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Angel Hernandez addresses JA Happ. |
Nobody wants to work with the guy who closes his ears and pretends players or coaches or managers aren't burning the dugouts down. On the other hand nobody wants to work with a guy a is looking to make notches on his belt. Handling situations is some of the trickiest umpiring, but it can also be some of the most rewarding. Gaining respect from people takes time. Understanding people takes time and it shouldn't be expected that you will nail situations right from the bat. Lately we've seen some situations with pitchers barking at umpires and umpires responding. So what do you do when a pitcher comes off the mound and starts arguing or showing you up?
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Bill Welke speaks with Derek Holland. |
I prefer to allow a little venting and play a long game, but if that can't be done and you need to handle things, then handle them. If it's a pitcher who is the problem, communicate with the catcher. If it's a catcher, try this question, especially if you KNOW the pitch was a ball: "______ (Insert name), did you think that was a strike?" If he says anything besides yes, then you don't need to get the last word. Customarily they will say, "I had it off but it's close." or some variant. If they say yes, and you're not sure you're correct, say something like, "ok, I had it down but I'll stay with it a little longer." Saying something like this can really calm a guy down as you've engaged him in a discussion.
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Many catchers are easy to work with. |
First, you're communicating with the man in charge and 95% of the time he will handle his player. There are so many intricacies to this it can get a bit wonky. How do you get to the HC/or manager? Well if he's coaching third it shouldn't be that hard. Don't make a special trip just to cross paths. If he's in the dugout and he's reasonable, TALK to him. He does not want his starting catcher or pitcher ejected.
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Speaking indirectly helps get across the point. |
The following paragraph refers to videos found at the end of the article:
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Andy Fletcher addresses a pitcher in Chicago. |
Related Post: Review of Bullet Down the Line, Fletcher Gets Upset (6/29/15).
Related Post: Fleeing the Coop: When an Umpire is Burned by AJ Pitcher (8/1/13).
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Phil Cuzzi effects an automatic ejection in DC. |
So what happens after you run someone in an awkward spot, but you were calm and handled it well? Invariably, the manager will come out and ask what he said or did.
When you say, "He said, 'you're blind, buy some glasses,'" the manager will do one of three things. A) he'll give you a sub; B) he'll say, "Oh come on, that was a quick hook, he was walking away," or C) he'll pick up the ejected player's argument.
If we're only dealing with A), there is nothing further left to discuss. If it's B), there can be several responses, but my favorite is, "You know he can't say that and stay in the game." That will almost every time leave the manager with no place to go (although, I did have one professional manager give a great response, "I know, but why?") After a good chuckle he gave his new player.
Finally, if the skipper C) picks up the ball/strike argument, he can be ejected for leaving his position to argue balls and strikes. At that point, it hardly matters what the actual call was. | Videos (x4) as follows:
Angel Hernandez gets on JA Happ after Happ disagrees with ball 4 to walk in a run, the Jays are not pleased pic.twitter.com/yEYfUV3hBy— That Dude (@cjzer0) July 29, 2017
Alternate Link: Hernandez interacts with Happ following called fourth ball to Trout (MLBN)
Second Video:Andy Fletcher confronts Jonathan Lester on the Wrigley Field mound (CHC)
Fourth Video: Cuzzi ejects Vogelsong and Bochy after both leave positions to argue pitches (SF)
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