Parents Attacking Umpires

[uncdrew]

I think USSSA requires cash for protests as well..unless I am misremembering what sanction it was where I saw this.

Yup. And it's $200.

Seems crazy, but I suppose if they didn't do this people would protest every single game.

 

[Strike2]

Beyond horrible but you do have to laugh that the parent throwing the punch is wearing a "Mother of the Year" shirt in her mug shot. She's banned from town recreational facilities but whomever sanctioned that tourney should ban the "Mother of the Year" for life from attending events so she can't show up at an event in another town.

Might not have been a tournament...could have been league play.

 

[JayW]

Yup. And it's $200.

Seems crazy, but I suppose if they didn't do this people would protest every single game.

Isn’t $200 worth more than the plastic they hand out?

 

[CoachJD]

The best umps identify the situation early and take immediate action. Call time. Call the manager over and tell him/her that if your parents continue to chirp, I am going to throw you out. Period. Smile, turn away and holler, "play ball!"
It may not work all the time but the sucess rate is very high. The manager has to go talk to his child like parents threw the fence and it is really quite embarrassing.

What I think a lot of umpires maybe don't realize is that most coaches would absolutely love the opportunity to go tell the parents to shut the F up. Our parents don't cross the line, but they do occasionally chirp a little bit. I don't even wait for the umpire to say anything. The hardest part about telling them to stop it is trying to hide the giant grin on my face.

 

[Westwind]

My point is this: The umpire has ZERO authority outside of the field of play. You say I should warn the coach. Ok I warn the coach, now what? If the crowd issue isn't a parent of a player on that coaches team, s/he can do nothing and I have issued a warning that I can't back up. Sort of like telling a coach "Not one more word", just not a good thing to do. Moreover, if it is an individual who has no relationship to either team, they have now been emboldened and empowered to make your day even more miserable.

Outside the fence has nothing to do with being an umpire.

I agree with Ed on this one. And really, the less an umpire pays attention to things not between the white lines the better.

I‘ll add this- when I was coaching, I usually didn’t hear that stuff and the guys I coached with didn’t either. I was surprised how many times someone said “Hey did you hear that?” and no one had.

I coached with a hc that could be pretty unpleasant with umpires. Yet, Heaven help the team parent that the umpire complained about though. His rebukes through the backstop were public and harsh.

 

[KrisHur]

Might not have been a tournament...could have been league play.

Leagues still play in neighboring towns - she should be banned from them all.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Sometimes, the umpire is the one at fault. They can escalate the situation because they let people get under their skin.

I had an example at our local HS game yesterday where the HP umpire got way out of line because he blew a fair/foul call and was questioned by everyone. A girl was on first when the right-handed batter hit a bloop over first into foul territory. The field ump was behind SS, so he could give no help to the other umpire. What happened was his mistook the foul line for the out of play line that indicates dead ball territory. I was recording the game and streaming it, so it's all on video. It was so blatant that the first base coach was calling his runner back and the third base coach told the batter it was foul. You can hear the ump say, "No, that was fair."

Before the play resumed, I said, "That was a bad call." I didn't scream at him or even get up from my chair. He turned to me and screamed, "One more word, you're gone." Mind you, I'm just a parent keeping GC for the team. I'm sitting near no one else, so I'm not influencing anyone, but he felt it necessary to yell at me.

I reviewed the video and saw the ball was foul by at least 2.5 feet just to confirm everyone's suspicion, but I didn't say another word all game. Afterwards, in the parking lot, I saw him changing, so I calmly approached him and asked about the call. He lashed out at me again, asked for my name, and said he'd get me suspended from all future games. So, I walked away, muttered a word or two under my breath, and told the AD what happened.

That to me is the other side of the story.

 

[_MIA_]

Afterwards, in the parking lot, I saw him changing, so I calmly approached him and asked about the call.

Why? You had the video, you knew it was a bad call. Were you looking for an apology or something?

 

[JayW]

Why? You had the video, you knew it was a bad call. Were you looking for an apology or something?

After what has been discussed in this thread, an umpire has every reason to be leery of being approached by a parent in the parking lot.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Why? You had the video, you knew it was a bad call. Were you looking for an apology or something?

I wanted to ask him if he felt he got the call right. I was 20 feet away when I said, "Would you mind if I asked you a question?" I was respectful. He was in the wrong.

For all he knew, I could've been asking where he bought his car.