Game Management situation - Men's FP
 

If game, I'm on the plate.

Midway through the game, losing team, which was the undefeated team going into the championship game is at bat. In the previous half inning, the pitcher for the same team began expressing his displeasure with my strike zone because he wasn't getting borderline pitches called strikes. I was very happy with my zone...thought I established a good zone for Men's ball and stuck with it.

I ring up batter on a strike three that was mid thigh and over the inner half of the plate. He proceeds to tell me as he goes to the dugout that I am ****ing horrible, but it is not loud enough for the world to hear. I choose to ignore it.

Later in the game, same team, different batter at bat with a two strike count check swings at a pitch. I call a ball and the catcher asks me to go for help. Partner, who is on the line indicates a swing for strike three. This was a RH batter, so partner had a good look. Same player that made the "****ing horrible" comment is at the door of the dugout and says "You guys are dogshit and you have been all day". Again, not loud enough for the world to hear, but I heard it and was able to identify the player. I called time, went to the head coach and told him I didn't want to hear anything else from that player. Coach went to dugout and spoke with player..no other issues.

Comments on how that was handled?

Softball must be different, cause that player would've been ejected in a baseball game as soon as he got personal with the horrible comment.

This is why I don't do men's fastpitch. All my buddies who do it have told me I would not have the tolerance for the antics of the players. My answer is always they should not put up with any bull either. Just bc they are adults does not mean we should allow any more crap. In the OP, I would have dumped the guy but I understand that is not the temperament an assignor wants for men's league.

That's personal and profane. Stop sign + stern "knock it off", or just eject. In most men's games, if you ignore them, they decide you're either deaf or weak, and it opens the floodgates.

That's personal and profane, and since he's a repeat offender, now his chirping is prolonged. Eject and don't look back.

Men's FP players are the whiniest, grubbiest softball players I've ever had the pleasure of officiating. As Rich pointed out, if they were playing baseball, they'd get dumped early and learn their lesson. IMO we can't use our more typical JO/HS/NCAA game management techniques of escalation and warnings delivered through the coaches: in Men's we need to be more direct. Talk to the players, early and often....and eject the major *******s as soon as they make themselves known. (Edit: A$$ hole is censored on this site, but not dogshit? Hahaha!)

On another note, where did you have the privilege of working some men's ball? :D :D I'm jealous.

My $.02.

I have, at times, done what you did; and I have, at times, been more reactionary as others have suggested. It may vary based on a game situation, or just a "feel" I may have at the moment. I believe that most "hard and fast" rules about game management are too broad to be as effective as a good game manager that has a feel for the situation.

Now, that said, you probably knew there would be a second comment when you ignored the first. They will take as much liberty as you give them, and keep pushing the boundary until you make it clear where the line is. You drew the line; it stopped.

IMO, the only person that can decide if you took too much is you. If you are questioning yourself, you probably feel that you should have acted sooner. Perhaps addressing the first comment would have kept the second from happening. BUT, since the first was when HE struck out, it was more likely an emotional outburst, while the second comment was clearly more him pressing the boundary because you ignored the first. A direct conversation with the offender on the first was more likely to result in an ejection, and THAT one maybe use the head coach; on the second, and especially as a repeat offender, maybe should have addressed the player directly.

Yeah, you managed the game as you saw it necessary.

We all may have done something differently, but we are not you and we were not there.

I tend to agree with Terry that it was personal, but couldn't care less about what was said. I may have asked the HC if he had a relief warming up in the bullpen, but like the player, not in front of the world.

Steve and Mike make excellent points. Game management is highly personal and intensely situational.

My point of view is often different than others. I started umpiring very young, and I have had to scrape for every ounce of field presence and respect I could get. I started doing men's ball at age 16 and was WAY too passive and got run over more times than I ever should have, so my leash in adult games is mighty short. I should be more general sometimes. Now, I'm lucky enough to personally know Andy and I have immense respect for his game on the field...but had anyone else made the same post, I'd likely have replied the same way. I should probably edit my forum signature to say something like "The above comments reflect what I would do in a given situation and are in no way guaranteed to be the best choices for all umpires in all cases." :D