Great article. The only thing I'd disagree with is that I believe it's worse in football (especially if you're the line judge - he gets to bark in your ear and there's not a whole lot you can do about it), and FAR FAR worse in basketball ... which I refuse to work.

That could definitely be. But since I don't call those sports, I truly have no idea. I suck at basketball anyway. ;)

Volleyball definitely doesn't have this problem, and that was primarily the sport I was referring to when comparing other sports to softball. I've never heard of a curling player yelling at a ref. Then again, do they even HAVE refs?

It's such a genteel sport, maybe Curling is based on an honor system where an opponent says, "Oops!" and the sweeper says, "I'm sorry!"

I LOVE doing volleyball - the coach says something and BAM - you hit him with a team misconduct red card, and it costs him a point! Hell, the coach calls for a sub, and doesnt do it, it costs him/her a point (team delay)! I have been doing girl's volleyball in the fall the last two years, and love every second of it - no modified (7th & 8th grade) match lasts longer than an hour, and half our local vb association are members of our hs softball association!

True, and speaking as a volleyball player, I must say there's a much higher sense of "honor" in the sport. If a player takes a swing and accidentally hits the net, they'll be honest and grab the net to show the ref "hey, you missed something. Go ahead and call it on me."

But that's a discussion for another forum!

One of the things that irritates me the most is that there's this conception that it's not only "okay," but it's almost expected of a coach to argue with an umpire when a tight call doesn't go their way. Even if they know they're wrong, they still do it. I'm not talking about asking an umpire to go to his/her partner; I'm talking about getting in the ump's face and chewing him/her out. 99% of the time, the call stands as called, and the coach accomplishes nothing other than thinking that they "got into the ump's head."

That's probably my biggest pet peeve. In fact, I think that's what happened the night I wrote that rant. :)

Along the same lines...the batter who seems to have something against home plate and feels the need to beat it up with the bat when they step into the batter's box.

Oh I definitely agree. Fortunately, that's a pet peeve with an easy solution. :D

My biggie:

3-0 count, pitch comes in that would be a borderline strike regardless of the count. Batter takes two steps toward first. I let go of my usual hwaah and the right hand goes up in the air. (Yes, I will let you know when you can run, not walk, to first.)

Of course everyone on the offensive team has to shake their heads, moms and dads have to piss and moan about WTF is wrong with these umpires.

It's not limited to softball. Baseball may in fact be worse.

I only do men's slow pitch ASA.

MY pet peeve....is batters who HAVE to stop the game to get ready to hit. It's not that they need the time to get set. They HAVE TO stop the game and have everyone wait while they do it. I see them ask me for time (which I grant).....and when they're set....they see the pitcher isn't ready. They'll step out. THEY'RE NOT WAITING FOR ME!!!....lol

It's hilarious.

I played NAIA and DI college baseball.....and the thing I miss the most.....is being able to police this, ourselves (as players).

1. The infield idiots, every time there is a hit to the outfield, that ask for 'time' when the ball comes in with runners on. I just point to the P and move on.

2. Your idiot partners who GRANT the time...

Every partner that calls time without reason is not necessarily an idiot.
Every partner that does not call time without reason is not necessarily a genius.

In professional baseball, it has become an accepted tradition to argue with the umps. You don't really see this level of acceptance in other sports. MLB managers are actually criticized if they don't get ejected often enough. And when a team explodes for 6 runs after the coach was ejected, he gets credit for firing up his team. Guys like Billy Martin & Lou Pinella made it into an art form. Fortunately, it hasn't become an accepted practice at the high school level (yet).

A couple more pet peeves...

Base coaches who signal a "safe" call.

Pitchers who feel the need to glare and act bewildered, especially on pitches that weren't even close. (I occasionally glare back. I have also called time out to clean off the plate and quietly suggest to the catcher that he might want to go out and tell his pitcher to knock it off.)

Players who "hold the tag" on the baserunner while he's trying to get up after a slide, hoping he will lose contact with the bag for an instant. The poor baserunner finally has to call time out just to get up. It's such a waste of time.

13-14 year old baseball game, catcher kept setting up on the outside corner so every time he reaches across his body to catch the ball it's outside. Pitcher continues to shake his head and glare at me. I whisper in the catchers ear "My suggestion to you is that you tell him to stop his *****ing and moaning or the strike zone is about to become and 1" x 1" square"


Softball game this weekend, catcher keeps setting up on the outside corner. Pitches keep being outside. Now this time the head coach yells at the catcher
"You have got to adjust to the placement of the ball and also to his strike zone."
I was blown away by this in the fact that the coach knew enough that I wasn't changing my strike zone and that he put it on his pitcher and catcher to get it right.

Well, we can hope anyway. My arm bruise and two thigh bruises might be contradict the idea. :)

How about umps whose every thought is how to finish quickly, and never about how to improve? :eek:
Or, coaches who wait until the D is on the field, the B is in the box and then report as sub? :(
Or umps who tell coaches they don\'t need to know ANY defense changes.

And most of all, whoever invented the idea that previous umps mistakes apply to this game.