Engaging the peanut gallery?

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by NDblue

For me, it all depends on how I'm approached by a fan/spectator asking a question. If all they are doing is asking a question about a rule, why not answer them? You may find that the more a fan/spectator knows about the game and it's rules, the less likely they are to give you or your fellow umpires a hard time.

And half the time you do not get the entire scenario from a fan about a play and all of a sudden this friendly fan is in the stands proudly announcing, "The blue over there said this umpire was completely wrong" yada, yada, yada.

Fans and a fair amount of coaches are not familiar with the rule book which is why I am a proponent of keeping the rule book off the field. Too often a coach will try to show you a rule that plays to his belief only to have never turned the page and see the "exception" to that rule. Or they read a rule that pertains to certain situations and they want to read it as a general rule.