Umpiring Politics
 

Well fellas, I just found out that I have been pulled from the championship game of a local upcoming, important tournament because I had to enforce the rules of baseball the way they're supposed to be enforced. Due to local politics, the team that might get to the championship might make the tournament and they didn't want to ruffle any feathers by having me work the game. My question to you is that have you ever felt that you did the right thing when umpiring and then either not receive or get pulled from a future big game due to ejecting participants/coaches rather than simply taking the BS from participants? As I look back on it, had I not ejected and simply took the BS, I'd still be working the game.

What are your stories?

...but could you have looked at yourself in the mirror the next morning knowing you took the BS????
I know you're bummed out, and ump politics do suck....but you had the balls to be a stand-up ump and run the rat *******.
You're my kind of umpire.
Keep your head high....all you lost was an assignment but you kept your integrity.

What he said ...

I used to get worked up about such nonsense. but no longer. Life's too short to get twisted up about something so trivial as youth baseball. Go work another game somewhere else, and let it go.

Several years ago I was working a 13-14 league and on two separate occasions I made a 15 year old "coach" (HC other son) wear a mask to warmup a pitcher a) behind the plate, and b) in the bullpen. On both occasions the HC and other adult assts threw a fit, said he was a coach, they had approval from the league, he is on the roster, yadayadayada, and on both occassions I told them it was fine for him to be a coach but minors can't warmup pitchers without a mask. Finally I said "are you going to make him wear a mask or not?" The answer was going to determine whether HC stayed in the game or not. Finally, I had to make all the coaches on this team stay in the dugout because they were all standing outside the fence during play, including the 15 year old, who was outside the dugout taking practice swings with a bat. This was 3 different games, you would think they would learn.

Well the team complained, the league said they would make all umpires enforce these rules, but, they did not want me to umpire anymore. This was about a week before legion ball started, so no skin off my back. I did not lose any sleep about it and will do it again if needed.

The only ejection you regret is the one you did'nt make!

Let's see...I was in the same boat, but based on mutual agreement between the assignor, the TD, and I, I was assigned to every game of the problem coach.

When I was young and stupid and did softball as well, I tossed the same coach in the regional finals two years in a row.

So, who's got an issue with you?

I would need more of the story, because that does not sound like politics that sounds like someone was not happy with something you did (right or wrong). That being said, I do not get worked up about these things. I have learned you do the best you can and if someone does not like it, so what. You can only control the things you control.

Peace

What about the one you made but think you shouldn't have made?

What about unicorns?

What about them? If an ejection you fail to make does exist, then surely an ejection you shouldn't have made but made also happens from time to time.

I'll let you know when the first one of these has happened.

Perhaps on other days I would be slower to eject someone, but the one thing in common with ALL my ejections is if the coach hadn't come out of the dugout and acted like a jackass they wouldn't have happened.

Of course, I have a grad total of one ejection the entire season.

For me...
 

Ditto

Thank you, Epictetus.

Not so far, after 18 seasons. They actually all eject themselves. I have had many a time when I kicked myself all day for not giving a coach or player the early exit they were trying for.

Lol!!!

Ejection #1 - I was talking w/ head coach about what he thought was an "offer" on a bunt attempt. From the bench assistant coach yells "you're terrible"...after listening to the head coach who left his position in the dugout to argue balls and strikes after being warned by me to not go to the batter's box to act out the play, he goes to homeplate to act out the play, ejection #2. Then later in the game, a hitter was holding the bat out in front of the plate to attempt a bunt and the pitch was thrown behind him...the young catcher asked me if he offered, I said no...the batter heard the catcher tell me that "I was throwing the game," ejection #3. There were other incidents from F2 in the game which I was no longer going to tolerate the BS from a kid who clearly has no clue about the rule, shaves once every three weeks and wanted me to call a strike on a "bunt attempt" when the pitch was thrown behind the batter. Yes this was a political decision. Had I stood there and taken the $hit from this particular team, I'd still be working the championship.

No, Johhny - you wouldn't be "working" the championship. If you surrendered your professionalism and pride you'd simply be present there.

You worked that game, you did what needed to be done. YOU can sleep tonight.

That is preposterous. Never have I regretted an ejection I made. Every one was well deserved. I have regretted some that I should have ejected but didn't, but never one that I did make.

Boy, is this ever the truth as I see it.

I seldom eject, so when I do, it's always a no-doubter.

Whenever you give them enough rope to hang theirselfs, and (it certainly seems as though you did), and they still hang theirself, then there are no regrets.

Stick to your morals and professionalism and if your not backed up by your assignor, then he probably isn't worth working for.

See Ya.

It sounds like a lot of people regret not making an ejection, but do not have an ejection they regret making. This suggests that you have a long leash, so that you will not have an unnecessary ejection, but this comes at the cost of taking abuse from time to time.

Does anyone know the automatic word for an ejection?

What ever you decide it to be. ;)

Peace

Did you learn all this in psychology classes? Sounds like excrement and fecal material of a bovine nature to me.;)

I don't take abuse. Abuse will get you ejected. I will eject when necessary, and when called for. If ejection is not warranted, I don't eject.

I have never lost an argument on the ball field as an umpire. I always get my way, somehow.

Y-O-U. You.

DING DING DING!!!! We have a winner!

I took a chance ejecting a batter in a Men's 25-U Nationals game while my assignor was on the bases. I would have warned the guy for popping off about a strike call, but he dropped an F-bomb and did it loudly. So I ran him, and my assignor backed me 100 percent on the field and afterward at report time.

But I never gave his being there a second thought when I ran the guy. He knows I have a long leash because I have a short list of ejections, and they all involve loud unsportsmanlike behavior or malicious contact. This might have been one of my softer ones. Especially with the older guys.

But a catcher says something like what he said about you, Johnny ?!? ... He goes as fast as my mask can come off. Any of that personal bias crap from a teenage jerk-off is absolutely intolerable.

Absolutely agree. I've never had buyer's remorse after dumping a coach or player. I don't look for trouble and when it does appear I make it go away.

Actually, it's at least 2 words. "YOU" followed by an adjective. YOU never know when s coach will come by and say that YOU guys are very consistent. Keep up the good work.

However, back to the politics side that this started under, I have an example for the OP. I was working 11-12 state trny this weekend. As soon as a league from my district qualified for the trny, I called the assignor to make him aware. IN an attempt to help avoid some possible "politics" at the last minute, I wanted him to be aware. Well, his decision was simple. His first response was "so?". THen he went on to ask me if I had any issues with integrity. When I told him that I did not, he said "refer to answer #1". Some leagues (states) are clearly different when it comes to the same game.

Kind of assignor you like to work for.
That's just the way it should be...if he deseves it not a second thought regarding "politics".
Nice job.

Just a general comment about umpiring politics. I'm privileged to have friends who are umpires in several parts of the country, from the west coast to south to southeast and northeast. I even know some colleagues who used to live here in the Chicago metro area but have since moved to other parts of the country.

Every single one of them has said the same thing: there is no greater area of the country where umpiring is more political and backstabbing and cutthroat than in the Chicago metro area. It's not something of which I'm boasting, of course; rather, I'm just sharing the comments from some dozen or so guys who are successful NCAA Umpires, many at the D1 level, who all have commented on how ridiculous umpiring in the Chicago metro area is.

Take this for what it's worth. I'm simply sharing what many of my peers have said.

So does "simply sharing" imply that you do not endorse their view? Why so coy?

Well, let's put it this way--I've been doing this for 32 years, since the early 1990s at the NCAA level. I've witnessed a lot of things on and off the field. Because I have not umpired consistently in other parts of the country, I personally can't compare this area's umpiring politics to other areas. The persons to whom I have alluded seem to have had experience in this area as well as others. Those who have not know major assignors or other persons in this area and have heard many accounts of what goes on in this area.

I assign games myself and work for 5 other assignors as well during the course of the year. Most of us NCAA guys do the same, so we have experiences with multiple assignors. I often am party to many umpires who have shared with me their frustration over things their assignors have done. Some umpires probably shouldn't complain, as they tend to think they're much better than they really are, but others have, in my opinion, legitimate beefs. I hear a lot of what goes on and just shake my head. For one thing, I'm amazed by how many officials here think of umpiring as a zero sum game; that is, if John Doe is getting a plumb assignment, then it must be at the expense of James Smith. In addition, too many guys here don't compliment those who succeed. Instead, they find it better to talk not about how good a certain umpire is but how bad he is or how he has this or that problem; and they often say this to assignors to get that guy to look bad in an assignor's eyes. Too many are way too worried about others rather than themselves.

I'm not naive to think that politics doesn't play a role in a lot of things in life, and I'm sure there's some of it in a lot of areas of the country involving umpiring, but around here, it seems rampant. There's a lot more than just these menial examples I've given, but time and space don't permit me to elaborate.

I am from one of the other of the three biggest metro areas. We have a handful of high school units to cover it all. I am in both major H.S. units. Of course, it's not NCAA, so the politics are small potatoes in comparison, but it's interesting to note one thing: One H.S. unit gives out plum assignments based on personal familiarity and number of years in the unit; the other unit (with the assignor KJ highlighted at the top of this page) gives them out based solely on merit. Same with playoffs. You show up, you look sharp, you perform, you get evaluated, you get rated, you get the plum assignments.

It's the way it should be.

One would think so, and I agree with your contention.

BTW, I probably should note that I am not claiming to be a victim of politics. Consequently, I don't feel victimized like many of those umpires who have voiced their complaints with me. I've been the victim of a vicious personal smear campaign, but that's a whole different story. :D

Your first statement about personal familiarity and longevity within a particular organization seems to fit very well a certain group here.

Generally speaking it's politics when you don't get what you want and you don't think it's political when you get what you want but others think it's politics. Life isn't fair it is what it is and deal with it the best you can

Speak for yourself; I disagree.

In the course of my life, virtually all of the standing up and speaking out that I have done is with respect to how things are for others or for everyone and not just for myself. Specifically, I'm not a veteran, but I speak out often on behalf of veterans and complain often and openly about their shoddy treatment. It has nothing at all to do with me. I also help many individual veterans on a regular basis and have for many years.

In umpiring, I take what I get, irrespective of what is deserved, and I make my analyses and judgments and illustrations for other purposes than complaining about my own plight.

The point is that it is easy to claim politics when things are not going your way. And usually and unfortunately is an often overused claim.

That being said, I disagree with the claim that Chicago has the most politics. Or if it does have the most politics (from a baseball standpoint), the level is very lame. Baseball for example does not even come close to the amount of politics if you say only a certain few get games. If anything baseball is not a sport that lends too much politics as other sports because there are not as many umpires compared to other sports. In other words there are many games that need a body, and trying to figure out who is going to get them goes out the window when the game is 1:00 in the afternoon and a make up game from the previous day. Now maybe who gets the games first is a big deal, but I do not see that anyone outside of that as being that important. I can tell you it is much easier to get a lower level college game here than it ever is in the other major sports.

Peace

Other sports are irrelevant, Jeff. The discussion here concerns only baseball. With all due respect, I've been at this a lot longer than you have and have been assigning longer than anyone in the Chicago metro area. I have had the privilege of befriending colleagues throughout this area and in many other parts of the country. What I can tell you is that there is more backstabbing, stepping on others' toes, lying, one upsmanship, and game-playing that goes on in this area than in any other area of the country based on what I am told by not just guys here, but also by many guys who work in other areas of the country.

It's rather surprising considering there is far less higher level ball here than in the southeast, south, or west coast. However, perhaps this is THE reason for all the political crap that goes on here--there are so fewer D1 and other such games available here than in other areas that many guys here feel as if they should sell their own mothers to get ahead of someone in the pecking order. That and more is quite prevalent here.

Other sports are relevant if you said that baseball umpiring here has the worst politics. If is it the worst in baseball than any other part of the country and what I know of baseball, how hard could it be? Seriously, if this is what you call bad, I call barely a pimple on the back of my leg.

If there is all this drama as you suggest (which I honestly do not see that much), then who the hell is getting hurt? I see a lot of umpires working games without having to prove ability or get to certain levels without having to attend any special camp or pay money out of their pocket. Sorry, but when you say it is bad and I have never had to bend over backwards to get an entire baseball schedule, with all due respect than it shows me that many baseball umpires are soft.

And if you are only talking about the D1 level I can somewhat go there with you. But I worked D1 games and it was without a lot of effort as compared to trying to get a D3 game in two other sports.

Look my point is that backstabbing and many cliques and undermining happens in a lot of walks of life. I am just saying that what goes on in baseball is minor compared to those other sports and areas of life here because there are fewer people involved and not the same amount of people available. You have umpires that cannot work a lot of levels because they have a job that does not allow them to, which severely limits the overall pool. So yes someone can talk behind your back, but if you have a desire and you work hard, there are a lot of places you cannot go. I have seen guys that if there were more competition would never get a college game, but they work an entire schedule. That does not happen in other aspects of officiating because if you do not work out, they can find several hundred to take your place. I would not say baseball here is in that predicament.

Now this is just my opinion and it does not mean it is right. But I laugh when people try to make baseball umpiring around here as if no one can function without someone pulling them down. Just sit in one of my basketball association meetings and see all the posturing that goes on just over an opinion about a travel call. Most baseball associations do not even have regular meetings and if I choose to I never have to join any association and work several games. Sorry, it cannot be that bad if this is the case.

Peace

When compared to baseball umpiring in other areas. I don't work other sports and don't have as many contacts in other sports, so I'm not commenting on those. I'm comparing apples to apples.

Often a clear illustration of politics at work--when someone who shouldn't be working a certain level is because he's part of the good ole boy network. I see a lot of that in other organizations, and I hear complaints from guys in the many organizations to which I belong. I personally am not affected; I'm just stating what I have seen with my own eyes and from what I've heard from others.

It's not just the D1 level. Case in point: I heard strong grumbling coming from several respected umpires about a certain individual who this year worked a D3 Regional and this year's D3 World Series in Appleton. This umpire is not overly good (I've worked with him several times over the years), but that's not the main issue; rather, he has a criminal record, having been arrested (IIRC for assault or battery) not too long ago for an on-field altercation with his partner at the end of a D3 college game. This was even a story in Referee Magazine when it happened.

The common rhetorical question I was asked by guys who were grumbling about this: "How the heck did a guy like that get those assignments?" Let's just say not based on his overall umpiring abilities. I had no dog in that show; it was no skin off my back that the guy was working it. I'm just providing this as an example.

That's the problem--too many guys here think of baseball umpiring around here as a zero sum game and as a situation where they have to pull someone else down in order to bring themselves up. I'm addressing only baseball here and am not concerned about other sports; those aren't germane to this specific thread.

That's OK -- a few years ago someone worked in Appleton who had previously lost his HS license for inappropriate behavior with young girls/women -- he also lost a teaching job over it and continued to work HS sports until the NEXT incident. Then he worked the D3 WS.

He was subsequently arrested for felony stalking of a minor female and spent time in jail, was paroled, and re-incarcerated for (I guess) violating his parole.

Frankly, I didn't think he was much of an umpire, either.

A role model for umpires, isn't he, Rich? :rolleyes:

And then he was promoted to doing D1 ball, right?

Ump 25,

Remember you brought this up, I do not recall anyone making this claim or not making the claim about Chicago area specifically, I am just commenting on your statements.

And yes other sports matter when many of the baseball umpires I work with, also work other sports. And the college baseball umpires I work with, also work other college sports. So I am often dealing with the same people. And if there is backstabbing as you suggested, it does not seem to hurt anyone. And I can tell you the multi-sport officials are not phased that much either based on the conversations I have with them. And often I have work with people that have much less experience than I and often are breaking into the level we are working. And they certainly have not passed me in my assignments. I am not seeing the issues you raise. Which also makes me think attitude that you bring to the table plays a role on some level. Because I would not know what a big time assignment is other than post season games. And even in those cases when I have gotten a so-called big time assignment, there are people that have no idea I worked the game or was assigned.

Again, I am sure this is more about perspective than whether there really is this politics you claim are so bad. That does not mean what you and others does not see is real, but I would bet most umpires that work football or basketball will scoff at claim of how bad it is, when they really have seen some issues in those other sports. Then again I do not buy into the whole politics issues anyway for a lot of reasons I have stated over the years.

Peace