Calling pitches - by the parents?

[MTR]

coaches are concerned what's going on less than 20 ft behind home plate b/c they're trying to keep young girls focused on what they're doing. most young girls playing in softball tourneys don't have 47 yrs experience...they're a little easier distracted. that..IMO... supports my position. then again, i'm not an umpire, i don't know everything.

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.

by the way...a little fiber in your diet may help the "coming off like a grouch every time you type" thing you have goin on ..

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.

 

[Comp]

ms, you may very well have had a UIC tell you that, but once again he has absolutely no authority under the rules to enforce that action.

For everyone who thinks the umpire should enforce this under the "rules of fair play", if you were to be pulled over by a police officer and cited for some infraction that particular officer felt you had committed even though it wasnt against the law, would you be ok with that? After all, you have committed some percieved infraction in that particular officers eyes.

The same rule they rely on when they ask the coaches to control their fans?

Control what? They are not being crude, abusive or threatening. What exactly is there to control? Seriously people, if you are worried about someone in the stands calling out inside or outside you have bigger problems.

 

[MTR]

I bet nearly all of us have seen an umpire talk to/show a pitcher what she's doing wrong on an IP instead of just calling IP all day long in the younger age groups. I have'nt read every page of any rule book but that's IMO the right thing to do. I would classify that as something that would be in the rules to live by book and i assume there's nothing about that in the ASA rulebook. Yet it happens.

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.

I was at a tournament yesterday so I stopped an UIC between games. I explained him the scenario and this is what he told me.

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'm not someone that has 47 years of experience, but I know what is common sense and what the UIC told me at the tourney we were at yesterday.

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

 

[MTR]

The same rule they rely on when they ask the coaches to control their fans?
The rule they use to quiet the fans when they don't like the parents/fans comments on thier calls at the plate?

Again, a good umpire wouldn't care less. And if it was a problem with the game, there is nothing in the rules providing that authority.

They want the fans controlled under certain situations that bother them, so why can't they request a change in action from the fans on other issues? While I do think that the parent giving away pitch location was silly, I have had them threaten to throw me out of the park if I sent someone behind the backstop to see what zone they were calling. So somehow they feel they have some control over the people outside the fences.

Again, not a good umpire.

 

[PA SB Dad]

In a perfect world, parents should be able to conduct themselves in a way that does not diminish the accomplishments of the players and coaches. But the fact of the matter remains in the OP, the players still had to hit the ball wherever it was pitched. Just because you know a pitch is being thrown inside or outside does not mean you will automatically get a hit.

As for the the home plate umpire, as the coach on defense, I prefer his focus be on the strike zone and not some knuckle heads behind the fence. I could care less what they are saying so long as it is not derogatory, demeaning, or distracting to my players.

 

[Mylil32]

Tell you what, go find something to support your position and return and enlighten us.



As an umpire with 47 years experience, I couldn't care less where the spectators are located or what they have to say. I've got better and more important things to worry about than some idiots in the peanut gallery.

Sure wish they were all that way!!

 

[Coach JV]

I was watching a HS district game a year ago from the backstop where a mom was
telegraphing pitch location. IN the 2nd inning changeover, the PU, asked her to stop with
the telegraphing as it endangered the players on the field, or she would have to leave the park.
During the 4th inning when she resumed telegraphing location, PU called a timeout and asked
her to leave the park citing unsportsmanlike conduct (or something of that nature).
It is the only time I had seen an umpire actually toss a parent from the game

 

[cuzmail]

Control what? They are not being crude, abusive or threatening. What exactly is there to control? Seriously people, if you are worried about someone in the stands calling out inside or outside you have bigger problems.

My comment was not related to the OP's situation. It was in general. My question was what ruling are they using to support their actions?

Surely in all your years or experience, you have seen an umpire issue warnings or something related to the fans in the stands - right?

 

[Momo'sDad]

If I may interject, I'd like to point out that UICs for youth softball events are usually tied to a league or tournament director. If UICs are talking about enforcing event rules that have been established by the organizers, that is not the same as an expectation that game umpires should be policing the stands. The umpires are not supposed to do the job of the organizers.

In our rec league, we don't allow the fans to speak to the umpires. That's a local league rule that board members outside the field are authorized and expected to enforce.

 

[cuzmail]

In the NCAA and most HS games, it isn't the umpire which admonishes those outside the fences, it is the appointed administrator which is NOT a game official. Umpires do not, nor should they, interact with those not directly involved with the game.

What action can the umpire take if the administrator is not successful in resolving the issue? What rule allows the action?