High school catcher sportsmanship

I saw this video and found it really odd!  My son is a catcher and always shakes the umpire's hand after every game and I never realized that others had never seen this before.  It's just showing respect and thanks to the umpire...I know not all teams lately show that same respect for umpires. 

Most catchers shake the umpires hand. Anyone that has been around the game knows that. That’s not what makes this video special. It’s the context under which he does it that makes it special. His team had just lost the game on a walk off base hit in the home team’s last at bat and, while some of his teammates were hanging their heads, this kid had the presence of mind to turn to the umpire and shake his hand. It’s all about the circumstances.

Awesome!

Not taking anything away from what a great thing he did (looks like great parenting), but I have seen teams lose all the time and the catcher still shakes the umps hand.  Guess I've been around the game a lot or maybe it's the teams I've been watching!   

Been around the game implies playing the game. If you never played the game there is only so much you can know. Baseball is very intuitive. And intuition is gained thru playing experience and expanded thru coaching experience later on. There is no other way to do it. That’s the thing that analytics only people don’t understand - and they never will. There is a place in the game for a balance of both things. Not one or the other.

@baseballmom01 posted:

I saw this video and found it really odd!  My son is a catcher and always shakes the umpire's hand after every game and I never realized that others had never seen this before.  It's just showing respect and thanks to the umpire...I know not all teams lately show that same respect for umpires. 

Keep taking the shots.  It's a good look for you.  Just remember some times what we see in others, others see in us.

Another Parent;

the catcher will be a future politician. He already has the Umpire vote.

Bob

My son is a catcher and he shakes hands before and after every game. He talks to the umps and the batters all game.  I am amazed at the number of umps, coaches and players that know him.

Last week we played against a lower team from a big organization.  Other coach would talk to Jacob as they passed between innings.  Pitcher was dealing. Hitting all the marks with a 90+ fastball.  Coach asked him to stop throwing fastballs.  Jacob told him to tell his players to start hitting them and he'll stop calling them.  They both laughed.

Turns out the coach is a college umpire that had called a few summer games with Jacob last year.  Coach told him he looked forward to being behind the plate with him in the fall/spring at college.

Too few catchers and too few umpires. It's a small world behind the plate.  Might as well enjoy the time together.

I think every good catcher introduces himself to the umpire before a game and acknowledges the umpire after the game.  I tell my catchers that the umpire is either your best friend or your worst enemy according to how you treat him.  The catcher has to be the good guy with the umpire no matter what if you want to succeed.  But as an umpire, I always tried to treat the catchers with a level of respect also.

Let's leave it with catchers and umpires.  I don't know what some of what has been posted has to do with that.  There's a long and proud HSBBW tradition of threads about catchers and umpires; here's a classic from 2010:

https://community.hsbaseballwe...rapport-with-the-ump

My husband has been an umpire for 30+ years for high school through amateur ball and the stories he talks about are super interesting!  He has heard and seen it all! 

This was after losing a heartbreaker against their bitter rival. These two teams have played in the championship game almost every year for the last handful of seasons. I guarantee you there was nobody more competitive on the field that night than Eric, and no player on his team that was more upset by the loss.

This a "true story". OUR summer Northern California team '18' and under players included 5 talented '16' year old players. Decided to enter the '16 and under National Tournament in St. Louis. We added 6 additional players from our League. Enter with 11 players and won the WS.
During the games I often challenge the umpire on strikes, however our catcher

would remark "NO Bob it was outside"!!!

The umpire thought our catcher resembled Yogi Berra and we now had the edge on close calls. It was a game we played.

Bob

@Bristol.NET posted:

This was after losing a heartbreaker against their bitter rival. These two teams have played in the championship game almost every year for the last handful of seasons. I guarantee you there was nobody more competitive on the field that night than Eric, and no player on his team that was more upset by the loss.

It was obvious to some of us that it just wasn’t any other game. And that’s what made the catcher’s actions remarkable.

@adbono posted:

It was obvious to some of us that it just wasn’t any other game. And that’s what made the catcher’s actions remarkable.

Was it really obvious to some???  There wasn't any indication anywhere that this wasn't anything but an everyday game. 

@baseballmom01 posted:

Was it really obvious to some???  There wasn't any indication anywhere that this wasn't anything but an everyday game.

It was obvious to me

It was a state quarterfinal playoff game. The energy level of the fans was evident. The level of celebration of the winning team was more than ordinary. The level of dejection of the losing team was more than ordinary. The losing team’s season and HS playoff run was over.
All of that information was either visible in the video or was in the article that accompanied the video.
  So yeah, all that makes it obvious that it was more than an ordinary game. Which also makes it more than an ordinary handshake.