LL Baseball Umpires . . .

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by teebob21

Irish - not sure if the first line in your comment was completely tongue-in-cheek...or not. If so...ignore the following. I didn't see the LL game mentioned above, and I don't work LLBB, but I understand the pervasive "sportsmanship first" and "all about the kids" ethos of LL, especially at their pinnacle event. They are 12-13 year old boys, after all. How smart were all of us at 13?

I must have been pretty smart since that was the year I realized I would be a better umpire than player There is no doubt I was right about that.

I don't know if you work a ton of 10U/12U/14U softball (and bless you if you do), but at that level in international showcase championship play, wouldn't you approach a coach if possible about a player grumbling too much about balls and strikes?

I would inform that coach they s/he may need a new (enter position) if the banter continues. I am not walking the player to the coach and spending 30-45 seconds explaining the unsportsmanlike conduct encountered.

I mean, we can always address it with the big hook later...

Not from me. I refuse to play into their (coach/player) game and will not put on a show. When I eject someone, the only way anyone other than the player, coach or scorekeeper know is if one of them announces it. I once tossed a player and my partner didn't realize if until 2 inning later.