Umpires accosted off the field following Midwest Collegiate League Game

[UMP25]

Permit me to preface this post by stating that I am not here to bash the league or its commissioner or even my friend who is the assignor. I'm simply sharing an incident with y'all that occurred after a game I worked last night in Sycamore, IL. (a town that borders DeKalb, home of NIU). In 35 years of umpiring and 21 at the NCAA/college level, I have never experienced anything like what transpired last night.

Rather than rehash everything here, I've uploaded to dropbox the umpire report that I submitted late last night/early this morning. (It was too large to upload to the forum.)

Click here to view it.

Feel free to peruse it and opine here--not about the report; rather, your thoughts on the entire situation. Again, I'm not here to bash the league or its commissioner, or even demand that they do this or that. It's in their hands, and we umpires in the league are simply waiting to see what happens.

[MD Longhorn]

I would hope that if I were in the same situation, I would not respond with "You're going to put 15 runs on me" ... but fully admit that it would have been mighty difficult to not say a word given that much provocation.

Most games around here have off-duty personnel that likely would have gotten involved much earlier in this situation, which might have diffused it.

[UMP25]

Considering Mike asked it in the form of a rhetorical question, it was really a very minor thing, if that. After all, human instincts can sometimes cause us to say something we really shouldn't have said.

Because of the manner in which it happened, there really was no way anyone could have prevented this or even have foreseen it. Hasty's blow-up was totally unexpected and without provocation.

[JJ]

After the physical assault, I would have called the police and had him arrested (in Illinois physical contact with a sports official is illegal). Then I would have resigned immediately from the league.
Nobody needs that kind of abuse.

JJ

[Rich]

It amazes me how baseball people run the gamut -- from gentlemen to knuckle-draggers. You've encountered the latter. I would've called the police, too. Appears you had witnesses to the battery, as well.

[Toadman15241]

I agree with calling the police. I think you guys know the comment probably wasn't the wisest decision, but most people would have said a lot worse than that.

Other thoughts:

-I think that after the first bump your partner should have turned around. He left himself very vulnerable to serious injury by not doing so.
- Why did you allow "You're lazy" to go without some kind of warning/ejection? Especially if it is being yelled across the field. That is a personal attack that deserves an early shower from LL to MLB.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by Toadman15241

Why did you allow "You're lazy" to go without some kind of warning/ejection?

How idiotic would an umpire look trying to eject someone in the parking lot? Don't you think that's only going to incite the guy to get worse? This stuff going on in the parking lot, you just want to get out of there. Ejecting him in the parking lot is just going to make things worse.

[UMP25]

Originally Posted by JJ

After the physical assault, I would have called the police and had him arrested (in Illinois physical contact with a sports official is illegal). Then I would have resigned immediately from the league.
Nobody needs that kind of abuse.

JJ

In fairness to the league, John, my colleagues and I are waiting to see what the league is going to do. I'd rather my decision be based on reason, logic, and common sense and not emotion alone.

As far as the police report goes, tomorrow or Thursday I will head over to Sycamore and file the report. The more I think about this, the more I believe I just can't let this go. This guy really needs to be out of the game and off the field. I cannot cause that to happen, but if having him arrested gets him a little closer to the exit door, the game will be the better for it. Regardless, I wouldn't file a report for the good of the game or for my fellow umpires. I'd file it because he broke the law, and that is what's important here.

[SanDiegoSteve]

I would file charges for sure. This guy belongs nowhere near a baseball field.

Are you sure they're not the Will County Crackheads? They sound pretty much like they're smoking something!

[ozzy6900]

Originally Posted by UMP25

In fairness to the league, John, my colleagues and I are waiting to see what the league is going to do. I'd rather my decision be based on reason, logic, and common sense and not emotion alone.

As far as the police report goes, tomorrow or Thursday I will head over to Sycamore and file the report. The more I think about this, the more I believe I just can't let this go. This guy really needs to be out of the game and off the field. I cannot cause that to happen, but if having him arrested gets him a little closer to the exit door, the game will be the better for it. Regardless, I wouldn't file a report for the good of the game or for my fellow umpires. I'd file it because he broke the law, and that is what's important here.

Next time, don't wait a few days. Call the police right then and there. The longer you wait the better a lawyer can get this guy off. He'll point out that "you had to think about the issue and you were probably steered into filing a complaint against this upstanding citizen.".

Also, you are not acting emotionally by calling the police right away, you are acting as you should. The jerk broke the law! If he robbed you, would you wait a couple of days to think about it? Of course not!

[UMP25]

Saying that in the form of a rhetorical question is not unlike saying something along the lines of, "Hey, don't blame 15 runs and 6 errors in one inning on me, Vern."

Anyway, police report has been filed. The Sycamore officer has been nothing but helpful and totally empathetic. We'll see how this plays out.

[UMP25]

The league at first decided to suspend Hasty indefinitely because of the pending criminal investigation. However, his suspension was lifted after serving only a few games. He's back in the dugout.

No comment.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by UMP25

The league at first decided to suspend Hasty indefinitely because of the pending criminal investigation. However, his suspension was lifted after serving only a few games. He's back in the dugout.

No comment.

And what is the benefit of doing these leagues again? Remind me so I can avoid them even more than I do now.

Peace

[UMP25]

Meanwhile, the league says I can't work in it anymore at all because I'm ineligible to work at one of its venues.

[Toadman15241]

A lawsuit against the manager should seriously be considered. There are now actual damages. Throw in some punitives and it might be worth it.