong with being competitive though. I got pissed off at calls I disagreed with, but that is only natural because we want to win. The difference with me vs most coaches is that I never made it personal with the umps because I realized that they were doing the best they could and they really didn't give a crap who won the game. I coached at the freshman level, so we didn't always get the highest quality umpires; but umps are so hard to come by around here, I was glad to just have guys work the game. I always told my players when they started whining about the umpires that the umps were as good at umpiring as they were at playing.