Ways for batter to get ejected......
 

I had a situation last night were the batter didnt like my strike call, was right over the plate, JUST below the knee.... hittable ball!!

He stepped out of the batter's box, started to say something under his breath. I told him lets go, then he proceeded to turn toward his dugout, practice his GOLF SWING. I again told him lets go.... he then proceeded to tell me "I CAN TAKE AS LONG AS I WANT"..... so I said give me a new batter, the batter is EJ!!!

What other situations have we all had were the batter can get a chance to listen to the game on the radio in his car?

Take your bat and draw a line in the dirt will get you to the parking lot early!

I do not remember if it was here or another forum, but someone posted a time when after a coach drew a line in the dirt the umpire drew an arrow to the parking lot, and the coach to follow it.

That is one of those things I would love to do to a coach, but fear that it might appear over line (really no pun intended) and arrogant.

I would also love the chance to sit in the stands with my gear on. Plop down next to a mouthy fan, and say play ball. Then when I start to get odd looks say, "Well obviously this is the best place in the park to call balls an strikes from."

But to get back to the question at hand, most any time a player/coach begins or ends a sentence with the magic word... you.

"Sure, take as long as you want. Pitcher, pitch. Sssstttttrrrriiiikkkeeee!"

The batter's actions definitely caused him to get ejected but WHY are you calling a pitch that is below the knee a strike?

MTD, Sr.

The greatest batter-draws-line-with-bat story I ever heard was similar to this. It was from one of the eminent veterans from our L.A. unit:

"One time I had a guy reach out and flip his bat and use the knob to draw a line to show me where the last pitch was. I asked him if I could have that bat for a second. He gives me the bat, and I flip it and use the knob to draw a big curve toward the guy's dugout, and then I drew a little arrow at the end."

This is how I would have handled it.

Me too. That way you get to call a "penalty strike" AND dump the prick.

JM

Cause that's where the holler be.

I was waiting for someone to ask that.... it was at the knee caps.

I believe, but I'm not for certain, that the gentleman in question was our own Brian Curtain. And yes, I do know I'm a poet.:)

No need to justify. It's your strike zone, not his.

I had a BU do that once. Looked like a complete idiot. That is not funny, just stupid. So, I don't suggest contemplating the idea. Especially after seeing it. I have heard people say they want to do it, but after seeing it, it is a stupid idea.

Pretty sure he was just fantasizing, not really planning to ever do it. We often say things here that we "would love to do," or "would love to say," or other things of this nature. It's because we come here to vent our frustrations and we have come to expect that the other members understand this. We say things we could never really get away with at our games, because we are all umpires, and we all can relate to our mutual disdain for rats and fans. Try not to take things spouted off here too seriously.

Modesty Forbids
 

I believe you need to work on your poetry.

Find something that works with "Tim C" . . .

Then it was at the knees, not below the knees.

Every time I go see the Brewers, I wonder if that's how the word "tarrarel" ended up in "Roll Out the Barrel."

And was still a strike a few inches below that.

(My biggest criticism watching umpires at lower levels of baseball is that they don't give the strike at the knees. Or at the top of the belly-button, for that matter.)

When I said Brian Curtain, I was as wrong as I could be,

Because soon I was set straight by the famous Tim C.

*finger snapping*

I figured that. But, it reminded me of the fool who did it with me. And, I just wanted to warn how stupid it looks before anyone thought they might try it.

He was an idiot and looked like a jacka$$ after he did it. I was ready to go home and let him finish the circus act he just created. Embarrassing to say the least.

Thank you.

MTD, Sr.

Nah that wasn't me, but I did have a guy draw a line in the dirt and dumped him before he even finished drawing. I might have recited the above story at some point, though.

edit: Tee and SDS already covered this...I should start reading threads all the way through haha.

Had a young man draw a line on me once. I took off my mask and looked at the line and said, "Hey, you draw real nice!" I wind up " Now lets see if you can follow directions!" and give 'em the hook!



Some umpires aspire to be
as good an umpire as Tim C.
While other umpires really believe
themselves as good as San Diego Steve.
One or two look up to Dash
who works the plate with a noticeable flash.
And then there is Ump or Coach or JM just plain
who can't make up his mind, his title or his name.
Richard in the wings with Ives on the hook
Mbyron dealing an ejection by the book.
Pete Booth writing articles galore
Greymule showing a manager the "door".
And here I sit still on the DL
Ozzy resting in baseball hell!

Time to up the meds!:)

Steve,

Interesting. I was going to suggest he "down" the meds.

Nonetheless, ....

Ozzy,

I thought it was beautiful.

You're not in umpire hell, it's more like purgatory.

Get well soon.

JM

Maybe we need to hook him up with Mark Padgett over in the basketball area. HIs meds are legendary.:)

I know that managers will get ejected on purpose, and I agree that drawing a line is an automatic ejection. That being said, is someone drawing a line on you an action that you are offended by more so than you would be by the average ejection?

Nope, they're pretty much all the same to me.

No, managers, coaches and players are equally offensive, IMO.:cool:

Ozzy, I echo the kind sentiments, and I indeed wish that you get well.

But if it means losing your edge, don't get completely well. ;)

Well, it wasn't an EJ
 

Summer league: college players, some ex-pros, guys just looking to get some at-bats. Verry little grumbling in general. One night, hotshot D1 college batter drew a line past the outside corner after my strike call to make it a full count. I dummy up and put the incident in the hard drive.

Then St. Chylak, the patron of all umpires, intervened. The pitcher (now my buddy for life) threw the next one right down Broadway, maybe 3-4 inches above the belt. The line-drawer took the pitch. Thanks again, Nestor.

My usual strike-three ring-up is short and sweet. I drew this one out like I was Kiri Te Kanawa doing Carmen at the Met. Batter-rattus was a good 5-6 feet down the line toward 1B when I finally finished my aria. He turned toward me, mouth majestically agape. I beat him to the punch.

"Draw a line up there, Meat," I said.

Not a word from him, his coaches or teammates for the rest of the game.

As the Shakers say, sometimes things turn around until they come out right.

Ace in CT

That's a heartwarming story of grace and redemption, Ace. Thank you. :)

Nice! Very Nice!

Nice. That's one for the books. :D

"Draw a line up there, Meat."

I'll have to use that. Very clever. Very.

I am not a believer in the FYC, but the anecdote of a batter drawing a line and the umpire telling him "You just drew your strike zone for the rest of the game" does make me chuckle.

Did you follow it up with "rose goes in the front, big guy?"

I have tossed a couple of guys for drawing a line, and, based on youth, let a couple off the hook and remain in the game (after their stern, eye-opening warning). One of the guys I let stay came out later in the game to pitch. I stood behind the catcher while he loosened up and said, incredulously, "He's a pitcher?" The catcher said, "Yeah, can you believe that? [the way he shows up umpires]" So, as he's catching each warm-up pitch, every one that was even near a corner or a high spot, he says, "That's a ball." It was like he was telling me to go ahead and squeeze the little a------. He did this five times in eight pitches. It was hilarious.

Truth be told, I did not originate the line. A friend who used to do organized ball gave it to me.

ummmmm, a better question....

why AREN'T you calling it? (assuming you aren't from this posed question and your "thank you" response later in the thread.)

The STRIKE ZONE is that area over home plate the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap.

I was only quoting

3-4 inches above the belt is a strike by the book and I will get that one every time. Heck, 3-4 baseballs above the belt is a strike by the book, but we don't see that very often.

Im not a baseball ump, but used to play, and I can strongly say I feel you were 100% out of line. So what if the batter wrongly thinks he can take as much time as he wants. Give he as must time as granted in the rule book, then assess the penalty as prescribed in the rule book. I dont know the rules but Im willing to bet a substantial amount of $$ that the penalty for voicing an opinion on a rule that is wrong is not an objectionable offense.

Obviously the guy thought your strike call was too generous, but so what, are you gonna toss every pitcher that doesnt get a borderline pitch and walks off the mound and mutters something (a la carlos zambrano)

No ****.

Used to play, huh? I can't imagine why you're still not playing...:rolleyes:

You lose. 9.01(d).

You need to buy a tape measure. Three or four baseballs above the belt is the armpit. That hasn't been a strike by the book in a loooooooong time.

A little more than the height of one baseball above the top of the uniform pants is a strike by the book. That's the midpoint described in the rule.

As usual, it's not IF the rat objects, it's how he goes about it. Here, he chose...poorly. And you know very well muttering something is not what got him ejected.

I can strongly say I feel the umpire did just fine. But I've been umpiring longer than I ever played.

"Draw a line up there..." I'm still chuckling. :D

I was going to say something here, but I read Matt's post, which covered just about everything I was going to cover.

No, You Lose

The ump ejected the batter after he wrongly asserted that he has as much time as he wants. to my knowledge, it is not an ejectionable offense to misunderstand the rules, or else there be no one playing ball!!!

and besides, in any given baseball game there are about 30 objections to decisions, I think you need to reconsider the umps role in the game. The umps shouldnt be going out of their way to "take the bat out of the players hand", let the players play.

Whats the difference between a batter saying, again I think everyone here knows the batter was incorrect in his rule knowledge, "I have as much time as I want" and a player yelling for an infield fly call when there is 2 outs bc they dont know the rules?

Youre certainly not going to eject the player in the infield fly situation, so why eject the batter???? Either tell him to get in the box, or start assessing whatever penalty is prescribed in the rule book for the batter not taking his stance in a timely fashion. ZERO need to eject at this point in time. You'd have a better argument (albeit still unwarranted IMO) if you ejected when the batter did his "golf swing" warmup.

Then the players should do just that: play. Don't stand around taking as much time as you want.

One player doesn't know the rule and is an ***. The other just doesn't know the rule.

No, it's still you.



Anyone who thinks they can address the umpire, who is generally a grown man, who just happens to be the boss on the field, by yelling at them that they can do what they please after being legally ordered to comply is subject to getting run from the yard in a hurry. If you were an umpire, you would know that, then wouldn't you?

Umpires don't eject players or coaches, players and coaches eject themselves by their actions. By rule, judgment calls cannot be objected to, so I don't know where you get 30 objections. I get my calls right, and very rarely do I have to eject someone. But you tell me what to do, you better get packing, because only one of us will be still in the game, and it won't be you.

Halfway between the belt and shoulders is not 3 inches above the belt on any normal player I know.

Years ago, had a batter walking away after a called 3K. He then stops, turns around and uses his bat to point at home plate. He said "The plate is over there, Blue" I pointed to his dugout and said " The bench is over there!" He then continued to go back to his bench.
His whole bench erupted in laughter, so I didn't dump him. I started to chuckle.

This is true. Sometimes it's more fun not to eject the clown, just turn their whole bench loose on them. It depends on the situation and the overall atmosphere of the game.

There's a quote in this year's CCA Manual that says something about a "well timed sense of humor to defuse situations." I'm at work so I don't have it in front of me but I'm guessing this is what they're talking about.:p

bobbybanaduck:

Thank you for the OBR (Rule 2.00--STRIKE ZONE) definition, but since about 99.999,999% of my games are played using NFHS Rules which R2-S35-A1 states: "The strike zone is that space over home plate, the top of which is halfway between the batter’s shoulders and the waistline, and the bottom being the knees,
when he assumes his natural batting stance. The height of the strike zone is
determined by the batter’s normal batting stance. If he crouches or leans over to make the shoulder line lower, the umpire determines height by what would be the batter’s normal stance."

That means in a NFHS Rules game, a pitch below the knees is not a strike. I only questioned the author of the OP because I was reading his post from the NFHS Rules position.

I have never been a proponent of the "real" low strike, but have been a proponent of the "high" strike. I just don't think a batter should have to use a golf swing to hit a baseball.

MTD, Sr.

Let's not have a big arguement over an inch!

I have tried several times to post a JPG I scanned from Ted Williams book in hitting where he shows what his batting average would be based on the spots. Can't seem to get it done.

But the low strike was Ted's lowest batting average, and therefore pitcher should be rewarded for throwing it there. Ted would bat .400 on pitches over the middle as much as 3-4 baseballs above the belt and in the 300's on pitches above his hands. Obviously, Ted liked the high pitch better than the low.

There is a lesson there. If the pitcher throws a low strike call it, he deserves it. Batters will adjust. If he throws a high strike that don't get hammered call it, because the batter should be able to hammer it.

I have been told I call them low, but everybody knows it too, so I don't get any complaints.

Although I've been told by fellow umpires that I have a higher strike zone (I'll call the pitch at the belt a strike....a lot of guys won't), I still try to get pitches at the hollow of the knee for strikes. If you're consistent with it, no one will say a word.

Well, all I have to tell the likes of you is if you act like an a$$hole, you will loose your chance to play! What do you think, you can address an umpire like hs is a piece of $hit and get away with it? Not on your life, pantywaist. So if you have a problem with what we do, put on the gear and let's see how you are! Personally, I've been listening to want-to-be's like you who think they are friggen stars for 30 years. Guys like you are all the same. Blame the umpire when you act like a $hithead and get ejected. Go cry on someone else's shoulder, jerk!

Sympathy is a word located in the dictionary between the words $hit & syphilis!

How many times have I told you not to pull any punches? C'mon Ozzy, tell him how you really feel!!!

And as I said before, if it means losing your edge ...

Coaching is easier than umpiring. As far as the mental game is concerned, not the physical execution, but the thought involved in playing, it is also easier than umpiring.

Just as spectators--mostly female--proclaim that baseball is boring, players and coaches tend to proclaim that umpiring is easy. They each make such observations due to a dearth of knowledge of the subject.

Rules aren't made to be broken they're made to be read. If it's your job to follow them you should read them at least once; if it's your job to enforce them, you should read them many times. ... I was told that by a long-retired N.L. umpire from the 70s and 80s, and it's a compelling thought.

I am astonished at how few players and coaches read the rules even once.

And in any given baseball game, there are about 30 objections to decisions?? Really? Any given game?

I tossed a guy today in 25-U Saturday wood bat. And I dedicated it to Ozzy.

I call a pitch a strike in the ninth inning and the catcher pops up and guns a runner at second. I announce the count, and the batter stops, turns and says, "That was a strike?! WHAT THE FU@K ELSE?"

I thought, what would Ozzy do? And I ran him. Feel better soon, Ozzy.

Very true words. I would add that umpiring the plate is twice as physically draining as playing catcher, as the catcher at least gets to sit on the bench and relax when not catching, batting, or running bases.

People crack me up who think umpiring is easy when they've never once done it! Those who have strapped on the gear know that it is far from it.

All umpires should live by this creed.:D

New bumper sticker:

w.w.o.d.?

http://www.knuckletattoos.com/pics/OZZY.jpg

I think a dove might be involved...

This reminds me. I was doing a college summer league game a couple of weeks ago. Most of the teams are made up of NAIA and D2 teams, but there is one that is older guys that are past college with a few recent high school grads. Well we usually don't hear a peep from the college kids.

The other team is a different story. I rang one guy up on a curve ball on the inside corner that was a strike. He doesn't really do anything. The next batter comes up and the pitcher throws the same pitch, which I call a strike as well. He turns and says "That was not a strike...and it wasn't on the last guy either". The thought of dumping him didn't really cross my mind until later, so I just told him to shut his mouth and get back in the box. He didn't say anything else.

Should I have ran him for that comment? During any high school game, spring or summer, I'm thinking I probably would have. I talked to some other guys and they suggested to look at my indicator and say "Actually, according to this it was a strike!".

Take your pick:

"I'll bet the scorebook has it as a strike."

"Take two more just like it and see what happens next."

"It's a strike all day, you two just can't hit it."

"Shut up and swing the bat."

I would not have ejected him. His comment was not personal, profane, or prolonged. He wasn't really showing you up. And he's entitled to his opinion of the pitch.

I would also resist the urge to be a smartazz in this situation. Doing so would only escalate the situation to the point where you will have to eject someone.

I keep it simple and emphasize the fairness of the call: "All day, both ways. Let's go." Or something along those lines. Gives them nothing to say in response, unless they're going to argue about my consistency. THEN I'd tell them that's enough (I never use "shut up") and to play.

"All day both ways; let's go."

Geez, I feel like this is me speaking.

Very Good

I think this is the best!
I'm going to remember that one! :eek:

Adult Leagues only.

HS and Youth Summer Ball