I have seen this situation occur twice now over the last couple of years and was wondering if anyone had any opinions on the proper way to handle it. I have seen this is a NCAA Division 3 game and in a 15-16 year old baseball game. In both instances, a player in the dugout makes a statement using inappropriate language directed towards the field (forgot what was said in the softball game, but in the baseball game, player uses BS). In the softball game, umpire picks who he thought said it and ejects them from the game and actually ejects the wrong player. In the baseball game, umpire doesn't know who said it, starts to eject the coach, but changes his mind and tells coach someone on the team has to admit to it or he(coach) will be thrown out. Outcome - parent sitting beside dugout said the he said it so umpire removes him from the ballpark. I know this is probably one of those had to be there moments, but any feedback would be appreciated. I know inappropriate language should not be tolerated, especially when it is directed towards the umpires, and I was just wondering what would be the correct course of actions to take if you heard something inappropriate but wasn't sure who exactly said it. Thanks.

I have never done the following and probably will not, but my uncle has 30+ years umpiring experience and this is what he says he does...

"Coach, I'm not sure who said it, but I know it came from your dugout. The next time I hear anything like it, if I'm not sure who said it, I'm going to eject the player closest to me. You might want to make sure the proper player is on this end of the bench."

Fair? I don't think so. But he says it always works because the coach will reprimand the proper player or fan.

I have to admit, I have done a similar thing.
But I tend to pick out the big hitter or maybe a key player. Usually that player will give up whoever it is with the mouth.

Not always fair but it does send a message that the coach better get his dugout under control.

Some kind of warning such as these is what I was thinking should be done, but I wasn't for sure. Thanks for your opininons on the play. On a side note: in the college game that I described earlier where the wrong player was ejected, the guilty party was actually the catcher and fourth batter for the team and the one who was ejected was the courtesy runner.

JG,
In most college games, the catcher is almost effectively exempt from ejection - at least the first time around in the situation you described. Don't worry, the coach has made very sure that the catcher got the intended message. I haven't done this in softball, but have done so in a HS BB game. When you do this, you know who the pitcher is, toss somebody else wearing a jacket. As far as trusting a player to tell me who the offending party is - I've got a bridge in Brooklyn that I will sell very cheaply.....