Umpire integrity, Coach integrity

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PDM

Jun 18, 2019
165
43
NJ
No. Never.
No.
No.

And I probably have to eject you from the thread for questioning the umps' integrity. ;)
My answers are the same. I would also add that the shortage of officials in all sports puts us in the position that we don't have to show favoritism to be hired to work games and tournaments. A good official is always in demand. If I was a coach who saw that umpires were giving preferential treatment to home coaches (or that coaches suggested it) would have one less team entering the next tournament, and as an official I would not work such a tournament because I would not want to be lumped in with officials who would act that way. No one with any common sense or integrity wants to waste time in a poorly, and/or unethically run tournament.
 
Jun 11, 2013
2,619
113
I do believe that in HS sports if you go to some small towns you might see a little bias. However, in TB when an ump is doing 8 games a day they barely even know who is playing. All they are trying to do is call it as best as they can. Some umpires just aren't good, but I must be an outlier because I would say the vast majority were either pretty good or really good.
 
May 29, 2015
3,731
113
@canyonjoe -- I wouldn't ever say "never" ... but I would say more often than not, the bias you are seeing is confirmation bias on the part of the observer. If you walk in with the mentality of expecting small town bias, every call you don't agree with will be "favoritism for the home team."

As an umpire, I will agree: some guys and gals just aren't good ... but that also does not mean they are giving preferential treatment.
 
Feb 13, 2021
880
93
MI
I can only guess, so this is speculation: If you are being a 'homer' umpire, then EVERY close call is going to go one way, If that happens it is VERY obvious. If you are trying to just sneak in one or two vital calls, then there are long delays as you weigh, "Is this close enough", "which call do I need to make to benefit the home team", "Is this one of the vital calls that will swing the outcome." Again, it would become quite obvious what you are doing.

You don't need to go to a small town to see this. It happens when a coach/manager thinks an umpire is out to "hose" him/her and/or his/her team. Most likely what you are getting is, as TMIB said above. confirmation bias.
 

PDM

Jun 18, 2019
165
43
NJ
I can only guess, so this is speculation: If you are being a 'homer' umpire, then EVERY close call is going to go one way, If that happens it is VERY obvious. If you are trying to just sneak in one or two vital calls, then there are long delays as you weigh, "Is this close enough", "which call do I need to make to benefit the home team", "Is this one of the vital calls that will swing the outcome." Again, it would become quite obvious what you are doing.

You don't need to go to a small town to see this. It happens when a coach/manager thinks an umpire is out to "hose" him/her and/or his/her team. Most likely what you are getting is, as TMIB said above. confirmation bias.
One thing that always makes me laugh as an official in more than one sport, as a coach, and as a parent of an athlete is the idea that the close calls in a game need to be equal for each team or something is wrong. Each call is its own entity and if an official did consciously try to keep them even, he/she a bad official. I remember one game in particular that I officiated between two state ranked teams. I didn't know either coach very well and had no bias. It just worked out that the correct calls seemed to all go one way. I was not the only official working so it wasn't just my responsibility. Some days it just works like that.
 
Mar 4, 2015
526
93
New England
Rather than another thread on why umpires aren't better, I'd seriously like to know why so many fans don't trust umpires.

Is it projection? Are they themselves so biased that they can't conceive that someone else can be unbiased and indifferent to who wins and loses? Do they lack integrity themselves and therefore expect others to lack the same? Why do they think who wins some silly game is more important than their integrity? I don't get it.
 
Feb 13, 2021
880
93
MI
Is it projection? Are they themselves so biased that they can't conceive that someone else can be unbiased and indifferent to who wins and loses? Do they lack integrity themselves and therefore expect others to lack the same? Why do they think who wins some silly game is more important than their integrity? I don't get it.
I would not go as far as saying that anyone lacks integrity. (I would hope that everyone feels the same and presumes that all people have integrity until they directly prove otherwise.) That being said; yes, fans, parents, coaches and players are all biased. That is not a bad thing. Fans (short for fanatics) are biased by definition (unless they are simply fans of the game itself). Parents, coaches and players all have a vested interest in who wins any particular contest and SHOULD be biased.

Umpires, and all sports officials, have (or should have) zero investment in who wins any particular contest, therefore, they come into the game with zero bias about who wins or loses.

Part of the reason (IMO) that people have trouble accepting the fact that officials have zero interest in the outcome of the game is due to broadcast announcers. For the most part, especially in baseball, these individuals are (usually) ex-players (at least on the color side) who are hired by club itself to broadcast to a local, and hence highly partisan, audience. They come into the contest with the same biases as fans of the TEAM. As evidence of this, compare the number of times in NFL broadcasts that there are controversies about the officials mentioned in a national broadcast and a local market broadcast. It is hard to believe that part-time officials (all NFL officials have or had other full-time careers) are that much better and less biased than officials who are full-time and the officiating income is there primary source.

So TL: DR; Yes, people have biases and this is not a bad thing. This is exacerbated by the fact that baseball, in particular, (the most closely related widely broadcast/viewed sport) is more market-based rather than national, and uses broadcasters who have many of these same biases.
 
Last edited:
Aug 25, 2019
1,066
113
You know how you have an umpire with integrity?......If it's the last inning and he/she is still calling ball on pitches. I had a bracket game today, last inning, away team is up at bat, down 10-8, two outs, full count, close pitch high, I called a ball, they got a two out rally and scored three runs. I could of called that a strike and been on my way home. Same thing bottom of inning, home team up, 2 outs, full count, high pitch I called a ball, runner takes base. Away team coach is chirping, I stepped over to the coach and said "say coach, if I called that a strike the game would of been over and I'd be going home right?" He agreed, that's when I said to him "thats why it was a ball".......
 
May 10, 2021
149
43
I have been around the softball world for 16 years, either as a coach, league board member, and ocassionally reluctant umpire. I have seen several umpires for over 12 years and they have seen me at the B/C travel level. Now several of them sometimes do my DD's high school games and I ocassionally see an umpire I know at a PGF tournament. Do I get the benefit of the doubt ocassionally on a close call because of my reputation, sometimes. Is it unethical-- no. Also many less experienced coaches don't know how to calmly interact with the umpires on various issues that come up during games.

My favorite rule of thumb I use is "If anyone but the umpire you are asking the question of can hear you, you are asking the question the wrong way"
This rule of thumb should be taught at coaching clinics.
 
Last edited:
Jan 22, 2011
1,610
113
This rule of thumb should be taught at coaching clinics.
An update to my post. The two umpires that umpired my DD's first CCS game I have known for over 8 years, if not 10 years. We still lost the game, but I know they got a kick out of umpiring my DD's game, as they have umpired tournament games for my DD since she was 7.
 
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