Would you ever send an idiot partner home in the middle of a game?
 

In the ways-for-a-batter-to-get-ejected thread, GA Umpire related a story in which a partner sat in the stands and quipped that since-it's-such-a-great-angle-maybe-I'll-just-sit-here-and-umpire. It's the kind of stunt that an idiot partner can sink a crew with.

Which begs for a question: If someone went that far over the line as a partner, would you ever send the idiot home and make it a one-man game? (Or, much worse, walk off?)

I was on the brink of sending a partner home once, but I took a long pause and stared out into the outfield and declined to even say a word to or about the guy, and just survived the game, rather than making myself the center of an even greater spectacle. The guy was such an a$$hole and was so dishonorable and volatile and was causing such an outrage that I almost did it, but I just went on and refused to throw him under. I have actually regretted it.

I had an umpiring buddy send a partner home from a varsity game when he showed up to the home plate meeting slightly late and wearing tennis shoes and a Nike pullover windbreaker. Have any of you guys sent a partner home?

I would rather have walked off than to send him home. Leaving me to clean up the mess.

I have never sent one home or even thought about it. This was the only time I have ever wanted to leave the field in the middle of a game.

I haven't, but I did hope for a partner not to show up.

Last week I had a JV game with a partner who I had worked with before. He has very sloppy plate mechanics, played the role of color commentator behind the plate after runs scored, and kept a horrible pace of game because he'd be talking to spectators in between innings.

I arrive about 30 minutes before the game, waiting for him. He ALWAYS takes the plate, so I'm sitting for a bit waiting for him. 20 minutes to go, he's not there so I decide to start getting ready for the plate. 5 minutes before the game as I'm about to take the field to give the team an option to a.) Play with 1 umpire (although the state association says we shouldn't), b.) scrimmage, or c.) reschedule for another date, he comes driving up the road. Gets in the parking lot with no sense of time and how close we are to game time. He can't find a base hat, so he takes the field with no hat at all, pants that have cuffs on them, and black baseball cleats.

I was really hoping for a no-show as I could report it to my assignor. As it stands, I didn't send him anything. Mostly because I'm only in my 2nd year, and don't want to seem out of place for complaining about a guy who has been umpiring much longer than me.

It's probably why he is working JV...it's probably not the first time he's pulled antics like that. If you do a good job...soon enough you'll be out of that loop and working with better partners who obviously care more than he does.

I just recently heard a story about how two teams once paid a notoriously bad umpire in my association extra to go home, and then they paid his partner extra to finish the game.

The guy was THAT bad.

What gives you the authority to kick another official off of the field?

I've lived through a couple of games where I wished someone had kicked an umpire out of the game :D

I had never faced it before. But, out of respect for the game, for the competitors, for the craft of umpiring, and out of my own sense of pride and integrity as a human being, I was on the brink of taking the authority.

9.02 (d) No umpire may be replaced during a game unless he is injured or becomes ill.

I would have to argue, in Kevin's case, that this guy was mentally incapacitated from birth!

I got a call from a fellow umpire years ago to help him do a double header just 2 blocks from my house. I arrived roughly 10 minutes after the phone call and the first game was under way already so I waited until the half inning was over and joined my friend. He told me that this was game 1 and we were going into the top of the 5th inning. I was a bit puzzled as I went to the "A" position and the game went without a hitch.

During the break between games, my partner informed me the he sent his assigned partner home because the man stenched of alcohol and was having a little trouble getting into position. The individual is no longer on our board and no, he was not a diabetic, either.

Ozzy,

As a Type II diabetic, I'm curious as to what alcohol and not getting into position has to do with diabetes. Can you 'splain?

Not ozzy, but I'm guessing, re the alcohol, that he's referring to the fact that a diabetic with uncontrolled sugar level can sometimes have breath which smells "like" alcohol. A possible explanation for the apparent condition of the sent-home "umpire" in ozzy's post which would make the "umpire" not a douche.

My sugar is well under control now, but when I was much heavier, it was pretty high, but I never noticed any sugar alcohol odor. It must not have been high enough to produce that.

I've heard of teams here that have said that "if _______ shows up to umpire we're not playing." (both teams) He has since retired. This guy once answered his cell phone at home plate with no good reason to do so.

I had a guy that wore his shin guards outside of his pants and his hat backwards. He was ready to go when I arrived. I told him that in this association, we wear our guards inside and hat forwards like real umpires are supposed to, and I wasn't going to work with him until he changed. He fixed the problem, and actually wasn't as bad as I thought he would be when I first saw him.

Yes, you're integrity as a human being would lowered if your partner wasn't up to your qualifications. How could you live with yourself knowing that there is a sports official in the world who really sucks?:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: You are really overstepping your powers, even Joe West agrees with me.

I have sent a partner home before, however it was in football instead of baseball.

Two years ago I was working a Friday afternoon MS game, that was supposed to be 3-man, and was supposed to start at 3:30 to give me plenty of time to get to my varsity game that night (5:45 pre-game start time). However the visiting team didn't arrive until 3:40 (bus problems within the district) so kickoff was not until 4:00, my lines guy is still not there, so I go over how to cover 2-man with the guy who I am working with.

The game goes on with no problems despite working 2-man because neither team can move the ball very far. With a minute to go in the 2nd qtr a kid goes down for a minute the coaches come out to tend to him and I see out of the corner of my eye our 3rd official walking over to the field, I go over to meat him at the edge of the track surrounding the field. He explains to me how he was late because of traffic, and I was going to let it go at that despite being an hour late for scheduled kickoff. Then he says he forgot his whistle, flag and beanbag. I ask him how he planned to officiate the game, he just gave me a blank stare, I then told him to get off the field and go home because he obviously couldn't officiate this game.

The kicker to me was the guy was just 15, I didn't have a problem with that. I did have a problem with the email I got (via our association president) about how I was completely out of line, it was not the officials fault he didn't have his equipment, it was his Mom's job to pack his officiating gear and that I should be required to pay the kids travel pay out of my own pocket.

I sent back a response along the lines of, if he is responsible enough to officiate football games then he is responsible enough to pack his own gear bag.

A little long winded but that is my story about kicking a partner out of a game.

Jasper

... That's great.

You don't really know what you're talking about, but that never seemed to stop you from disagreeing with someone before. My "qualifications" are simple: I am virtually all-inclusive, and before this particular individual came along, I was all-inclusive. It has nothing to do with his umpiring competence or lack of experience; I've carried lots of guys, because, like you or anyone, when we were starting out, some guys had to carry us. It had to do with grievous misconduct and possible drug intoxication, and borderline physical violence against a coach.

"Your qualifications." ... What a crock.

Many moons ago when I first started working ball I was excited to get assigned an all-star tourney. I was 16 years old and this was my first shot at 'the big time'. During the pre-game my partner said to the coaches "If you have a problem with anything the 'Kid' calls just come to me and I will get it right."

I replied, "There will be no problems with the 'kid's' calls, because you are working this game by yourself, and walked off the field.

I got in my car, (paid for with umpiring money) and went to the nearest pay phone(This was before cell phones) When I got the assigner on the phone he told me to go back to the park and wait for him. When the assigner arrived he took my partner aside, after the first game, read him the riot act, very professionally, and then sent him home.

The assigner and I worked the second game of the night together, without incident, and I continued to work the rest of the tournament; filling in for an umpire who had become 'unavailable'.

Wow!

That's a great story.

Not sugar alcohols, which are used as artificial sweeteners and are generally odorless.

You probably never suffered from ketoacidosis, which afflicts a percentage of diabetics and is life threatening. Basically, the diabetic's messed up chemistry can produce toxic acetone, which the body tries to excrete through the lungs (which is faster than other routes--clever old body!). The acetone and its cousin methanol can leave the diabetic smelling of alcohol.

Oz, you're a rare bird.

As cbflouds & mbyron stated, diabetics that are in serious trouble sometimes can be mistaken for being drunk. By the way, if you were in this state (diabetic), you would never smell it as your nose has become used to the aroma long before others smell it. Whe I worked with Rescue years ago, we had to be aware of this when responding to car accidents, especially. Just because the guy reeks, doesn't mean he's been tipping the bottle!

I am Type II also and under control (not mentally, though :D).

I had a young partner last year who was checking text messages and either checking his voicemail or making a phone call between innings.

They're addicted to texting. We're going to have a whole generation who are going to have carpal tunnel and curved necks.

I'm addicted to apples, but I never peeled one and ate it on the field before. Where's the discipline in some of these clowns?

And, where is the training, discipline and oversight in the whole process? Even in the big units, they're thrown to the wolves and left essentially unsupervised. It's up to us partners to educate them. I'm in a couple of pretty good units, but when you go to a game from a couple of surrounding units, and the lack of training and supervision is astonishing.

Kids today. The whole culture's going to hel in a handbasket. :rolleyes:

I probably should've clarified that I'm 23 (22 at the time last year), but am pretty sure I was older than him. Even if I wasn't, I still know enough to not even check my phone during games, unless I am checking time for time-limit games.

Would it be appropriate to...
 

carry a cell phone onto the field if your wife may go into labor? Just kidding, because I assume everyone would count this as an exception.

ABSOLUTELY!

Was it a boy or a girl?

Yep, and I did.

One reason I officiate is to get a two hour break from my damn cell phone.

Wife had the baby before basebasll season 08 so I didn't work baseball that season.

You cannot eject your parnter. There is no rule allowing it. The point of an umpiring crew is to act as collective unit. Now if you actually thought you could send your crew member home, the best way to do so would be to humiliate your partner into not wanting to stay at the game. How would you do this? Tell the coaches how weak he is, and diss your partner out loud so that everyone can hear you. Then pray that they choose to side with you rather than being angry at your lack of integrity. If all works out, your partner will be so humiliated that he will leave. But the chances of pulling this off are slim to none. Know your audience. If the teams are morally upstanding, they won't appreciate a partner who throws another one under the bus. If it backfires, you will be leaving the diamond. Be careful is my only warning.

U r so rite!

ttyl

For my 6000th post, I just want to say:

This ties for the dumbest thing ever posted on this board. It did not fail to meet expectations, though.

Congrats on No. 6000. Just wish it could have been under better circumstances.

And you are correct.

Steve,

Glad to read that you helped this guy out instead of letting the guy make an a$$ out of himself and talking about here. I owe a debt of gratitude to all those who helped me out along the way (although I never wore my shin guards outside and turned my hat backwards). Way to go on the weight loss.

Regards,
Matt

Congratulations on 6,000. I was going to say something similar about the post, but every time I say anything remotely negative about this individual, it gets deleted.:rolleyes:

If it does, well, I will get 6000 later. Much later. I'm leaving for the Netherlands to umpire a tournament this afternoon.

Be sure to pack your long underwear to keep your Nether regions warm!:p

Oh, and that one was 6,001, so it will be 6,000 either way!

I have to admit...I was Kevin's partner in that game ....and he almost sent me home. I insisted that I stand in The Official's Locker Room while working the bases. I always see those sign flippers on the street corners advertising and I thought I could do a little advertising of my own. I guess kevin got offended. Sorry.....

Care to say what you didn't like about it, rather than just making an attack?

Why? You don't listen to constructive criticism anyway.

Attack?

Mild criticism by an online poster of a trivial matter raised by another online poster is not an attack.

Attacks involve violence, or extreme aggression. How much has the language been toyed with that a comment about a post being dumb is labeled an attack? So the post was dumb. Big deal. You're probably both decent guys as I am, and Steve is. It's just that of the four of us, three of us thought the post was dumb. And I say that unaggressively and non-violently, so as not to have it simplistically labeled as an attack.

You know, Hickman, I was halfway okay with you waddling around out there in that contraption. And I was even okay with it when you fell on your a$$ those two times. And I was even okay with it when you were hanging out in there sipping "Gatorade" between innings with the shortstop's mom. But when you two disappeared in the Official's Locker Room and I had to work the bottom of the fifth inning alone, I'd had enough!

I thought it was pretty good, ranks right up there with a few others.

Given the direction this thread is taking, I need to add: In before the lock! :D

Kevin, I sent you a PM about something unrelated to this post. Just wanted to let you know in case you didn't see it already.