Taunting or Good Clean Fun

[Dukat]

On a few of the other threads I have seen places where some of you feel it is wrong to make funny statements after being questioned such as the post where it is stated the Umpire said "yes you can tell it was a strike because I said strike" or things similar. Someone else said that is taunting and should only say Yes it was or something similar. I have many catchers who like to "talk" to the batters during pitches with "That’s a strike you better swing" or similar and many times after I call strike I'll say something like "Yep it was" or "Ill agree with you on that one" While other times I say "Nope I believe you had that one wrong" after a ball call. I’ve never thought of it as taunting like I didn't believe the first statement was. Do you feel making any funny remarks like this as being taunting or just having fun?

[kellerumps]

All depends on the situation and level of ball.

[Dakota]

Originally posted by Dukat
I have many catchers who like to "talk" to the batters during pitches

I would not allow a catcher to directly address a batter, or say much of anything at all during the pitch.

WRT umpires chatting with the players, as kellerumps said... depends.

[Dukat]

Many of these instances I was talking about was in Adult slow pitch.

[Ed Maeder]

Recreational ball is just that, but one persons fun is not always taken that way by the person receiving it. I feel it is better to be professional in every instance and try to keep my comments that way. As for players I feel I must draw the line because it can lead to trouble if it escalates.

[Shmuelg]

I kind of mumble to the catcher after I call a ball. Say, if the pitch was an inch too inside, I'd say to the catcher, "have him bring that pitch in just a bit, and I'm calling it a strike". Or "Oh, that was neck high, I can't call that a strike . . . " Or the opposite to the batter, he might look at me like I blew a call, and I'd mumble, "that was right over the edge of the plate, beautiful pitch" or something like that. I know I should be quiet, but it's a habit. Also, I pitch (fastpitch), and really empathize with the pitchers - it's a really hard job (pitching).

[TexBlue]

I don't mind the catchers talking to the batters down here. They just can't yell or scream while the ball is in the air or the pitcher is in her motion. Down here, the bigger girls know a lot of the players on the other teams. I would a whole lot rather them say "Hey, Rach, how'ya doing?' than something a lot worse later on.

Now, I'm not above making a joke or crack if something happens, like the batter tripping on her way to the plate. I might say something like" Don't worry, no one saw that." This is only if the game is an easygoing, congenial thing. Now, I always talk to the catcher and toss the ball to the pitcher at the start of each inning. it's too hot not to watch the pitchers and catchers carefully. I always tell the coaches at the plate meeting to be careful of the heat and if they see me talking to the catcher, I'm just trying to get to know her attitude, actions and speech patterns. If any of these change, in my opinion, I'm calling time and cleaning the plate. I'll ask the catcher if she's OK. I don't care what she says, I want to see how she says it. If she's been hyper and talkative and all of a sudden gets quiet or lethargic, I'm calling a coach out there. Anything that I see differently during the game about the pitcher or catcher, I'm calling time and getting a coach out there.

I was calling a game in the PONY Nationals 2 years ago. The reading on the dirt in the infield where the pitcher stood was 122. In the 5th inning, the catcher walked to the backstop and got the ball. Now, she'd been hustling all game long. I'm looking at her pretty closely when the pitcher asks her if she's OK. The catcher said the ball hit her and it hurt. Now, that ball was 3 feet wide of the plate and never touched her. This was the 3rd batter of the inning. I noticed the girl was barely sweating at all. I called the coach out and told him about it. He said she was OK, she was just upset because she threw up twice in the dugout. ?????? I turned around and called for the EMS immediately and got the rest of the girls off the field. The catcher couldn't walk to the dugout, she had to be carried by me and an assistant coach in the "chair" position. We got her in there and the paramedics showed up to take care of her. I pretty much lost my professionalism when I saw the girl was being attended to. I called my partner over to me and called the coach over, out of earshot of everyone. I ripped him apart for letting a girl play in this heat, after seeing her exhibit symptoms of heat exhaustion. He told me she was his only catcher and he had to play her. It was no big deal, she was tough. I looked at the girl who was unconcious and being administered to by the EMS. I asked him for his substitution for the catcher. He told me if there was anything he could do about it, she was staying in the game. I ejected him. Then called the asst coach and asked for a sub. The catcher spent 4 days in the hospital with heat stroke. Not exhaustion, stroke.

But, this is the only reason I talk all the time to the catcher. I just talk to her and toss the ball to the pitcher. I always watch the pitcher warming up and pay close attention to them while pitching. If anything changes, I'm talking to them and a coach quick. No reason to take chances with a player in this heat.

[Edited by TexBlue on Jun 13th, 2004 at 05:01 PM]

[whiskers_ump]

Good move, Rick.

What with the heat and humidity here in Texas, it is a good
policy. I always take a "clean the plate" time when my catcher
has just taken a shot, or even long run and spill after chasing
a foul.

Remembering all the time that this is my protector. A
liitle extra on my part, hurts nothing. I will even pickup her
mask on ocassions and hand it to her.

[Shmuelg]

Wow. That's intense.

Here in Israel, we have some pretty intense heat as well, but most (not all) of our games are played in the evening, under the lights. Costs a bit more, but it's a lot nicer to play, I can tell you that.

[TexBlue]

Originally posted by Shmuelg
Wow. That's intense.

Here in Israel, we have some pretty intense heat as well, but most (not all) of our games are played in the evening, under the lights. Costs a bit more, but it's a lot nicer to play, I can tell you that.

You gotta remember, that wasn't in the air, or in the shade, it was sitting right on the ground, where the catcher sits. Now, figure about another 10 degrees for the gear she's wearing. Show this number to a coach and they'll start taking care of their players most of the time. They think it's only 107 degrees, like the players in the outfield. They obviously never played catcher or called a game behind the plate.

[LMan]

I was the one who said, "yes, since I said 'strike'"

I didnt intend to taunt, but the kid's question seemed humorous especially since I had just barked "STRIKE" in his ear not 1 second before. It just slipped out

[Dakota]

Originally posted by TexBlue
I was calling a game in the PONY Nationals 2 years ago. The reading on the dirt in the infield where the pitcher stood was 122. ...I called the coach out and told him about it. He said she was OK, she was just upset because she threw up twice in the dugout. ?????? I turned around and called for the EMS immediately and got the rest of the girls off the field. The catcher couldn't walk to the dugout, she had to be carried by me and an assistant coach in the "chair" position. We got her in there and the paramedics showed up to take care of her. I pretty much lost my professionalism when I saw the girl was being attended to. I called my partner over to me and called the coach over, out of earshot of everyone. I ripped him apart for letting a girl play in this heat, after seeing her exhibit symptoms of heat exhaustion. He told me she was his only catcher and he had to play her. It was no big deal, she was tough. I looked at the girl who was unconcious and being administered to by the EMS. I asked him for his substitution for the catcher. He told me if there was anything he could do about it, she was staying in the game. I ejected him. Then called the asst coach and asked for a sub. The catcher spent 4 days in the hospital with heat stroke. Not exhaustion, stroke....

What age level was this? This guy has no business coaching - youth or adults. A heat stroke means organs have begun shutting down, doesn't it? The signs were all there (throwing up, etc.) Very dangerous. Since this was a national, I can only hope this guy was from the snow belt and was just ignorant. Although it strikes even here in MN - the Vikings lost a player in training camp - held in MN - to heat stroke a couple of years ago. The other option is he is willing to sacrifice his players' health, even life, for a win.

[Shmuelg]

Tex -

Isn't there any way you guys can play in the evening? I remember when I visited my folks in Los Angeles two years ago in August, I went to a local park, where there were a couple of slow-pitch league games going on in the evening, under the lights. It was a municipal park, and the field was so big that it had 4 diamonds, yet only two games were going on. They could easily have had another two games going on, using the lights that were on anyway.

Wow.

[FUBLUE]

As a side note to the thread, has anyone noticed more kids with diabetes playing the game? I have seen two pitchers and several other players (including one of the best catchers in this state) with diabetes this year alone. Coaches have been very open stating that "#42 has diabetes just so you know" or "pitcher has (this or that) condition."

Had a game where this catcher started to miss balls. She never misses balls. Knowing she is diabetic, I asked if she was okay. She said yes, but didn't seem like she did. I called time and coach came out, he talked to her and put in replacement catcher. Turns out it was related to her condition. Coach ended up losing the game, but was more concerned with his player than the loss.

[TexBlue]

Originally posted by Dakota
What age level was this? This guy has no business coaching - youth or adults. A heat stroke means organs have begun shutting down, doesn't it? The signs were all there (throwing up, etc.) Very dangerous. Since this was a national, I can only hope this guy was from the snow belt and was just ignorant. Although it strikes even here in MN - the Vikings lost a player in training camp - held in MN - to heat stroke a couple of years ago. The other option is he is willing to sacrifice his players' health, even life, for a win.

PONY age-14-U. The clown was from down around the King Ranch somewhere, Brush Country, I think. He shoulda known better. Even more importantly, he should have known to replace her if she is showing any signs of ill health. You don't screw around in this stuff. Heck even if that dummy (the coach) was suffering from a hangover, you don't play around with this heat. I don't care if it's a headache, allergies, asthma ( which can be brought on by extreme heat) or just a plain ole cold. Mother Nature is always gonna win if your body isn't in it's best condition. We had a coach from Illinois I had met 4-5 years ago when the big heat came through for a coupla weeks. The Nationals were up there and we (my partner and I, we were both from Texas) worked with the coaches on how to handle this stuff. We knew more about it than anybody else up there, since Illinois isn't known for extreme heat. They were playing on WHITE dirt, which just bounces the heat right back up at you. Anyway, he was here at this Nationals and he came over to me after one of the games and said they are still using the things we discussed with them a long time ago and never had had a problem with their players in heat situations. Kinda makes you feel good, sometimes, ya know?

And yeah, heat stroke is the bad stuff. It affects you a whole lot worse than exhaustion, and it can take years to recover, if you ever do, completely. Heat exhaustion, you can recover with 3-5 days. You don't have any resistance to heat for a long time, but you can function in almost normal conditions. Not heat stroke.

[Edited by TexBlue on Jun 14th, 2004 at 12:53 PM]