"Go get her!"

[Cannonball]

So, what you have here is an umpire who has made this personal and wants to target one child. Make it PC however you'd like. How about that ump keeping his mouth shut and letting other umpires call the games they see. That would be professional of them instead of making this young lady a target of his agenda. i.e. "Go Get Her."

 

[left turn]

Comp, no offence meant with the indefensible comment. It was meant as a general statement

 

[left turn]

So, what you have here is an umpire who has made this personal and wants to target one child. Make it PC however you'd like. How about that ump keeping his mouth shut and letting other umpires call the games they see. That would be professional of them instead of making this young lady a target of his agenda. i.e. "Go Get Her."

Cannonball that is a good summary of my first response. But by the time I got back to the field I was more amazed at his attitude than pissed.

I told one of the other parents. It made her angry and she wanted to tell the coach and have something done about it. I told her it would be OK to tell the coach after the tourney, but not now. It would just be a distraction. I couldn't see any positive outcome I could achieve by pursuing the matter. I just kept quiet and worked with my DD during the week.

 

[left turn]

I know that you are a bit down that everyone is not as outraged. It stinks when you think something is deplorable and no one else agrees. His exuberance was probably from being in a group of his peers and almost like a hunter's freenzy. Not excusable, but I can see it. It sucks when the points are at your child, but at least he was communicating and it seems like the umps were trying to call consistently rather than all over the board?? I think you would have been equally upset had it only been the one ump calling them and none of the others??

At the end of the day, you were right in not to say anything. I would have made a a** of myself. Also, to hold back and not tell your child-awesome. I wouldn't have been able to contain myself. Also, now you know how important this is to fix. I am sure you are still peeved, but from an outsider looking in--this was a win for you and your DD.

Namaste,
GG

Thank you GatorGirl. I think the best outcome from this was the self confidence boost she got from how she handled the situation. Twice there were runners on third where an IP would be a run. She made the adjustment. She is aware of the issue but she is proud of how she reacted under the pressure of intense focus and a tight game.

The second best outcome is this will fuel her efforts to correct the problem.

 

[FrozenRope]

If you had time to pre-plot your response.. It would have been great if you walked over to him and said... "Hey, I overheard your conversation about the X vs. X game... The pitcher that was being called for illegal pitches just so happens to be my daughter. You made the right calls. It's something we're very aware of... I've told her time and time again that eventually she's going to come across that umpire that is going to see it.. call it and then spend the rest of the game staring at your feet"

Seems like this upmire was on a "Power Trip". Call it... sure. Make a big deal about it.. No.

 

[3'sDad]

Left Turn: You weren't playing the the Union County Umpires event were you? LOL

The only two rules they enforced all weekend were illegal pitches and runner/fielder interference - it was like those were the only two rules they knew.

Luckily it was a fundraiser and the money was going to a good cause because if it was a typical PONY/ASA/USSSA event, boy would have there been buckets of complaints about that these clods were calling.

 

[MTR]

Umpires sharing information is exactly what should be happening and the coaches should be glad since that may help insure a consistent application of the rules during the tournament.

While aware of it, the umpires shouldn't be looking to call anything they have to study to see. As is constantly being pointed out, all umpires do not necessarily see everything the same. The umpire's mantra should be, "if you see it, call it, but don't go looking for it".

 

[SoftSocDad]

Umpires sharing information is exactly what should be happening...

The umpire's mantra should be, "if you see it, call it, but don't go looking for it".

What I take from your statements is that the umpires ought to share information, but not use the information that has been shared.

I agree that all umpires should call what they see.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

Ahhhh, it's Friday and you guys go and break up my peace with the biggest hot-button I have - the IP..... (Ya I know I am pretty pathetic and must have it pretty good to have the worst thing in my life be an IP,..... OK we got that out of the way....)

It has been my experience, across the country, that almost ALL umpires shy away from calling IP unless they feel pressured by an influential opposing coach. This nature you describe where umpires were sharing the excitement of going out and calling unsolicited IP's is so foreign to me I almost want to pull out my red challenge flag......

I have seen ONE case in all my DD's career through the old age of 17 where an umpire called an IP without being coerced by the opposing coach.

As far as was that right for the ump to express himself in such a gang-tackle manner - I say "No". Especially when it comes to IP's and the ignorance that umps in general exhibit towards this rule-set. One ump thinking he has the rule-set right in his head and that he can determine how all the other umps should call it is ridiculous....

 

[Rocketech1]

The base ump did warn her and the coach before calling IPs which I think is acceptable. What I don't like is him telling the other umpires to "go get her", seems overzealous and uncalled for in my mind.

With that said, I would use this experience to work with your DD to make sure she is dragging her pivot foot legally. By occasionally getting IPs called on her, she will be labeled an illegal pitcher and no matter how well she pitches, this stigma is tough to break. Remember Sara Nevins (USF) and Kenzie Fowler (UoA), what are they best known for?