Umpire integrity, Coach integrity

[EdLovrich]

That sounds exactly like what you did though.

How so? Now that it is known that he has basically 'black-balled' an umpire for not giving him favorable calls, we are no longer accepting work from him.

 

[The Man In Blue]

How so? Now that it is known that he has basically 'black-balled' an umpire for not giving him favorable calls, we are no longer accepting work from him.

And THAT is what needs to start happening ... organizations or even just collectives of umpires need to start getting together and refusing games for problem coaches/teams.

 

[clarity]

How so? Now that it is known that he has basically 'black-balled' an umpire for not giving him favorable calls, we are no longer accepting work from him.

That's exactly what he wants, isn't it? People with integrity to not work his games? Until he has difficulty finding umpires, he wins.

 

[CoachJD]

I read it very clearly. Implying umpires favor one team or coach over another and asking who had done/seen it is just bitching about them in a different way.

It absolutely is not that whatsoever.

 

[clarity]

Have you ever intentionally overturned a call or given preferential treatment to a team

 

[marriard]

What are y’all’s thoughts?

About what?

 

[The Man In Blue]

My thoughts, as an Ole Miss grad student who has seen a few games, are that Ole Miss has a few players who feel a little too entitled. (And a few parents in the stands also.)

I saw two players who I feel "removed themselves from the game" but the umpires let it go. I also think the coach should have benched both of them, not just one of them.

I don't have all the context, but I like the strike 3 call. More umpires need to do this (especially in baseball). A few years back I was at a Single-A baseball championship game and the ump rang a guy up like this. The guy had it coming (and then he was going, of course).

 

[PDM]

I like to believe every umpire calls every game without prejudice, bias or undue influence. However, I've been around the game far too long to be that naive.

Recently, I heard the opposing team's coach, who also happens to be the league president, quietly ask the home plate umpire to give his team a "generous" strike zone as his team took the field. The umpire complied.

I've seen numerous other calls go in favor of teams whose coaches have prior relationships with the umpires (tournament directors, league directors and/or simply coaches that have been around a while). I've also seen the reverse occur - coaches with a history of arguing or complaining get calls made against them.

Some of the above is simply human nature; you develop a relationship with a coach who is polite, respectful and has demonstrated a clear knowledge of the rules. It stands to reason, that coach is more likely to be listened to when a question is asked than a coach where no prior relationship exists.

My questions for umpires are these:

Have you ever intentionally overturned a call or given preferential treatment to a team based on your relationship with the coach or the coach's position as a league/tournament director? If so, how often?

Have you ever been threatened with, or feared, there would be repercussions if you did not give preferential treatment to a certain team or coach? i.e. If you make bad calls for a certain team, you will be assigned to fewer games.

Have you ever assumed a coach knew a rule better than you and, therefore, overturned your call based on that coach's stating or interpretation of the rule?

My question for coaches is:

Have you ever used your position and/or relationship with an umpire to elicit preferential treatment and/or a ruling that you knew was wrong?

I've been a sports official and coach for over 4 decades. I can tell you with a lot of confidence that 99% of the time officials don't care who wins and don't give preferential treatment to one team over another. I will say that coaches can be treated differently, based on how they treat the official, and that can cloud a spectator's judgement about the calls on the field, but it very rarely results in the official favoring one team over another. I've spent hundreds of hours talking about officiating and calls with other officials and coaches at dinner after events, sometimes including officials that I had just met. Doing this really changes your perspective. You realize that they are just trying (not always successfully) to get the calls right. They really don't care who wins. As for your last two questions, the answer is no to both. As an official I have never once assumed that a coach knew a rule better than I did and overturned a call based on that assumption. I will always listen respectfully to their case, but it's very rare that they know a rule better than I do (but it has happened). Of course, most argued calls are not based on a rule being misapplied. Most are argued based on differing judgement. A coach will never win that argument and it's pointless to try. As a coach, I will occasionally point out that the official misapplied a rule, or that I saw a play differently than he/she did, but I don't try to influence anyone based on our relationship. Integrity is more important than getting a call changed.

 

[radness]

You realize that they are just trying (not always successfully) to get the calls right.








They really don't care who wins. As for your last two questions, the answer is no to both. As an official I have never once assumed that a coach knew a rule better than I did and overturned a call based on that assumption. I will always listen respectfully to their case, but it's very rare that they know a rule better than I do (but it has happened). Of course, most argued calls are not based on a rule being misapplied. Most are argued based on differing judgement. A coach will never win that argument and it's pointless to try. As a coach, I will occasionally point out that the official misapplied a rule, or that I saw a play differently than he/she did, but I don't try to influence anyone based on our relationship. Integrity is more important than getting a call changed.

Absolutely! Trying!

Learned this early on while catching.
Saw enough to know that by the time i started coaching almost never questioned calls.
Get what you get.
Both teams get the same.

What i notice most on the field is~
Players mechanics and decisions have far more to do with the outcome of things,
than umpires. Focus on Team!

 

[clarity]

About what?

lol. That's part of the link. Those aren't my words.