Parents calling out pitches.

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May 4, 2009
874
18
Baltimore
Good luck with your protest. There is no rule against it, and if you refuse to continue to play you would forfiet the game.

Didnt we just go over this a few weeks ago?

There are rules against unsportsmanlike conduct. I know you are trying to come across as knowing all things but you are wrong. I have had umpires make me tell fans to stop saying things at the college level. You need to get around a little bit before you opine on something.
 
Feb 3, 2011
1,880
48
There are rules against unsportsmanlike conduct. I know you are trying to come across as knowing all things but you are wrong. I have had umpires make me tell fans to stop saying things at the college level. You need to get around a little bit before you opine on something.
I just reread my ASA rule book yesterday and it agrees with what Comp said. Umpires have control of the field, but what you're speaking to is the existence of activist umpires who want to insert their own interpretations of spectator behavior into the rule book.

Regarding the OP, I like figuring out the opposing team's signs, but I'm trying to train my hitter to pick up on any physical cues the pitcher may be providing.
 
Jan 20, 2010
139
0
I asked what my players focus on when batting a few times a year...... All said the release of the pitch and picking up the spin. Which is what they are taught to do.... I asked if they could hear fans behind home. All said they tune everything out. Parents are going to be idiots not doubt. It is bush league, but chances are the batter probably not hearing it unless instructed to listen for the location of the pitch. Don't like it being done and I will usually have a few smart reflective comments to them and they get my point. May not stop them, but they get my point. And don't think a pitcher and a catcher when they had enough will take things into their own hands at the older age groups with thier own little pitch selection. You cant stop a fan. A umpire cant stop a fan. If they want to be an idiot they will be an idiot. Cant fix stupid.
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,914
113
Mundelein, IL
Next tournament blue and I are going to have a discussion about the long lines at the concession stand and the messy restrooms. And the parking is also an issue. Unless there was a specific rule or policy that the cages were not to be used during games the guy and his DD had every right to be there.

I think what you guys are missing with a lot of this is kids are not just short adults. What you think shouldn't bother them does. It's easy as an adult to say "teach them to ignore it," but it doesn't always work that way. In fact it rarely works that way.

If it's a distraction to the players on the field then it should be stopped. Let the kids play the game. Yes, it would've been better had the tournament director taken care of it, but the TD wasn't there at the time.

Think of it at a high school or college game. If some random person walked up and started using the batting cage would they be allowed to do it as long as there wasn't a sign that said it was for use by the school teams only? I highly doubt it. It would be considered a distraction and stopped, probably by the home coach. Since there was no home coach in the tournament it was left to the umpire.
 
We use the "inside fastball" method to deal with a-holes. Our catchers are trained to call outside changeups at least once during each at bat if they hear pitches being called out, and our pitchers are trained to throw inside fastballs when they do.

The girls on the other team will tell the idiot to shut up after three or four of them have hit the dirt after he has yelled, "Changeup, outside!"
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
I think what you guys are missing with a lot of this is kids are not just short adults. What you think shouldn't bother them does. It's easy as an adult to say "teach them to ignore it," but it doesn't always work that way. In fact it rarely works that way.

If it's a distraction to the players on the field then it should be stopped. Let the kids play the game. Yes, it would've been better had the tournament director taken care of it, but the TD wasn't there at the time.

Think of it at a high school or college game. If some random person walked up and started using the batting cage would they be allowed to do it as long as there wasn't a sign that said it was for use by the school teams only? I highly doubt it. It would be considered a distraction and stopped, probably by the home coach. Since there was no home coach in the tournament it was left to the umpire.

Really, a compound excuse followed by an unrelated analogy? Kids can't handle distraction like adults coupled with the TD was not there, then all compared to the unrelated scenario of a HS or College Game. Unless ALL games are conducted sans use of the batting cage and that is the established norm blue was out of line crossing over from official to nanny.
 

JJsqueeze

Dad, Husband....legend
Jul 5, 2013
5,436
38
safe in an undisclosed location
Wouldn't a RULE dictating that the cages couldn't be used be more of a "nanny" thing to do? Isn't people using common decency and manners without the need for a rule exactly what we would prefer? People taking action to keep things on the up and up is personal responsibility, the need for a rule to make sure it happens is being a "nanny".
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
Wouldn't a RULE dictating that the cages couldn't be used be more of a "nanny" thing to do? Isn't people using common decency and manners without the need for a rule exactly what we would prefer? People taking action to keep things on the up and up is personal responsibility, the need for a rule to make sure it happens is being a "nanny".

The crux of this comes down to precedent. If the norm is for the cages to be used during games then they should be available. However, to your point if that is not the norm then this is a breach of protocol and should not occur. However, from the description provided I get the idea the the former is the norm not the latter.
 

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