Ump walks off field in Pickerington

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We just came back from the 12U Pickerington Invitational Tournament last weekend, 7/7 - 7/8. ?The final championship game, between GFOD THUNDER and Pickerington Thunder was anything but normal. ?At the beginning of the game, the Umpire called out the coaches for the coin toss, GFOD came out on the field, and Pickerington did not for quite some time. ?The Umpire warned them 3 different times to come out on the field and finally gave them a time limit or he would call the game and GFOD would win by forfeit. ?Pickerington finally came out, the game began and throughout the game, fans from the Pickerington team were evidentally making derogatory comments directly to the head umpire behind home plate, regarding what they thought were "bad calls". ?Finally, at the top of the 6th inning, GFOD was 1 run away from a "run rule", had no outs and a runner on 3rd, the Umpire made another call the Pickerington fans didn't approve of. ?The Umpire then stopped the game and told the Pickerington Coach that all of the Pickerington fans & spectators were to leave the park. ?The Pickerington Coach refused and then announced that he was the tournament director and over-ruled the umpires decision! ?HOW ABOUT THAT??? ?The Umpire then stated that if the coach wouldn't stand by his decision, he was leaving. ?The Pickerington coaches yelled "BYE" and the Umpire left the park. ?In the meantime, the GFOD and Pickerington teams waited about 45 minutes or so, while the tournament director / Pickerington Coach, found a new umpire. ?Finally, a new umpire arrived, GFOD scored 2 more runs, then had 3 up / 3 down and won the game by a run rule, 11-2. ?It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. ?It was very unprofessional and unfortunately left a bad taste in our mouths about Pickerington. ?Its unfortunate because the facility was nice, but there's a lack of good sportsmanship.

 

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Wow :-?

 

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the 14 umps werent much better (sounds like the same bum we had!)...but i felt like walking off, it's quite different if an ump ejects himself...

hey bretman, what say you?

as a Pick resident, it does reflect on your communtiy when the pick teams have their "pick" of pools or that their fans get to be belligerent and get away with it...talk about Purple Rain (or Reign, hehe)....I'm sure teams like GFOD will remember this one (congrats on the win)

 

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We all know that good or bad, the umpire's calls are the final word. It is simply the nature of the game and that you have to accept it. I'd say that once the umpire in question reports this to the tournament's sanctioning body there will probally be some serious questions asked of that tournament director which may affect the tournament's future or his affilliation with it.

 

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Very sad, but not surprising. The umps were very inconsistent this weekend.

 

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No matter how bad the umps might have been, you obviously can't have a coach of a team in a position where he can overrule an umpire. The umpire did the right thing in walking off the field. What else was he going to do, let a coach in the game be the final word?

 

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Why are they blaming the umps? If the tournament director is the coach of the team that is playing how he allow the things that were going on to happen.They disrespect the game and to allow their parents to act in a way where a UMP leaves,thats just sad!!!!!!!! Not good for softball and the people of Pickington who play and care about the game.

 

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A TD was A Coach ??? AND Told an ump he over rules him ??

WOW !!

 

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GOOD FOR THE UMPIRE. IT ABSOLUTLY AMAZES ME HOW I SEE HOW UMPIRES ARE TREATED. I HAVE WATCHED SOME GAMES THIS YEAR WHERE THE UMPIRE CAN NEVER GET THE CALL RIGHT. tHAT IS IF YOU LISTEN TO THE FANS AND SOME COACHES. I HAVE WATCHED FROM A NEUTRAL STANDPOINT AND BELIEVE ME THEY DO GET IT RIGHT. MORE TIMES THAN NOT.

PEOPLE FORGET THAT THE GAME IS FOR THE GIRLS. THERE IS A RIGHT WAY AND A WRONG WAY TO HANDLE THINGS. TO CALL OUT AGAINST THE UMPIRES IN FRONT OF YOUR PLAYERS SETS A BAD EXAMPLE.

THERE ARE SOME EXCELLENT UMPIRES THROUOUT THE STATE. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THEM BEFORE AND AFTER EVERY GAME. YES THEY TO MAKE MISTAKES, BUT SO DO THE PLAYERS AND COACHES. WHEN A COACH MAKES A MISTAKE, DO WE GET YELLED AT? DO WE GET CUSSED AT OR THREATEN?

WHEN OUR PLAYERS MAKE ERROR, DO WE THREATEN THEM OR TALK ABOUT THEM? iT IS SAD TO SEE THE THINGS THAT WE SEE. SHOW SOME CLASS AND SHOW YOUR GIRLS HOW TO ACT.

Scott Herman Diamond Dominators 14U

 

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I just posted this on another thread, but it applies here, too...

An umpire should ignore comments from the stands. He has no jurisdiction over non-game participants (ie: spectators).

If a fan crosses the line from yelling about a call to the point of actual threats directed at game participant, and thus creates a potential safety issue, the umpire would be within his rights to temporarily suspend the game and send both teams into the dugouts.

The game would then be resumed after the proper authorities (school official, tournament director, or even the police, if necessary) have dealt with the threat.

This one has an added twist with the TD being the coach of the team with the rowdy fans. That is bad situation and one that should be avoided at all costs. The TD should be a neutral party and not in a position of making rulings that will affect his own team in the tourney. A set-up like this can get real ugly, real fast.

As bad as that situation might be, the fact is that if the umpire had ignored the fans- like he is supposed to!- then the coach being the TD would not even have become an issue.

Sounds like the 95 degree heat melted a few brain cells last weekend- on both sides of the fence!

 

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As a certified high school umpire, as well as someone who coached a team in a tournament that I was the director of, (not to mention a proud graduate of Pickerington High School), Joe is exactly right. ?Once the coach overruled the umpire, the umpire had only two options, leave the field or declare the game a forfeit. ?

While I think the umpire was a bit extreme when he ordered the entire cheering section to leave the park, the most surprising point of this story is that the coach of a team involved in a game effectively pulled rank on an umpire.

Personally, I am disappointed that the UIC allowed the game to be finished. ?Assuming that he/she was properly informed of the situation's details, the Umpire In Charge should have declared the game over. I don't know what governing body sanctioned this event, but every sanctioning body declares that the umpires have the power to make decisions related to the execution of the game. ?Understandably, the TD is able to adjust and adopt rules pre-tournament, but once the action starts on the field, they are virtually powerless and the tournament director loses all influence over the execution of the game. ?That being said, I hope that the governing body and UIC have a serious conversation about the roles of all involved with this coach/tournament director before the tournament is re-sanctioned next year.

In addition, I am sure that most governing bodies would not even allow the game to have been completed. ?Just for an example, in NSA I know that you cannot legally replace an umpire for something like this. ?Rule 10, Section 6: "Umpires cannot be changed during a game unless injury or illness incapacitates an umpire." ?

Just like the post over at JJHuddle about the coach taking away all of his team's bats, I have never heard of these things happening, and you have to question what messages these individuals are attempting to instill in the young ladies they have been entrusted with the responsibility of coaching.

 

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we've had enough ump/coach and now TD bad behavior to host a Jerry springer show.......hopefully Pickerington can get things right before their Grand Finale

 

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Well Ray, I don't know how long you have been involved with Pickerington Softball, but you know a city has a problem when they allow a miscreant like FlaRay to be the President of their Softball Booster Club...

 

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Actually I have seen an ump before this threaten to order a parent from a park but actually that is quite beyond their authority. They can only order a game suspended or forfited and the occasional ejection of a coach or player from the game. Most games are played at schools or public parks and they give no authorization to ANYONE hired by the tournaments to order someones removal. The parent in the situation that I knew of complained to the city attorney of the community whose ball park it was and the attorney said only the police can order someone from city property and it would have to be on the officer's judgement. I would assume that this is a legal constant for most cities.

 

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Being associated with the Pickerington area, I find this is very humiliating that a coach would act like this. But, I do not think that it is fair for everyone to assume that this random guy represents the entire pickerington area. Pickerington usually throws wonderful tournaments and has the nicest fields around. I would hope that one guy making a fool of himself would keep anyone from coming back to a Pickerington tournament.

 

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To recap:

The tournamnet director, who is in a position to influence the game, was a coach of a team in said game when he overruled the umpire on a point that the umpire didn't have any business ruling on in the first place.

Maybe the umpire really was "incapacitated due to illness". I'm getting dizzy, light-headed and sick to my stomach just reading about this whole mess! ?

 

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I would agree with sftbllangel that judgement shouldn't be made against Picktown because of one incident but I also think the sanctioning body would act because it's their reputation also. Anyone know who did sanction this tourney?

 

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maybe the fans in Picktown are eating too many brauts?

school ball fans rung up for cursing
14u game, fans were given the "talk-to-the-hand" sign for arguing calls
now this

i'm keeping my sunglasses on and keeping score..no sense for all that "tomfoolery"

 

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Bretman, through countless thoughtful, informative, and very intellegent posts, you have proven yourself to be not only an incredibly talented umpire, but a classy ambassador for a group of people in our sport that rarely get the recognition and appreciation they rightly deserve. That being said, allow me to play devil's advocate. Again, I am siting NSA rules (which does not have a section dedicated to sportsmanship), mainly because I can't find my ASA or NFHS rule books currently, but given a very liberal reading of the rule, wouldn't the below rule, Rule 10, Section 1, allow the umpire to order the fans to leave?

"The umpires have the power to order a player, coach, captain, or manager to do or refrain from doing any act that is necessary to enforce any of these rules and to inflict any penalties prescribed. The plate umpire shall have the authority to rule on any situation not specifically covered in these rules."

 

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Wow coach! Bold statement on the head of their boosters! We all like an honest opinion but too much honesty will no doubt make Bear nervous.