Bush League Tactics......

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[quote author=Whitehall Wrath link=1159327795/0#13 date=1159596698]
What kind of an idiot umpire would tell you something like that? ?

I would not say the umpire was an idiot. I would say his hands were tied. :-[ I think this particular umpire would have done something about it if there were something that could have been done.

 

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Okay...I have to fess up.

The idiot umpire at that game was...ME! ;D

That was a tough, hard-fought elimination game. Right behind the backstop were bleachers with about 30-40 screaming fans. Down the first base line, between me and that first base coach, were another 30-40 screaming fans.

With all of the screaming and shouting I never even noticed that the first base coach was being so vocal. From my position, some 70 feet away, her lone voice didn't stand out among the hundred-or-so other screaming voices around the field.

As Whitehall Wrath and I discussed after the game, there really isn't much at all that an umpire can do about a coach screaming encouragement to their own team. If the screams and cheers are negative in nature and directed at the opposition, I wouldn't hesitate to step in. If something unsportsmanlike is being said that the umpire needs made aware of, discreetly tell him during the game and he can watch for it.

As irritating as that coach might have been, she wasn't breaking any rules that I could enforce.

 

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Bigguy... "armed guards?" This is a game between kids right? I'm not so sure it would have been that important to me to finish that game. Sounds like that could have gotten A LOT uglier!

 

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Doesn't the umpire have some discretion about the behavior of fans, though? At one of our games, the opposing team's bench cleared and they stood behind the backstop, directly behind the umpire and screamed. The umpire called time out, walked up to our pitcher, and told her if they were bothering/distracting (not sure exactly what the wording was) her, he would ask them to stop. (she said they were making her mad enough to pitcher harder, which she did, and of course that quited them down).

At another game, a parent from an oppsoing team consistently stood behind the backstop when we were in the field, shaking a can of coins or rocks or something that really made a racket and he screamed constantly. The umpire eventually told him to stop.

 

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We have had umpires throw parents/spectators off the fields when they were being obnoxious! and I'm glad. Around us there is a very low tolerance for ignorance! Sounds to me like the place Bigguy was at had a bunch of people who just wanted a win (probably armed guards included)

 

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we were at a tournament there were several games where different bush league tactics were being used by different teams.
one was.. they had parents yelling "i got it" every fly ball.. (this is 16U)
and we had a pitcher on that team that pranced around the pitcher's circle before she pitched every pitch then at one point blew kisses to one of our batters. it was quiet the show.

 

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I heard something from an opposing team parent this season I hadn't heard since I was in the third grade. One of our players came up to bat and a parent yelled "Easy out!"

I think she hit a double.

 

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My favorite is when the our catcher sets up for pitch location and the opposing 3rd base coach tells the batter the exact location to expect the pitch. I think they forget at 12 U, glove location and end result aren't always the same. It's kind of funny when the other coach calls out to the batter to watch for the high heat where the catchers glove is, and the pitch comes in for a strike at the knees. I've heard them actually apologize to batters for being wrong. You would think that would end their guessing, but maybe they are practicing for 16 - 18 U.

I have to admit, in my opinion, alot of the examples in this thread go clear past bush league and straight to unacceptable.

 

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I LOVE the "easy out" comment! ?Especially when the girl gets on base safe! ?I especially love the "she AIN"T gawn nowhere" ?Then the girl steals the base! ?
Just remember, some victories are MUCH sweeter than others. ?

 

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Much of what is Bush League and what isn't is subtle. One almost has to have played softball or baseball (and been paying attention) to understand it. For example, a runner at second base blatantly pointing in or out to signal pitch location is bush. Giving a subtle signal that isn't likely to tip off the defense isn't bush. There are numerous examples. Stealing a base when you're up a bunch of runs and it's obvious the other team isn't coming back is bush. It doesn't matter whether some believe the other team should just "get better", it has come to be accepted as bush.

At the risk of playing sociologist, any game needs acceptable standards of behavior that aren't addressed in the rules to maintain civility. When these standards aren't upheld, the lack of civility ruins the game and, incidentally, really makes me mad.

What we still don't have in softball is a set of acceptable behavior for time-limit games. I HATE time-limit games that come down to whether a team will decide whether to try to stall. I don't like to be on either end of it.

 

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... a runner at second base blatantly pointing in or out to signal pitch location is bush.

Funny, I saw that happen in a professional women's fastpitch game.

 

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Did the batter then get drilled? If I'm coaching a professional team and the other team does that, my pitcher is tossing a 67 mph fastball to the gut of the current batter. And then on the woman's way to first base, the pitcher might ask whether the runner on second indicated THAT location.

 

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Wouldn't that also be "bush League"? : Two wrongs don't make a right.

 

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Joe, what happened was the runner on second base was never correct. I think the catcher was playing her nicely.

 

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Not so hard to believe considering that you might have a different standard for a PROFESSIONAL game than you would have an AMATEUR one.

 

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catcher: I am completely serious. Believe it or not, it happens all the time in Major League Baseball. As a matter of fact, it happens in college baseball and college softball as well. I would imagine it likely happens in professional women's softball as well.

Just knowing that a batter may get drilled keeps many of the Bush League things from occuring.

 

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Joe A is 100% correct. Bush League tactics are never accepted in games played at higher levels. The players and managers have a way of policing these tactics on their own.

Joe

 

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I would never order a high school or travel ball pitcher to hit someone. When you're dealing with kids it's a different story. The only way I have found to deal with bush league stuff is to just inform my players about it, why it's bush, and to tell them that stuff simply won't happen on our team.

 

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And if they slide into your catcher, knock their helmet off and cleat them in the head! Yeah - that'll teach 'em!

 

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I consider myself lucky, we've only experienced just a couple incidents in 5 years of play. We ended a playoff game with the tie breaker being a runner posted on third, their batter would lay down a bunt and attempt a squeeze play. My girls played way up and threw home but the runner from 3rd would sweep the legs. Second time I had the catcher 3+ feet behind the base to drop in the tag, they still swept the legs and tagged with the left hand, ump "didn't see a problem."

Worst case was a coach who called every play LOUDLY. Every time they were at bat, everything was safe. When we were at bat of course everything was out. Second inning we had a close play on a steal at second, the opposing coach of course called it out, the ump hand signaled safe and said OUT! I lost the arguement. This went on the whole game. Unfortunately we lost.