Strangest thing an Umpire has said to you?

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May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
There's an ump in our area who introduces himself as "Tex". Any chance he gets, he makes sure to mention that he's the cousin of former NY Yankee, Mark Teixeria.
 
Jul 27, 2021
276
43
Me: Blue what's the count
Ump: Signals with the sun behind him so I can't see.
Me: Sorry blue I can't see.
Ump: The pay attention and know the count
Me: Or you could use your voice like you just did.
The quite ones are terrible. No one on from either team knows the count. Was that a ball? Strike? What is your count compared to mine? Sameones never call it out with hand signals either. I bet the field umps are just as confused. You know that isn't how they were trained.
 
Jan 28, 2017
1,662
83
A friend of mine that umpires a lot of local games came over and said, do not start griping about calls today.
Not me but a coach I know. There is a girl who has been on my DDs team whose nickname was/is Up. The coach would call out to her come on up. Get aggressive up. We need you up... Finally the plate ump calls time walks over to the dugout and says "you got a problem with me?" Coach is confused as he hasn't said a word to him. "I don't know what your talking about". " all game all I hear from you is come on ump, we need this ump... All sorts of things"

Had a kid that played on our team named Blue (middle name) but what we called her. We would always forget to tell the umpires and they would be all confused. LOL
 
Feb 25, 2020
953
93
In rec where a coach comes in to pitch for a walk... Older Lady ump in between the top and bottom of 1st inning comes over and tells me I am throwin it too fast (we had scored like 4 or 5 runs, did pretty good I thought).

I told her "this is fastpitch!"
 
Feb 25, 2020
953
93
Until you have your pregame meeting........BTW blue todays varsity contest is between 0-24 Green Valley and 2-23-1 Spring Mountain.........."well the rivers will be flowing over today" says my partner. Lol.

I know there is only 1 rulebook strike zone. BUT.......most umps adjust especially for talent level.

I think there are infinite strike zones...
 

softgabby

Gear Empress
Mar 10, 2016
1,073
83
Just behind home plate
I have to tell this story.

It happened in the summer between my junior and senior years of high school. It coincides in the period of time I transitioned from not wearing compression pants under my softball pants to wearing them.

It was getting toward the end of our travel softball season and we're playing at a tournament near the beach in Connecticut. When playing multiple games in a day, I like to change pants because I'm filthy and sweaty from being behind the plate. I grab a whole change of clothes from out of my bag and put them on in the ladies' restroom near the field we were sitting at. We had no issues in our third game with umpires and my uniform wasn't too dirty. So, I left what I was wearing on. Our fourth game comes around and right around the sixth inning change the umpire taps me on the shoulder and told me that "he didn't want to see me wearing the pants I was wearing because my underwear was showing". And if he saw me with them on, I'd be disqualified. I didn't understand and then I realized I was wearing my "problem child" pants. These are pants that I've kinda outgrown and don't fit too well anymore. I was so mortified.

My teammates obviously found out the details of what happened and I was finding pairs of the offending underwear type everywhere. Lockers...Bags...On the fence...everywhere. I did eventually get my revenge over something stupid someone did. One of my old teammates got a hold of me over Discord and we talked for a while. Then, as a prank, she sent me a whole bunch of packs of the offending undergarment. HaHa! :rolleyes:
 
Jun 1, 2015
500
43
@softgabby - 3 years ago, I'm officiating a fall tournament in our area (upstate NY). October Saturday morning, 8am game, frost still in the outfield. I'm working on the plate. We do our plate meeting, separate, and get ready. Pitcher gets to the circle to take her 5 warm-up pitches. I have my back turned so I can grab my mask (off by the 3B line extended at the backstop), and I hear a noise and an audible "Oh no". I turn around - the pitcher, in her first warm-up pitch, when she stretched to release, tore a hole in her uniform pants from A to Z (luckily with compression shorts under).

However, there was not an immediate pair of pants available, so while the SP had to leave the field to change, the coach had to insert a substitute to pitch until the SP could change her uniform. She came back in about 3 batters later, but it was certainly a commotion I've never experienced before as an umpire for sure.

That's why, when I coach my summer rec team, I (as a male coach) tell my girls, "Dress appropriately in your uniforms just in case anything happens during the game." I feel VERY uncomfortable saying any more than that, so I usually talk with the parents (the mothers) and explain myself so they can handle that type of matter at home, and i don't get any commotion from that.
 
Jun 19, 2016
858
63
That's a nice theory.
Of course I know this is not true...but it would be nice if it were. I have seen blues change from game to game. Sometimes I swear it depends on what uniform you are wearing. In general too many umpires are focusing on where the catcher catches the ball and not where the ball crosses the plate....so pitchers with a good movement get penalized.
 

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