Umpires accosted off the field following Midwest Collegiate League Game
 

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

You're Lazy!
 

Quoting from the write-up:

So the coach had yelled "You're lazy!" to the umpire during the game as well.

In all fairness, I wasn't 100% sure he was talking directly to ME for two reasons:

1. He didn't come that close to me and it was difficult to discern exactly what he was doing
2. The call was so clearly NOT mine that I honestly felt no one with any brain cells could be yelling at a base ump in the "A" position about a fly ball hit to direct left field

Because of this, I didn't pay much attention to his comment and therefore didn't eject him. I surely would have had I known with absolute certainty he was hurtling such invective toward me.

A couple updates
 

Mike sent me this Email after doing a little fun digging on Vern Hasty:

That was from a post from 2009.

Just an FYI--I'm not unaware of the legal situation this whole thing represents. I just got off the phone with a very friendly and helpful Sycamore police officer, who provided me with some good information. Time and space don't permit me to elaborate right now, but I can say that I still retain the right to file a complaint against Hasty. Truthfully, I would prefer to do it only if Mike joins me. I think it would look rather odd if only one of us pursues it. Either we both should or neither should.

I'll keep you updated.

(Composed my original reply while the OP was posting #10. The only ODD part of one of you pursuing the issue is how odd your "partner" will look. If neither of you make a report, you are doing all officials and participants a disservice - no battery should go unreported.)

Even after the fact, call the local authorities. Please!

Even if there is no action taken by the authorities, the event is recorded for future reference. Even if you do/did not want to take any action, think about the next person who the miscreant may act out upon. Maybe just having a face to face with a uniformed officer will be the cure. Maybe the miscreant already has had some police contact...

---
Based on experience, I always program my cell to call the local police dispatch as a speed dial. I prefer the local dispatch as they will usually be "very" quick to respond to something at a sporting event... 911 or similar can work, but can take longer to get to a person who can help you (some 911 calls are answered by a call center, then routed to a local office).

If you are going somewhere new and are not sure whom to call in an emergency, use a search engine to find the dispatch center number, call, and ask their advice on how to contact them if the need arises (the most direct line to call).

The authorities would much rather you call when there "may" be an issue, than to arrive with an ambulance.

I don't think I'd pursue anything with the police unless my partner wishes to do so as well. It wouldn't make sense for me to file a complaint alone.

No one has the right to lay hands on you unless they are patting you on the back for a job well done, shaking your hand, or hugging you (we'll leave that one alone). If you were physically assaulted (even a push), you should be reporting this to the police. Too many people think that they can "take the game" into the parking lot and feel that they have a "right" to verbally or physically assault officials. What will the next guy bring to the lot with him, a .38cal? You have to stop these morons in their tracks...... it's up to you!

I am with Ozzy on this one. It is imperative that you file a police report ASAP, you were assaulted. You owe it to your fellow brothers in blue who might have the next run in with this putz. This guy needs a wake up call that this type of idiotic behavior isn't condoned by our fraternity.

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.