The pesky little things that annoy you...

[NCASAUmp]

I have a personal webpage where I occasionally write rants about things that annoy me, and it just happens that this topic is similar to one I wrote about last September. What do you all think?

http://sabian.whispers.org/rants/umpires.html

[Al]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

I have a personal webpage where I occasionally write rants about things that annoy me, and it just happens that this topic is similar to one I wrote about last September. What do you all think?

http://sabian.whispers.org/rants/umpires.html

That was a great read! Enjoyed it very much. Like I sometimes say: ...Nothin' like fun at the ole' ball park! ..Al

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by Al

That was a great read! Enjoyed it very much. Like I sometimes say: ...Nothin' like fun at the ole' ball park! ..Al

Thanks! I appreciate the compliment. I guess I probably had a bad game that night.

Like I said in the rant, I usually love what I do, but now that I'm in my 15th year, I sometimes question why I do it. I think at some point in time, we all question it ourselves.

That is, until we get a great game like the one John mentioned earlier!

[IRISHMAFIA]

For those who do the real softball game, don't you just love the slow-pitch batter who tells you he cannot swing until he takes a strike.

I usually reply, "No problem, I'll take care of that for you".

[mcrowder]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

I have a personal webpage where I occasionally write rants about things that annoy me, and it just happens that this topic is similar to one I wrote about last September. What do you all think?

http://sabian.whispers.org/rants/umpires.html

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.

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by mcrowder

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?

[mick]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

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!"

[ASA/NYSSOBLUE]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

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 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!

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by ASA/NYSSOBLUE

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.