Calling pitches - by the parents?

[JoeKC]

Have the catcher set up outside. Then, throw one up and in. That will put an end to it.

An excellent and simple resolution. In addition, a few of the parents might want to relocate and watch the game in very tight and close proximity to the "fan" calling pitch locations. Problem solved.

 

[JAD]

Have the catcher set up outside. Then, throw one up and in. That will put an end to it.

I remember a few years ago one of the parents was stealing signs and yelling "watch for the change up", so the next inning the head coach changed the signs and I would have paid $100 for a picture of the dirty look the batter gave the offending parent after she yelled "watch for the change up" and got a scrise ball instead! LOL

 

[ms244]

And it shouldn't, that is the coach's job. The umpire SHOULD inform the coach of cause for the IP call and allow the coach the right to instruct their player as s/he sees fit.



An UIC of what, the tournament, the local association, the state/metro? What that individual is doing or has been instructed to do during a tournament or on certain property is fine. It is NOT part of the UIC's job nor the umpire on the field.

I find it amusing that so many uninformed people love to scoff at umpires you perceive to be power-hungry, but when you cannot control yourselves, you expect the umpire to wield authority they do not have because that is what you want, right or wrong, as long as you are satisfied, it must be right.



I didn't ask the UIC if he was affiliated with the local association, state or metro. Personally I don't care. It was a simple question that I asked him to get his professional answer to. He agreed with me (and several others here) that the calling of pitches needs to come from the players and coaches on the field. He also stated that the HU has the authority to ask the parent to stop signalling the pitch locations.


BTW, 15 of those years includes experience as an UIC.

And this matters how? Your version of what the UIC controls differs from the UIC that I spoke to on Sunday. Using your literal interpretation of the rules then no parent could ever be removed from a game because that is not part of the umpires duty. I will politely suggest to you that is 100% wrong. I have seen several parents asked to leave the diamond for various reasons. All ejected by the HU. Was he doing this based on rules? Was he doing this because of tournament rules? I personally don't care who gave him the authority, just as long as the HU is doing this 1) with reason 2) for the better of the game.

Others have posted here that you have come off as an grouchy old umpire. I can't dispute that but I can say that your communication skills are lacking. Your reasoning is simple. Either agree with you OR we are uniformed. Because you have had 37+ years of umpiring makes you an expert in all things softball? I will politely ask you to not twist my posts into a parent that is crying about their DD losing a game. I wasn't, nor have I ever made an excuse for her. She played this weekend and pitched like crap. Is it because of bad calls by the HU? Nope. Is it because of parents behind the plate? Nope. She had a bad day. Period. She will go to practice tonight and practice harder than anyone else because she played so poorly yesterday. For the record it wasn't my DD that was pitching when the incident that I described occurred.

Why did I post my OP? I was curious how much this has happened? That in the fact that it was discussed during a NCAA game made me think of our game, so I posted it. I was really looking for positive dialogue from other parents, not a squabble with an umpire about rules and their authority. Message boards are a place to complain a little, brag a little and for information gathering for all. When someone takes a post into a new direction to prove they are the "expert" in all things softball it takes away from the intent of this board IMO.

 

[marriard]

I remember a few years ago one of the parents was stealing signs and yelling "watch for the change up", so the next inning the head coach changed the signs and I would have paid $100 for a picture of the dirty look the batter gave the offending parent after she yelled "watch for the change up" and got a scrise ball instead! LOL

My DD when pitching LOVES hearing 'watch for the change up'. Cause I can guarantee whatever you are getting, it wont be that. I guarantee it will be something thrown really hard though.

When we as coaches think we believe a change up is coming we use the batters last name when we talk to them ("Come on Smith"). We'll use numbers for another pitch ("You the best three-four") or other similar verbal cues. Simple stuff - much more effective than tipping off the opposition.

BTW I believe most signal stealing is bush league so I try to keep out of it. I am not sure why it has become OK in softball and is seems much more frowned upon in baseball.

As for parents behind the plate interfering in play it is of course bush league and if another coach approached me about someone on my team doing it I'd be over there talking to the parent real quick. I would expect the same for 95% of the opposition coaches as well. The other 5% will be the 'jerk' teams and they'll get theirs soon enough.

 

[fusionmom]

In our area, this type of thing is expected to be dealt with by the team's head coach and by the tournament director/game administrator. I can tell you that our head coach would not allow our parents to be doing it and, if there was a difficulty, he would go and discuss with the other head coach to see if it could be handled amicably before involving the TD. In most cases, the opposing HC will deal with it promptly.

In comparison, the umps deal with the situations on the field. The UIC deals with any umpire difficulties/rules interpretations/protests regarding the game itself. We did attend one tournament where the UIC and TD were the same person (as well as being the head coach of a team, but that's another story), so then we went to him with any and all problems.

The parents stealing signs is bush league, but stuff like that happens all of the time. We spend our time teaching the players how to deal with the situations and focus on playing. My daughters say 99% of the time they don't hear anything coming from behind the fence anyway.

 

[MsDinosaur]

I remember a few years ago one of the parents was stealing signs and yelling "watch for the change up", so the next inning the head coach changed the signs and I would have paid $100 for a picture of the dirty look the batter gave the offending parent after she yelled "watch for the change up" and got a scrise ball instead! LOL

I do occasionally yell, "watch for the change up," but it's not because I'm stealing signs, it's just because it "feels" like the time in an at-bat when they've got my DD concentrating on faster pitches and the pitcher is likely to throw one. If my yelling that makes the pitcher throw something else, fine. If my yelling that makes DD be ready for the CU, fine. If they both ignore me and do what they were going to do anyway, fine. :-D

 

[Comp]

In one way or another everyone does it. Daughters HS team instead of saying inside/outside the coaches would say turn on it or go with it. If they thought a changeup was coming, the coach would call the batter by their last name instead of their first. Its just part of the game.

 

[fastpitchdad8]

There you go, the COACHES are concerned. The umpires' job is to officiate the game, not be the police or social intermediary for the teams. The fact that you have a position is fine and dandy and you are more than welcome to attempt to assign an official such power in a league you control, but there is nothing in the rules to support it.



My position is that folks who refuse to accept real life that doesn't necessarily coincide with their beliefs are the one's who come off as grouchy.

you're first post in this thread was to tell the OP to get over it and iirc, be a better coach or something along those lines. that pretty much tells me all i need to know about ur position...

i assumed, and it may have been wrong of me, that the OP was speaking of a younger age group. while rules are rules there are some things GOOD umpires do, IMO, that are'nt in your blessed rule book that educate and/or make the game more fun for the younger age groups.

i don't remember typing that umpires should be the social police anywhere..could you post me to that please? i still believe though that there are instances like the OP's example where a good umpire could have spoke up and made the game better for all involved. you disagree...so OBVIOUSLY i'm wrong.

 

[fastpitchdad8]

Here are a few suggestions for other things that we could make the umpires responsible for. Hey buddy, that's your 2nd and last hot dog of the day. One more and I'll write you up and report you to your primary care physician. Hey lady, your kid is out of here if they don't stop throwing rocks at the porta-john. Excuse me third baseperson, this is a big hitter and you're an inexperienced fielder, put on a mask or go sit in the dugout.

I usually enjoy reading your posts, this one is ludicrous

 

[Greenmonsters]

I usually enjoy reading your posts, this one is ludicrous

I don't disagree, but my point is where do you draw the line when asking the umpire to excercise authority beyond that granted by the rules of the game???