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I think Little League is a good thing. It keeps parents off the streets.


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The famous Yogi Berra, player and manager known for his colorful and illogical remarks, made the comment in the title (paraphrased from my memory).  On the other hand, some of us who love the game are forced to deal with idiots like the ones in the following video, and the comments below are just as bad.  I have several contentions here:

 

EDIT:  By "comments below" I'm referring to the YouTube link, not the SASS Wire.

 

1- The umpire was correct in calling a strike.  Several video commenters are all over the place, but I've watched it in slow motion at least two dozen times.  It was about as perfect a pitch as anyone could ask for, and an EASY strike call.  Several commenters claim it was low, but please remember the ball/strike is called at the front edge of the plate -- not at the catcher's glove, which is 4-5 feet back from the plate -- meaning it was about belt high on the batter.  Go watch it again and look where it is when it passes the plate.  

 

2-  Several commenters attack the umpire for ejecting the batter so quickly, and while he was walking away.  This only confirms my retired cop belief that 99% of the population is absolutely oblivious to details.  Go watch the video again and focus on the batter's face / head as he is walking away.  He was jawjacking at the umpire the entire time he was walking away.  I'm half convinced (but not enough to testify in front of a jury) that the batter said one of the "magic words" (i.e. F-bomb) to the umpire.  The magic words get you tossed immediately.  Either way, this is about as clean an ejection as I've ever seen.  In high school baseball, which this appears to be, players are not allowed to act like the prima donnas in the MLB.  Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.  

 

3-  The third base coach (the one in the altercation with the umpire) is likely the reason his player thinks he can talk that way to people.  He is the worst offender on the entire field.  Many commenters below the video defend him because a coach is supposed to "defend his player" because "that's how the game is played."  No it isn't.  That's how small-minded prima donnas play the game, but that's not how it's supposed to be.  Baseball USED to be considered a "gentlemen's sport," in which the only argument from a player to an umpire was the player admitting he was out when the umpire called him safe.  It was the "proper" thing to do.  Now it's ok for a high school coach (who is also presumably a teacher) to throw a temper tantrum like a three year-old brat because the umpire correctly did his job?  Take a shower, coach.  The second ejection was clean, too.

 

So far, I'm saying the umpire was correct on the call, correct on the ejection of the player, and correct on the ejection of the coach. 

 

4-  Several video commenters called out the umpire for allowing the other two umpires to block the coach's access to him while the umpire walked away.  THIS IS WHAT UMPIRES ARE TRAINED TO DO to prevent the emotions of the game from doing one of two things:  1-  Allowing the umpire's natural disdain towards the coach at this point to influence his future decisions in the game.  Remove yourself.  Ensure it is never personal.  Every call is exactly as you saw it, not in response to whether or not you like someone.  2-  Allowing the coach's obvious inability to exercise self-control to devolve into a physical assault against the umpire.  This would prematurely end the game in a forfeit, the coach's teaching career,  and result in police action.  

 

Conclusions: 

 

1-  This is some awesome umpiring.  He handled everything exactly the way the book says he should.  Someday I hope I can be as good as him.  

 

2-  People are stupid.

 

 

 

 

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I’d move to have the coach and the student player thrown off the team.

 

Then I’d have the team and the coaches, together jointly (no parents allowed), attend a come to Jesus meeting/lecture regarding how thin the ice is they are walking on.  Then, I’d mail out letters to the team-member kids’ parents telling them about the warning meeting and advising them that if such behavior comes up again, from any player or coach, the team will be disbanded for the remainder of the year.
 

Cat Brules

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Mike Matheny managed the St Louis Cardinals for seven seasons. He appeared in two World Series, one as a player and the other as a manager. He avoided coaching youth baseball for years, but finally did. His letter to the parents of the youthful players became known as The Matheny Manifesto.

 

Enjoy!

 

https://bsbproduction.s3.amazonaws.com/portals/7572/docs/mikemathenylettertoparents.pdf

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28 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

That so called 'coach' did commit Battery on the other coach when he tried to push past him.

At the very least. That coach needs to face a suspension, depending on his history of such childish behavior. 

OLG 

 

That's on the school administration to impose.  The umpires can only eject from the game.  I don't have any background or follow-up on this game, but since it appears to be a high school match in Oregon, it's probably safe to assume the coach's administration took further action.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Lawdog Dago Dom said:

Mike Matheny managed the St Louis Cardinals for seven seasons. He appeared in two World Series, one as a player and the other as a manager. He avoided coaching youth baseball for years, but finally did. His letter to the parents of the youthful players became known as The Matheny Manifesto.

 

Enjoy!

 

https://bsbproduction.s3.amazonaws.com/portals/7572/docs/mikemathenylettertoparents.pdf

His words could apply to any youth sport. 

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Obviously a graduate of the Billy Martin School of Coaching Etiquette.    time out    at-wits-end.gif   

 

 

 

 

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I was really happy that my son was not interested in youth sports. In the community we lived in they were taken way to seriously. Little League games had announcers and play by play men who gave batting averages and even called errors on eight year olds. They played night games under the lights and they were televised! Parents and coaches were out of control and umpires often had to be escorted to their cars by a police officer. Midget football was just as bad.

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1 hour ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

Obviously a graduate of the Billy Martin School of Coaching Etiquette.    time out    at-wits-end.gif   

 

 

 

 

 

Billy Martin was a treat, but I liked the style of Bill Veeck. Remember him doing wacky things with the White Sox in the late 70's early 80's. My grandfather told me that when Veeck ran the Cleveland Indians, he had a "special" center field fence installed. It moved and Veeck could move it in or out a maximum of 15 feet, depending on who their opponent was. He also had the shortest batter, 3' 7" who had one at bat and was walked on four straight pitches.

Colorful guy.

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Sorry for your bad experiences.  Both grandsons played LL & I was there for a LOT of their games.  Only once did I see bad parental behavior (from the opposing team, of course) and it was all verbal.  Every time I attended and/or worked the concession stand I reaffirmed to myself that kids who played LL were the politest (raised right) children on the planet.

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My step daughter coached little league for a few years. After an all out brawl in the stands resulted in the arrest of over two dozen parents on both sides the league made the decision that parents were no longer allowed to attend the games. Adults could only attend games where they had no familial relationship with the players. Any spectator found in attendance where there was a familial relationship with a player would result in that player being benched for the remainder of said game.

All of the umpires, coaches and most of the players supported the rule and surprisingly enough a lot of the parents supported the rule as well..

 

Rule stayed in effect for the remainder of the season and all of the next one. Every year after that parents were sent written reminders that if they failed to keep it in check the rule would be reinstated.

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Wow.

 

Based solely on the way I look at things, if the parents of the players were not allowed to come to the game, then the players would not be at the game.

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13 hours ago, Charlie Harley, #14153 said:

Billy Martin was an a-hole. Even if he weren’t a Yankee, he’d still be one. 

 

Billy Martin, Lou Pinella, Earl Weaver...I'm sure there are more.  This select club of individuals believed to get anything done, you had to bully those around you.  Call it what you will, but those guys were just old fashioned school yard bullies for whom I have no respect.  

 

No kidding, I'm a trained interrogator, highly skilled in the art of reading body language to detect deception.  While I don't have any reason to accuse the aforementioned three managers of being liars, the skill bleeds over into other areas.  All three exhibit body language that gives a lens into their soul (they say the "eyes are the windows to the soul," but to an interrogator the eyes are only part of the equation -- the whole body is the window!).  All three legitimately scare me in terms of what they are like behind closed doors.  Lou Pinella especially, but all three.  

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3 hours ago, Alpo said:

Wow.

 

Based solely on the way I look at things, if the parents of the players were not allowed to come to the game, then the players would not be at the game.

In a neighboring community spectators were not permitted to yell anything negative from the stands directed at a player, coach of official. If this rule was violated the spectator was ejected, no warning was given. A second offense would get you banned for the season 

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Back when Earl Weaver was coaching the Orioles it was quite entertaining. They would have Earl Weaver rants on the local weekly newscast.

Brooks Robinson would call those nights a two packer due to Earl's excessive smoking in the dugout. The Orioles were also the powerhouse of the AL East and Earl was respected as a manager. I'm pretty sure, even when Earl was having a stressful night, much of it was just showboating. 

 

Most people don't ever understand the real inner workings of baseball and the psychology of the game. 

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Umpire Ron Luciano (author, “The Umpire Strikes Back”) once ejected Earl Weaver before the game started.

 

One of his best calls.  :)

 

 

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9 hours ago, Alpo said:

Wow.

 

Based solely on the way I look at things, if the parents of the players were not allowed to come to the game, then the players would not be at the game.

 

Parents brought their kid to the field and dropped them off. Came back when the game was over to pick their kid up. Parents were not allowed past the the parking lot.

I don't remember what started the fight but do remember that the players were not involved. Several people were hospitalized. Some because they were part of the brawl and others hurt trying to get out of the bleachers and avoid the fight.

 

They were already having problems with parents and grandparents at the games. Lots of yelling and cursing at umpires, coaches, and even some players. Most of the umpires and even a few coaches had been threatened. It was almost to the point where they couldn't get anyone to umpire a game. The League even had the local cops at every game to try and keep some semblance of order.

After the fight there was a big push to disband the league and quit playing all together but rather than take baseball away from the kids it was decided it was better to take it away from the the people that were the problem. So parents, grandparents, and any other close family were banned from attending games.

 

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I've seen some pretty ugly things in Little League - all with parents, and a few coaches.

 

The kids, on the other hand, were always the true sportsmen of the game.  

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8 hours ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

Umpire Ron Luciano (author, “The Umpire Strikes Back”) once ejected Earl Weaver before the game started.

 

One of his best calls.  :)

 

 

Legend has it that he ejected Weaver so often that Oriole players would get up a pool and bet on which inning he would get tossed.

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