Worst thing you've seen an umpire do

[rhsc]

Originally posted by mcrowder
Worst I've seen - supposed 20-year umpire. He's BU, I'm at the plate. Pop up to 2nd base with no one on. Fans all scream as F4 is trying to catch it, and he drops it. I hear "Interference! Batter's out!" I didn't see interference, but was not going to contradict him on the field. Between innings (this old boy had to visit with me between every half-inning) I ask him what happened. "Verbal Fan Interference."

OK, fine - new one on me, too late to fix.

2nd game, he's behind the plate. One out, R2. Catcher catches a 1-hopper for swinging strike 3 and fires to third to catch R2 stealing, I call him out. PU is yelling, "Batter's out! Batter's Out!" as batter makes it to 1st without a throw. Coach goes nuts, gets ejected. Assistant (a wiser man) approaches PU calmly and asks him to discuss the call with me. Much to my shock he does. Turns out he knows the ball bounced - but ruled batter out because catcher fielded the ball cleanly. I tell him he's wrong (no one else can hear us), and he yells at me, for all to hear, "You're a F$^#&ing idiot!" and returns to the plate. Poor assistant coach doesn't know to protest.

He never worked for us again either.

Youve posted that before, strike two. (the first post was strike one)

[Alameda]

Fly ball to LF down the 3rd base line.

PU jumps out from the plate and gets a great position to make a call. A catch is made in foul territory. PU put's his arms up and yells "Foul Ball!".

After a second or two, he looks at the 3rd baseman and says with a grin, "Did I just say foul? I meant Out!" and accordingly changes the call.
-------------------------------------------


I promise I won't do that again!!! *blush*

Gotta love rookies, hehe. Fortunately the NCUA is wise enough to put us Rooks in the lowest of the low city league CO-ED divisions to get these gafs out of the way!

[tzme415]

Alameda,

We all have those moments. 1 Man crew (I've never done anything else). Ball hit down the third base line, close to bag, runner stealing from second - I see runner and ball, ball goes just foul, I don't get my hands up high when giving 'Dead Ball' signal and suddenly can't say 'Foul Ball' - Everyone thinks I'm calling runner safe. - Finally get hands up and 'Foul Ball' out after about 15 seconds. That was bad.

[tzme415]

Almost every umpire has had that moment when they went to call one thing and said or signalled something else.

[imkcalls]

USSSA nationals, runner slides into 2nd pops up safe and I call him out, and I really sell the call. He goes crazy,I call time turn to my PU and tell him that I would like to apeal the call to myself and changed it. It was so bad that the coach from the other team did not even say a word

[Alameda]

Ok, I'm starting to feel better now... hehe.

[BuggBob]

I was telling a friend of mine about this thread when he reminded me of the worst thing we ever saw an umpire do. An event so terrible we all wanted to block it from our memory for ever.

We had this spoiled rich kid who would work some youth fast pitch games with us from time to time. He was a pain to deal with in every way imaginable. His attitude was so bad that many of our umpires refused to work with him. I am very fair and even tempered so I ended up with this kid on my field for this evenings games. He had no plate gear so I knew I would work the plate for both games (no heat problems here in the Pacific Northwest).

Our first game was miserable, a walk/stealing feast You know the type where ball four the batter walks and by ball three the runner scores. As the game went on his attention seamed to drift until he all but stopped paying any attention to the game at all. In fact he would make dirt volcanoes in the infield between plays. I tried to get him back on track by offering some advice on positioning and professionalism. But things only got worst.

Towards the end of the game he stopped making any calls on the field and is just playing with his volcanoes. He was missing so many call (simply not making any call) that I had to start making the calls. After a play I would look at him, get no response, and make the call. On one play after he made another no call, I ruled the girl safe. As I was turning around to return behind the plate I here this enrage "WHAT?" from the offensive coach. Wondering how a coach could be mad at a safe call I turned to see this kid nose to nose with the coach telling him the runner was out because of obstruction. Before I could get to the argument the kid tosses the coach for arguing his call. Since there was no obstruction (or interference) I talked to the kid and asked him what he saw and why he didn't make the call during the play. He offered a half hearted attempt to explain the rule to me, but I can see no reason for the runner to be out. We decided that my call was right and returned the runner to base. But he had ejected the coach, I offered that since there was no call there could be no arguing of the call, and that the coach should not be ejected, and again we went with my call. When the game ends we usually return to the umpire area to change, get a drink and talk about the last game. Instead this kid starts arguing with the coach and fans. I take him aside and tell him that I need him to calm down and start to pay attention to the game on the field. We go over our pre-game and he assures me he will be better for the second game.

Well our second game was special, the number one and two teams. I expected better pitching, fielding and hitting. I also expected my partner to act more professionally. I got all my expectations from the players and none from my partner. After a very badly blown call and argument (with cussing) I had to eject ... my partner from the game. Yes that is right I actually ejected my base umpire from the game. I had him escorted from the field by our UIC. Goodbye never ever come back here again. After the kid was gone both teams played one of the best games I ever had the privilege to umpire.

And that is the worst thing I have ever seen an umpire do.

[Alameda]

Was working a set of games last night with someone I hadn't worked with yet, and well, he was freakin me out. :/

One of the games we worked was a complete blow out. We've all seen them, no biggy. But this other umpire would constantly make remarks about the score and the performance of the team getting spanked. I have a problem with him saying these things to me alone, but to make it worse he was saying it loud enough for everyone around to hear, players, coaches, the 2 drunk homeless guys in the stands, etc (sorry that wasn't very PC lol).


Things like:
"What a blow out, they're killing 'em"
"Wow, what a boring game, this is pathetic"

I was shocked and it gave me shivers down my spine.

:/

[Edited by Alameda on Apr 15th, 2005 at 05:41 PM]

[Dakota]

Reminds me of a state tournament I did a few years ago.

In MN, there are state JO fastpitch tournaments for "A" level, "B" level, "C" level, "D" level, and rec. You can imagine.

Anyway, I agreed to call some games in the state 12U (or maybe it was 14U, I don't remember now) "D" tournament. Now I knew going in what this was: relatively unskilled players whose team had "made state."

The UIC was a young hot shot who thought the entire tournament was beneath him. (Doh! Why are you UICing this tournament, then?)

He griped about the pathetic play the entire 2 days of the tournament. He ridiculed the very notion that it could even be called a "state" tournament. He grumbled around the umpire tent. He grumbled at the consession stand. He assigned himself games, and grumbled on the way to his games, while on the field, and on the way back (I had the misfortune of being partnered with him for one game. Somehow I had absolutely nothing I needed to discuss with my partner that entire game. I don't know why! )

Awful. Dreadful. Sucked much of the joy out of watching all these kids just having fun.

[Alameda]

Please tell me he's not UIC anymore?!

He should be forced to stand up against the wall and let all those kids beam SBs at him.

[mcrowder]

Alameda - I would have done everything in my power to prevent having conversations with this guy between innings. It's bad mechanics to do it anyway, but if this guy didn't know that, I'd find someplace to be between innings, or make the point that he doesn't need to come in from RF after every half inning. No conversation = no inappropriate comments.

[Alameda]

Well, as a rook, the vets have been coming over and letting me ask Qs, etc between innings. But yea, I was calling "Game Balls In" in the middle of his sentences. I think he started figuring out that I was squirming to get away from him lol.

[Edited by Alameda on Apr 18th, 2005 at 01:47 PM]

[mcrowder]

Gotcha.

Then after the very first time he did this, I'd stop coming in entirely. This is one vet you don't want to learn much from.