Umpire threatens to shrink strike zone due to poor catching

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Feb 13, 2021
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MI
I don't have a problem as an umpire with asking the team if there is another option to play catcher. There isn't any reason I should have to get beat up while they try out a catcher; that's what practice is for. However, I'm never going to threaten consequences and if there is no other option then I'm just going to call the game and hide behind the catcher the best I can.
I cannot even justify asking for another catcher, this is way more 'coaching the team' than anything I might say to a player (and that is walking a fine line even at a lower level of ball). If you can't deal with getting hit by a pitch, then you:

a) need gear appropriate to the level of ball you are working
b) need to learn to stay front-on to the pitch and let the gear you do have work the way it is designed
c) need to officiate tiddly-winks or jacks.

Sorry if I am sounding cranky on this point, but dealing with getting our 'badges of honor' is part of what we sign up for when we take game assignments and the paycheck that goes with it.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
I cannot even justify asking for another catcher, this is way more 'coaching the team' than anything I might say to a player (and that is walking a fine line even at a lower level of ball). If you can't deal with getting hit by a pitch, then you:

a) need gear appropriate to the level of ball you are working
b) need to learn to stay front-on to the pitch and let the gear you do have work the way it is designed
c) need to officiate tiddly-winks or jacks.

Sorry if I am sounding cranky on this point, but dealing with getting our 'badges of honor' is part of what we sign up for when we take game assignments and the paycheck that goes with it.

And the OP says it was 12UC All Stars (whatever that means)... I mean the ball is just not travelling all that fast.
I help out in rec here are there. You get hit a lot as you would expect at that level - but unless it gets you just right, it isn't causing anything more than a minor bruise.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
He decides to pull the girls off the field, because he wants to protect the pitcher and catcher from dealing with a partial ump the rest of the game.

This is what I'd do. Also would let the TD know if he ever uses that ump again we won't pay to be in his tournament. I'd also get the umpire's name and share it with everyone I could to ensure he gets as few games as possible.

I understand it's hot and it sucks getting hit repeatedly, but he broke maybe the two biggest rules for me. He openly admitted he was going to screw over children and not be fair, and he went out of his way to embarrass a child who was trying her best.

He's a bad guy. We don't need people like him in the game.
 
May 29, 2015
3,731
113
I don't have a problem as an umpire with asking the team if there is another option to play catcher. There isn't any reason I should have to get beat up while they try out a catcher; that's what practice is for. However, I'm never going to threaten consequences and if there is no other option then I'm just going to call the game and hide behind the catcher the best I can.

Don't ever do any of the stricken parts.

Worst beating I ever took I joked about and went back the next day for a double header with the same team.

Worked a V + 3JV innings on a Friday. In the JV game the visiting team (we'll call them the Pinata Punchers) had a pitcher who was decent (velocity and movement), but not accurate that day at all. The catcher informed me she had never caught before, but their first, second, and third string catchers were all out. I was beaten like the red-headed step child of a rented mule.

The next morning I had a JV double-header for another school. The coach meets me in the parking lot and says "I don't know if your partner will be here ... he called to say he was running late and asked if you could take the first plate." I rubbed my wounds, groaned, and laughed. I told him about the game the night before. The color ran out of the coach's face ... "Uh, we're playing the Pinata Punchers."

I suited up and did it all over again.

The catcher was mortified when she saw me. I just laughed.
 
May 29, 2015
3,731
113
I cannot even justify asking for another catcher, this is way more 'coaching the team' than anything I might say to a player (and that is walking a fine line even at a lower level of ball). If you can't deal with getting hit by a pitch, then you:

a) need gear appropriate to the level of ball you are working
b) need to learn to stay front-on to the pitch and let the gear you do have work the way it is designed
c) need to officiate tiddly-winks or jacks.

Sorry if I am sounding cranky on this point, but dealing with getting our 'badges of honor' is part of what we sign up for when we take game assignments and the paycheck that goes with it.

Ed cannot stress enough his a, b, and c points ...

Buy decent gear and trust it.

Learn to take a shot because it is going to happen. You can lessen the odds, but it will happen.

If you are crying about 12u C-level little girls lobbing softballs, it's time for a new hobby. Try track and field or competitive dance. Both are desperately in need of officials.
 

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