Worst umpire ever award, Have you got yours yet this year?
 

I got mine this past Saturday night (men's slow pitch, beer league). Before, during and after I had ejected every player dropping F-bombs and comments about my mother from a single team. Which, of course, resulted in a forfeit.

Although I manage to get that award at least once a year, this may be the earliest I've ever gotten it. :)

And you wonder why I don't do slow pitch???? I could have stopped by and helped vote for worst umpire award Saturday, 5 of us went by there Saturday night saw the lights and the slow pitch games in action....since all 3 of us umpires (2 wifes) were fast pitch people we voted to continue on without stopping!!

O and by the way good job you deserve that award.... :D

thanks buddy!!

It actually wasn't that bad of a night.... Just a few guys got too far under the beer sign.

I have received the award multiple times in multiple sports:

boys' JrHS basketball (7th grade and 8th grade; take your pick)
girls' JrHS basketball (7th grade and 8th grade; take your pick)
boys' HS basktball (freshmen, jr. varsity, varsity; take your pick)
girls' HS basktball (freshmen, jr. varsity, varsity; take your pick)
boys' (all age groups) basketball AAU, ABYTour, and YBOA (local and national) tournaments
girls' (all age groups) basketball AAU, ABYTour, and YBOA (local and national) tournaments
women's college (jr. coll., Div. III jr. varsity, Div. III varsity) basketball; I never won the award for Div. I, :(, even though I have officiated 18 playoff games at that level (dfferent times back then)
men's college (jr. coll., Div. III jr. varsity) basketball
boys' HS baseball (freshmen, jr. varsity, varsity; take your pick)
girls' HS fastpitch softball (freshmen, jr. varsity, varsity; take your pick)
boys' (all age groups) baseball summer league
girls' (all age groups) fastpitch softball ASA, USSSA summer league and local tournaments)
boys' HS soccer (freshmen, jr. varsity, varsity; take your pick)
girls' HS soccer (freshmen, jr. varsity, varsity; take your pick)

:D

MTD, Sr.

I was given the WOE award recently when I failed to overrule my partner who made the Worst Call in the History of Sports. 2 awards on the same play. We were quite proud.

(Oh, and nevermind that the coach never, not once in his self-ejection, asked partner to come to me. And also nevermind that if she had, I saw exactly what she did - a fielder failing to tag a runner with a ball she was not even in possession of. Coach's entire argument hinged on "That ball beat her by 4 steps" - sure it did. Too bad no one caught it - and even if she did ... she never touched the runner (with neither the glove, hand, nor ball) !)

Funny comment from one of their parents when coach used up his leash and much of the leash for his next game and was finally tossed... After the ejection was signalled, one guy says, "That's the first thing they've done right."

I would love to host an end of the year tournament at the park that I get my league games in that is a "card" tournament. (slow pitch of course, I doubt it would work with fast pitch, but maybe)

meaning... if'n the player(s) complain they get a colored card based on the complaint and the amount of complaining. The weakest of the cards meaning that person has to take the position of the umpire that he/she complained to/about for the remainder of the inning. The strongest resulting in that player relieving the umpire for an entire 7 innings.

It would have to be a fund raiser/benifit tournament.... and in case it ever happens, I've already got a list. :)

Zelibamox Reported as Spam
 

Reported

Got WOE on message board once.

I haven't got mine yet this year...but the season is young! I did get a handful of WUE's in one game last season, so that should tide me over for awhile.

Top of the seventh, tie game. R1 on first. Ball hit to right center. Runner is off on contact. Catch is made and runner is easy pickings. But the throw from F8 is high, wide and into the dugout. Runner scrambles back to touch first, then I award third base.

Defensive coach thinks runner should only get second, because "he had to go back and touch first". His animated protests seem to get the fans agitated and they're really climbing us.

As it turns out, this runner proved to be the winning run. From the field to the car, my partner and I are accosted by angry fans, certain that our ineptitude has just deprived them of a victory.

After surviving that gauntlet and reaching our cars, we're confronted by a white-haired grandmotherly type who literally rips us a new one. Besides earning the coveted "Worst Umpire Ever" award, she tells us that we should never be allowed on any field ever again and that she is going to report us to the state high school association. I just looked at my partner and laughed.

Funny...never did get that disciplinary phone call from the state high school association...

Here's mine
 

Bottom of the 7th. Score is 6 - 3. Home team down by 3. They score three runs so we go extra innings. Visitors don't score in their half of the 8th. Home team has the winning run at 3rd in the bottom of the 8th. I can't remember the count but the next pitch was low. The batter swung and fouled it in the ground. The runner at third takes off because she believes it is a passed ball. The catcher retrieves the ball and tags the runner out. While this is all going on I (BU) came up with a loud Foul Ball call. The visitor coaches are pointing at me saying I have a call. The fans are cheering because they think they have an out. I tell my partner what I have, we reset and one of the visiting coaches says good call. The next pitch hits the batter. Now we have runners on 1st and 3rd. At some point during the next batters turn at bat, a pitch is again low and gets by the catcher. This time the run scores. The visiting fans are yelling "Foul Ball". However, the batter never swung. The ball never touched the bat. As we are leaving one of the visiting fans says to us "I never talk to the umpires, but you are the worst I've seen".

Yeah, right. I let three runs score in the bottom of the 7th.

WHY?

Why not a "Dead ball" call and let the plate ump make the determination as to where she was?

Imagine the #&*!storm if you had the runner past second at the time of the throw. Is there a worse than worst-ever award?

I got one at a 14U State tournament where the BR was clearly out at 1st and I just gave a normal out signal.

Coach was pissed and thought his runner was safe (notice I said clearly out)......he told me that the least I could have done was give a "sell" out call.......

Because I did not give the "sell" out......I was the worst umpire ever.....he had been umpiring for X years.....and I was untrained.

Funny......I had at that point umpired about 12 State tournaments.....and had never seen him......and I was not a host umpire......I was about 400 miles from home.......:D

Joel

Mine was the starter of the only writing I had to do all year. The coach was nice enough to come back onto the field to give it to me though.

I am not sure it counts as I was only the worst they had this year, not actually a global award. It was specific to the school.

Of course, it also gave me a chance to talk to my assigner about how seriously the conference takes ejections, and that I needed to be sure I really needed to think about the consequences to the coach before I ejected anyone.

I love assigners that stick up for their officials. :rolleyes:

No the coach needs to understand the seriousness of an ejection and the consequences that come to the coach before they eject themselves. Most ejections come at the coaches request, even begging for it at times. Coaches need to realize the effects of their actions and not cross the line to put themselves in that position. Once again another example of our society not stepping up and putting the "blame" where it lies...had to be a bad umprie to eject that coach, couldn't be that the coach is an a$$ and deserved it! Sorry, rants over!!!!

I wonder if I would get one of these awards if I listened. :rolleyes: :D

There might have been a "out by a mile call" one day. :confused:

Wow. That's freaking irritating. 90% of the time (or more), coaches eject themselves. We're not out there looking to toss anyone. They know where the line is for the most part, if they choose to cross it then THEY need to talk to someone about how seriously the conference takes ejections.

Unless you're tossing people left and right, game after game, they should not have admonished you at all.

The best part is that I turned back a HS DH for more money because it was a rain date that I was originally scheduled for.

This is actually my job and was not a popular choice around the house.

I am really not the guy that tosses a lot of coaches (3 in 5 years if we include travel ball), and I am definably not a guy that wants to get all of the information necc. for an incident report.

According to one team, I received mine last night.

12U. Neither pitcher can find the zone with a map and GPS. Balls are going over my head, hitting dirt in front of the plate, or so far in and out, the catcher can't get a glove on them. There were about 7 or 8 pitches at the shoulders that the coaches were barking about. Nothing ejectable, just overheard the comments from one pitcher's dad, "This is getting you ready for high school."

Bases loaded 0 outs. Hard bouncer to F5 who makes a great stop. She is about 2ft in front of the bag and comes home instead of taking an out. Defense was up by 4 runs. I slide up just outside the LH batter's box as the catcher gets the ball. She misses the plate by 6 inches then tries a tag and the runner beats the tag. Coach is irate, but controls his anger and stays in the dugout.

1st inning took 1hr 5 minutes. We finished 4 innings due to curfew and home team won 19-18. The longest 2:30 minutes of my life.

Gotta LOVE those 1 hour plus innings...NOT...:rolleyes:

I have so many of those awards, I've dedicated an entire trophy case to them in the basement.

Once a coach awarded my partner WOE honors in the morning, and then gave them to me in the afternoon. I told my partner, "Hey, you're only number two on her list now." I had to laugh, though, when after she screamed, "You're the worst umpire I ever saw," a fan responded, "Then you ain't seen too many umpires, lady."

Defensive coach thinks runner should only get second, because "he had to go back and touch first."

I'd have responded, "Didn't you read the update this spring? The old one plus one is gone. It's one plus two now."

I got mine today.
14U ASA.
Apparently the "all bases are presumed touched" theory applies to coaches too. This guy genuinely believed that, if he didn't see it, it didn't happen.

"He tagged me up around my shoulders! I was safe! You are the worst ump ever!"



He could tag you on your head as long as he tagged you before you touched the bag.

They were hading them out for free today huh? I got mine today too!

PONY championship game 14U. Visiting team losing most of the game but gave up 2 runs in bottom of sixth to be trailing 5-2. So top 7th, lead runner gets a walk and stolen base, and on a hit to right gets thrown out at third. Next batter takes a 3-2 changeup inside corner at the knees that I call strike 3.

3rd base coach: "Blue, was that on the swing? Time blue...where was that pitch?" I walk toward coach and am intercepted by coach from the dugout, who is the head coach.

OC: Where was that pitch?
Me: Coach it was over the pla..
OC: You haven't called it there all day! You're horrible!
Me: Good bye coach.

I walked away. She states, "Good I wanted to go home anyway." She leaves the field. Next batter looks at strike 3 on the outside corner. Unbeknownst to me the OC was watching from behind the backstop and as I and my partner walk off she yells to me: "That was a strike, but the other one was not!"

My PONY regional director, who is also an umpire, told me I have to fill out a form and explain exactly what the coach did that made me eject her. I said I didn't eject her, she ejected herself. I also asked, "do you want me to write 'coach used 'you're horrible'? in the reason for ejection section? He told me that after the game he congratulated her for her good game and that we will see her at the PONY Nationals, to which she told him that she hopes I'[m not there, because I'm terrible.

Stinks for this coach that I will be there. So I get the award that I get to bring with me to PONY Nationals.


Best part for me must have been the scrutiny I got from our regional director. "Be careful to give coaches an opportunity to argue; try to calm them down or warn first; or here's my favorite - you're horrible can get a response of "so what, not that big a deal" from PONY National office." He told me to look in the rule book to find out exactly HOW I should write WHY I ejected her.

On behalf of myself, and of all other umpires before or after me - the magic words of "you're horrible" will never be tolerated and will get you an early ride home every time.

This was my first ever ejection, by the way.

What the Director told you to do just sets up the other umpires in your are for more abuse. I think what you did was correct and I would not change a thing either. I the 7 years that I have umpired I have also only toseed 6 coaches. Five of them really ejected themself. Good luck at the nationals.

The only WOE I ever have received was for a 10U coach that was on offense. His batter hit a pitch directly to the forhead of the OT pitcher. At that age I called time immediately because the pitcher dropped to the ground immediately. The was nobody on base and the BR took first. The coach came out screaming that I did not have the right to call time until the play was finished. I explained my reason and my concern for the 9 year old that was pitching. I know the rule but I thought the safety issue was more important. He screamed that the pitcher should not play the position if she can't protect herself and I was the worst umpire that he has ever seen. At that time the parents on the opposing side as well as some of his own started getting on him big time from the stands for being an idiot. At the end of the game I got a nice standing applause from many of the parents stating "Great Job Blue". It was the best WOE award I think I will ever get.

He should have been #7.

Got my "worst call ever" award tonight.

Previous two champions of our top co-ed adult slow pitch division.

Tight game all way to 7th, the visitors getting a run in each of two earlier innings, the home side no scores, a bunch of errors and a number of runners left on. Top of 7th the visitors break out and get 6 runs in.

Bottom of 7th, 1 out, batter fouls two pitches, watches two balls and then is called out looking. Can't believe it, tells me the pitch was way high and as he exits the field tells me it was the worst call ever.

Not long after and the game is done - 8 runs to zip.

Their coach then very politely had a dicsussion with me about my high strike zone.

Then their captain politely told me all about my high strike zone, that it was the reason for all their pop-ups and that the game was no fun for either team as a result. Also tells me that they're such classy players that they didn't say anything during the game that he'd rather have a quiet word afterwards.

I just smiled and nodded at the time, not going to take offense or react, but the more I think about it after the fact the more p!$$ed off I get.

But hey, it's only taken me a season and a third of umpiring to get a worst ever award, it can only get better from here!

Seems to me that with an 8-0 score, at least one team was having fun!