Michigan's Jimmy Obertop the victim of most ridiculous ejection you'll see in college baseball. Unless more intelligent people get involved he’s going to get an automatic suspension.
Add: Another article stated the Vanderbilt catcher said Obertop didn’t say anything to the umpire.
https://saturdaytradition.com/...in-college-baseball/
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Good job bringing college baseball one step closer to robot umpires, Blue!
Ump show.... I watched it live and it was dumb, the kid clearly was not showing up the ump.
I know there are some good umpires on this board who will likely be offended by what I’m about to say. So I will apologize to them in advance.
Back in the day dialogue between players and umpires was part of the game. It was an everyday thing and as a player I really enjoyed it. As long as it was done with respect you could ask where the strike was that day or if a particular pitch was down or out. I don’t know how things have changed so much but today so many umpires think they are beyond reproach. They have huge chips on their shoulders and are looking for any opportunity to assert their authority. My understanding is that many have been trained to think that way. Personally I can’t stand it. Nobody goes to a baseball game to see an umpire. The very best umps are very unassuming IMO. I think the ejection in question is absolutely ridiculous and a perfect example of the current attitude of so many umpires who try to make the game about them.
Absolutely horrible in my opinion. Unless the batter said something (which the catcher said he didn't), that's an ump that's all about himself.
I'm going against the grain again with all you guys I usually agree with (and seemingly the rest of the baseball world). I don't think it was outrageous.
Drawing a line with the bat where the ball crosses to point out to the ump how far off the pitch was has been widely considered an immediate toss for some time now. The batter didn't do the typical line draw parallel to the plate but if you watch from the pitcher view, he did drop the end of the bat at EXACTLY the spot the ball crossed and then dragged it in a line away from the plate. And, I don't think he did that as part of his routine. So, I could see how the ump would interpret that as the "line-draw, you're gone" scenario. That said, it was a terrible call on the pitch. I'd be too embarrassed to toss the kid - wouldn't want several replays showing how bad I screwed up the strike call.
I think the game would benefit from the players being able to eject the ump.
Wow...a bit touchy are we? Holy smokes.
Qhead posted:Wow...a bit touchy are we? Holy smokes.
LOL a slight exaggeration, getting ready for the season to start this weekend, little bit rusty this time of year!
But yea that ump was a jackass, I immediately assumed the kid said something that started with an F, his physical actions certainly didn't warrant being thrown out. I know he dragged his bat but nowhere near the line of the pitch if anything it was at a right angle. The kid was disgusted (as he should have been) and the ump way over reacted probably because he knew that he blew the call and/or because he has umpire god complex. Either way he was wrong.
old_school posted:Qhead posted:Wow...a bit touchy are we? Holy smokes.
LOL a slight exaggeration, getting ready for the season to start this weekend, little bit rusty this time of year!
But yea that ump was a jackass, I immediately assumed the kid said something that started with an F, his physical actions certainly didn't warrant being thrown out. I know he dragged his bat but nowhere near the line of the pitch if anything it was at a right angle. The kid was disgusted (as he should have been) and the ump way over reacted probably because he knew that he blew the call and/or because he has umpire god complex. Either way he was wrong.
Yes - sorry Old School - I was referring to the ump in question, not your post lol!!
cabbagedad posted:I'm going against the grain again with all you guys I usually agree with (and seemingly the rest of the baseball world). I don't think it was outrageous.
Drawing a line with the bat where the ball crosses to point out to the ump how far off the pitch was has been widely considered an immediate toss for some time now. The batter didn't do the typical line draw parallel to the plate but if you watch from the pitcher view, he did drop the end of the bat at EXACTLY the spot the ball crossed and then dragged it in a line away from the plate. And, I don't think he did that as part of his routine. So, I could see how the ump would interpret that as the "line-draw, you're gone" scenario. That said, it was a terrible call on the pitch. I'd be too embarrassed to toss the kid - wouldn't want several replays showing how bad I screwed up the strike call.
I agree with this - this kid knew if he drew a line where the pitch was he would get tossed so he got cute and went a different direction. Plus why take the chance with the ump tossing you? You still get 2 more strikes to work with. Control what you can control because you cannot control the ump. If i'm the coach I'm going out to discuss with the ump and defend my guy but once we are in private I'm going to light my guy up for doing something so stupid.
Just saw the video on Instagram. I didn't take it as the batter drawing a line in the sand to show up the umpire. I took it as the batter put his bat head on the ground and flicked it backwards as an "well crap, let's step out and regroup" type of action.
Reminds me of an umpire we ran into in a tournament in Missouri. Umpire would not speak to you about any call. If you asked him about a call, even in the proper manner, he took it as a threat. He even yelled at our 10 year old bat boy in the dugout when he told one of our players that it wasn't a strike that got called on his brother. That set off a bunch of people in the stands and his response was "I am a 5 star rated umpire. I will not be disrespected o this field"...which we all started laughing and still laugh at to this day.
ARCEKU21 posted:Just saw the video on Instagram. I didn't take it as the batter drawing a line in the sand to show up the umpire. I took it as the batter put his bat head on the ground and flicked it backwards as an "well crap, let's step out and regroup" type of action.
This was my take as well watching it live. There was nothing emphatic about the action. The umpire had a hair trigger there, not the right temperament for his job.
I smile to this day at the thought of a kid we faced a few times in 13u travel. He was a beast -- probably 6' 2" 220+ lbs and honestly I hated seeing my kid pitch against him on the 50-70 field we used then. Our guys threw away, away, away and after one about a foot outside was called a strike he walked around the front of the plate very slowly and drew a huge line in the opposite batter's box and then folded his arms and looked at the ump, who of course ejected him, and did so very calmly, to his credit. I ended up chatting with the kid years later when my son played with him at an event, and by then he looked like an NFL tackle, but he seemed like a sweet, gentle guy. He's now playing baseball at a D1. I wonder if he still draws lines in the dirt.
I'd heard about this for days and just got around to seeing the video for the first time. Really? That was it. Pathetic. Ridiculous.
Reminds me a George Carlin saying: "Some people have no idea what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it." That umpire is one of those people.
old_school posted:I think the game would benefit from the players being able to eject the ump.
Ortiz, Farrell and Maddon eject the umpires. I believe Weaver did it too. He did everything else.
the game was sooooooo much better before instant replay! A man could hate umpires and feel good about it.
Been out 20 years .when I started way way back you could talk to the umpires. If you thought a pitch was missed you you could say where was that pitch the umpire would say up or out. No big deal. You might get the next one. you picked your spots. when I left and now remember this was 20 years ago some umpires would jump all over you for doing the same thing. Upon a qustionable call on a base I was instructed to get off the field before yes before I even said a word. Of course there are certain things that warrant ejections foul language etc but maybe as these new age umpires are trained maybe a lesson in common sense might be in order.
The ump was in the wrong from my perspective. On the flip side, umpires get wronged more often than they wrong. The treatment of umpires from fans and even coaches can be way out of line on many occasions. My hat's off to the umps. Those guys have a demeanor that is truly amazing.
Have to agree with Elder on this one, HTBT but my 1st assumption was something lead up to this.
Got roped into umpiring a few games when kids were younger. Changed my mind on umpiring, lol. Crazy parents and plays not finishing out the way my mind said they should is a couple reasons. The one play I got completely wrong was when I called a force out at 3rd on a sharp one hopper to the 3rd baseman. R on 1st and 2nd, kid got lucky and picked it clean at 3rd. Took 1st step toward 3rd base for the easy force out and my fist went up to end the inning. Only problem was junior decided to spin around and chase the runner coming from 2nd. Throw ends up by the right field fence and everybody scores. Talk about a s@#t show that I didn't sign up for.
There’s a big difference between officiating kids and big time college sports. However, chances are the official didn’t get to big time college sports without doing early teen kids sports first.
My hubby and I were watching live and both thought the bat motion in the dirt was a small and reasonable gesture by the player... whether frustration at himself or at the strike call, or simply "shake it off, get ready for the next pitch". Didn't appear to be "drawing a line" or trying to show up the ump.
I would have tossed him, and then regretted it later after studying the replay a few times.
RJM posted:There’s a big difference between officiating kids and big time college sports. However, chances are the official didn’t get to big time college sports without doing early teen kids sports first.
Not quite my point,
It was more toward giving the benefit of the doubt to the ump. It isn't as easy as everyone thinks. I've been around the block a couple times and still managed to screw up a "kids" game. I think if he would have just given himself more time he might not of thrown the player out. Also leads me to believe there was something previously done or said.
Game7 summed it up pretty well.
It’s looks like an overreaction by the umpire to me. But we don’t know if the player had given the umpire a hard time in his last at bat or had been yelling at him from the dugout during another hitter’ at bat. Umpires are supposed to be deaf to a reasonable amount of grief.
