Players and Umpires - Coaches Action

No problem OAC

Its a tough time of the year. Its tough to see those seniors walk off the field after their last hs game. Only four teams will leave it every year with a win that make the playoffs.

 

Outcomes of games

Well said Coach: Here are my top reasons on wins/losses in general based on seeing thousands of games.

1-Players make errors
2-Pitchers toss great games
3-Batters get clutch hits
4-Coaches make wrong decisions
5-Umpires blow a crucial call

Feel free to add more reasons BUT my guess is umpire calls would still fall to the bottom of the list. I have never met an umpire that wanted to be directly involved in a team winning or losing a game.

 

I have said it before, and you can agree or disagree, but I truly believe most all umpires are trying to do the best they can when they walk out on that field,,, they may not always know the rulebook cover to cover like they should, and they may not always get in the best positions to make the best calls, but I believe most of them are trying.

Only (I would say) a couple of times in my 40 years going to baseball games can I ever remember an umpire (in my mind) DELIBERATELY calling a game unfairly or one-sided. In the few cases that I can remember, a one-sided umpire is usually the result of the ump having a history with one coach or one team, and just like the player who may try to stare down an ump, lets face it folks, umpires are human too, and sometimes umpires may do things (JUST LIKE PLAYERS) that they shouldn't do. They are human.

Bottomline, I have found that the bad umps don't stick around for long,,,, and neither do the players with attitudes.

 

Great Post TJ

I do not believe in excuses. Its too easy to find someone else to blame when things do not go your way. I have never lost a game when we pitched well , fielded well , ran the bases well and got clutch hits. If you outplay your opponent then the umpires are a non factor imo. Yes sometimes you feel like you got a good call and sometimes you feel like you got a bad call. But if you look for excuses they are too easy to find and too easy to rely on. When you think about what these guys are getting paid. Then you factor in the travel costs and time spent doing it. Its a wonder we can find anyone to do it in the first place. Most of them do it because they love what they do and they are trying their absolute best to be the best they can be. The ones that are not like TJ said wont be around for long.

 

Pitcher Acting Poorly

When I umpired games and the pitcher was acting out, I would look at the coach to get his attention and then tip my head toward the pitcher to let him know he needed to go talk with him.
If the coach did not take the hint, the next time the pitcher acted out, I would call time and walk around the plate to dust it off. While dusting it off, I would tell the catcher to go talk with his pitcher and tell him to knock it off before I gave him an official warning or worse.
I never had to go beyond that, thankfully.
Just one way to handle a young man who just needs to get his mindset back on track...

 

Very good!!!. A lot of good info in this thread

 

Well said

That is a fantastic comment.

Nobody gives credit to an Umpire for a win but you do here alot about a loss because of an Umpire. "We lost that game. But we had crappy umps." Suggesting that had they had good umps they would have won!!?? Yeah right!

Well said Coach27.

 

Balls and Strikes

Ok Im by no standard an umpire with a respectable resume. However Ive called a few and I mean a few. So I have a very simple approach. I have to cause I haven't done a lot of calling. So here's my approach

From the plate.

Pitcher:

The offering from the pitcher is either a ball or a strike. My call. My judgment. You can be absolutely certain that I will call it as I see it. As consistently as I can.
Getting shown up by a pitcher or batter never bothers me. Pitcher doesn't like the call I made on the pitch he/she threw? Sorry but you threw it not me. I just call it ball or strike. How can the pitcher tell if he caught a corner? They are how far away? I guess I don't even know what getting shown up means.

IMO pitchers, catchers, and batters should learn how the plate umpire see's the strike zone. Most have never called balls and strikes and cannot appreciate the game from the plate umpires perspective.

So you don't like my call on the pitch? No problem. You can bet I won't change it. The strike zone in my mind doesn't change. So figure out how I see the zone from behind the plate and find it!

Batter:

Batter looks over at me when I call a strike on a corner. Whispers under his her breath, "That wasn't a strike." Well maybe in his/her mind it wasn't but in my mind it was. Here in is the problem for the batter. I called it that way and they didn't offer at it. Again the batter can do a lot of things with that bat one of which is to swing it. If its close enough to call it may be close enough to hit. May not be a perfect connection but hey foul it off until you get a good one to hit.

Get a good pitch to hit. If you have time to look at the plate umpire and make a comment then your head is not even in the game.

As far as shrinking the zone. I don't and wouldn't consciously anyway. But if an ump does it because of a pitchers behaviour then catcher or coach needs to fix it. Don't make the ump part of the game. Get through it and play.

IMO the umpire is the least significant part of the game.

How a team: Hits the ball, throws the ball, catches the ball, and runs the bases determines a win or loss.

The FU.

There are going to be close plays. The FU will make many calls throughout the game. Some of those calls will be close calls. Not his fault that the offense got into a close call, one that the FU might get wrong. The FU will get a lot of them right!

It really shouldn't matter if the FU gets a close play wrong. They will do there best. However the offense might not get a call that goes there way if it is a close play. So why get into close plays? Hit safely. Advance runners. Its not the FU's fault the play was close so don't blame them if they have to make a call that is close. A call has to be made and it might not go the offenses way. But a call will be made regardless.

The stands.

What makes me laugh is all of the people out there second guessing umpires from the stands and they have never called a game.

Go call a little league game sometime. Deal with angry moms and dads who think that you are snatching their little Bobbies MLB dream from them.

 

We all have our roles.

You know what makes TBR so great? That is it brings so many different view points from the game of baseball. The Coaches view of - Nothing matters but the team! Get out there and get it done and everything works out the way it should if you work hard. The Umpires – If you haven’t done it than don’t judge it. I see it, I call it, and you adjust to me. Do not take this as a slam because I agree with and understand both their view points but as a parent I also have a little different one.

I do not believe any player should show up any Umpire good or bad at anytime – I think we all agree. That’s a character / discipline problem and has no place in the wonderful game we all love. But do not give me the Umpires can not cause a game to swing one way or another. What Coach does not believe in momentum?? How fast can momentum change on a bad call! As for the earlier example of the pitcher that gave up 10 hits and 7 ER. If little Joey has to throw fastballs in a tin can to get a strike than guess what? He is going to get rocked! I do understand the Coaches position and respect it because no great Coach makes excuses. Who would want their kid to play for a coach that went around looking for excuses? Not I!

I would never Umpire. The most unappreciated part of the game. I respect the guys that go out there and work hard to give the teams a chance to play. Read my past post, I always thank Blue for being consistent and for being a non noticed necessity of the game. If they can do their jobs without anyone really noticing they were there, then they will get a high five from me. If Blue likes the inside corner of the plate and calls it there for both teams than he will not hear from me. Pitchers show you can adjust. But if Blue is all over the place and the pitchers and batters are having a hard time focusing on the game because of Blue, than get ready because I am going to be in his ear. I’ll leave his mother out of it but he will know he needs to focus a little better. Hay everyone is going to miss a few but at least try and stay consistent. Know that curves break over the plate and chest high pitches are “balls”. Oh and by the way, I really can see the strike zone from where I sit. As for the FU, be in the best position you can and call it as you see it. We will grumble and complain but we do understand you have a better view than we do. I have met far more Umpires I liked than disliked and most do an unbelievable job. If you umpired a game this year, than Thank You very much. If you had to hear my mouth from the stands this year, I will not apologize. I’m a parent!

Sorry, I know three paragraphs are a little long for a post.

 

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