topper wrote:jtat32 wrote:anonlooker wrote:Copied this from ________, an umpire on the college board:
I can't see me or those I work closest with filing charges or suing over this. We would, however, circle the wagons and ensure that anytime this coach is involved in a game we're working his stay would be miserable and short. As to the sanctioning bodies' responses, I can't control that. I can control who I work for and who I recommend others avoid.
I will take it on faith that this came from an actual ump and I redacted his name because he may be a great guy and a great ump. That said, the only way he could ensure this coach's life would be miserable and short would be through the game. As far as I can gather, he is saying he would give this coach's team bad calls until the coach blows up and gives him a reason to kick him out. Of course this means that he would also simultaneously impacting the players' opportunity to earn a scholarship, and potentially decrease their safety on the field, but too bad, it's more important to win the pissing match. An umps responsibility is to de-escalate, not incite, and not all abide by this. I don't know that this happened here, and coaches share this responsibility, but the possibility is absolutely relevant.
His stay will be miserable and short, not his life. Let's not get carried away. You "gather" wrong, BTW. There's no need to purposely kick calls in order to get coaches to blow up. Most of the time all an umpire has to do is his/her job. Since you've already placed blame on the umpire in the video by accusing him of squeezing the pitcher to make a point, you may have a hard time believing that coaches, players, and fans often blow up when no call was kicked at all.
Making a coach's stay miserable and short involves him having, not a short leash, but no leash. The first reaction to ANY comment from him or his staff would be quick, harsh, and meant to elicit a response for which he would be tossed. I have no responsibility to "de-escalate" a situation when a coach is out of line. I will either warn (once) or eject. The coach's actions determine whether he stays or goes.
The part about "impacting the players' opportunity to earn a scholarship, and potentially decrease their safety on the field" is a nice piece of hyperbole, but ridiculous just the same.
Damn it - lost a longer, better worded response when I timed out, Abridged version:
Never blamed the ump for the incident. I was very clear on this throughout. Never accused him of intentionally squeezing, either. I did say that it was a possibility, but there is a huge difference in these statements. I also identified other potential reasons for the call.
I doubt we'd disagree on the existence of d-bag coaches, parents, and umps. They all exist, and they can all contribute to a game going south.
All adults associated with the game, be it on the field or in the stands, have a responsibility for de-escalation. I'm virtually certain we are disagreeing on semantics, not practice. Throwing a coach out can be an example of de-escalation. How about if we define this as anything that does not escalate the situation?
The potential for bad umping affecting safety and scholarship opportunities is certainly not hyperbole. I see well-intentioned, but incompetent HS umping creating an unsafe environment all of the time. I have also seen injuries occur because of it. As far as scholarships go, if you start screwing with the zone significantly, you're going to make the pitcher or the batter look bad. I'm not saying this happens with any kind of frequency, I'm just saying that the potential is there for it if an ump is of the mindset to send a message in this way.
I'll certainly accept your explanation for how you could make the coaches' games short and miserable. You're the expert, not me - that's why I qualified my statement. Doesn't mean that this is what the ump who posted it meant, but it doesn't matter - the point I was trying to illustrate is that there are umps who will intentionally kick calls to make a point. Thankfully there are many more who are almost superhuman in their ability to remove emotion from their judgement, and the vast majority that do their damn best until circumstances that are often difficult. That said, you and I both know that there are the umps out there who trip over their own egos.