Ple
mdschert posted:RJM - please stop the hysteria. Please stop the mis-characterization of what actually happened. Please stop trampling on this post.
You're so wedded to your wrong-headed notion of what constitutes "respecting the game" that you refuse to entertain the possibility that you're not correct in this instance.
Talk about arrogant.
Please stop, please stop, please stop.
At least one time a year either HS or travel I have witnessed umps approaching fans in the stands.All over the midwest.Two years ago at louisville the ump not only threw out someone/parent from other team out he then proceded to tell the group that game would be forfited if crowed did not stop.Couldn't believe it.The group was not out of line while the louder guy was not the person thrown out.Have talked to our HS HC about the report thing.He relayed to me that unless its some type of dire situation the problem with reporting is if you get ump again during late in the year game or playoffs you can be in real trouble then.For him its just best to move on and hope you never see ump again.I am not really sure how regulating umps thru the system works when the HC feel this way.I have no doughbt he feels this way over past experience.
From coaching travel I knew some of the high school umpires. More than one stated they did not like our coach. I never saw any instance of an umpire screwing our high school team.
It's very unprofessional for a coach to suggest they would. A coach should not be stirring the pot between parents and umpires.
Most high school baseball and softball games are played on weekday afternoons. Other sports may be played in the afternoon. When this is the case the game official pool is limited. A majority of the game officials available for weekday games are old, retired guys. They tend not to be as good as the umpiring pool available on nights and weekends. You live with it.
Here I don't see that many "old guys" All our games have 5pm start times during the week.I don't feel our HC was stirring the pot with our conversation.It was just him and I and I asked the question.Now maybe its just the area I live who knows.I am not picking on the profession just relaying what I've witnessed and not what someone told me.Two yrs. ago we were at the very edge of our conference play.#1 pitching for both teams pretty good crowd.In the first inning there were 12 walks between both sides.The crowd was well past both teams thinking the ump is screwing my team.Home field HC stops at home plate and has a 5 minute talk with the guy.Normal HS game rest of way.Other than our HC I only know 2 others personally in our conference.The association thing started a couple of yrs. ago of the 3 no one likes it.
RJM posted:From coaching travel I knew some of the high school umpires. More than one stated they did not like our coach. I never saw any instance of an umpire screwing our high school team.
It's very unprofessional for a coach to suggest they would. A coach should not be stirring the pot between parents and umpires.
Most high school baseball and softball games are played on weekday afternoons. Other sports may be played in the afternoon. When this is the case the game official pool is limited. A majority of the game officials available for weekday games are old, retired guys. They tend not to be as good as the umpiring pool available on nights and weekends. You live with it.
That's ageism.
I'm not sure ageism is a word. Do you really think the typical 70yo umpire is as good as the typical 35yo umpire? One game we had an 80yo umpire. He ran into the outfield on a homer, then asked the home plate umpire for help.
We used to joke before soccer matches would the refs have one knee brace or two. Basketball and volleyball were played at night. The game officials were so much better.
A classic was when an older umpire asked me to hold some things for him during the game. He handed me his car keys, his watch and his glasses. His glasses!
As RJM and JP24 have said - you're not going to get anybody here to say what you want to hear. Parents have NO RIGHT to talk to the ump after the game. Let's say everything went down as you said (which I'm sure it did) then what makes this parent the all supreme knowing baseball rule guru? If I'm the umpire and someone comes up to me spouting off about what a rule is I'm automatically NOT going to give them benefit of the doubt. Plus, if this guy is as arrogant as you think he is then why would he listen to anyone in the parking lot? Where is the common sense that an umpire who booted a call, will not listen to any of the coaches to ask for help and then walks away that this person would listen to someone they do not know in the parking lot? That's insane to think any umpire would listen in this situation.
Seriously, if this were to happen at my school the parent would never get close to the umpire. I'm not letting it happen because they have NO RIGHT to talk to them. It's my job to protect officials in this situation even if I know they are terrible and missed many calls.
As for the situation I can see how he might have missed this. Curve low and in with a swing. The ump is going to get blocked off from seeing this. All of a sudden the ball comes flying out and I can see where he thinks it was hit. Now here's the question - where was his partner? I'm assuming the guy you're complaining about was the plate ump so why didn't the guy in the field come flying in to help? There doesn't need to be a request for help because he can make the call himself.
I truly do not understand how you think a fan / parent has a right to say anything to the ump after the game.
"As for the situation I can see how he might have missed this. Curve low and in with a swing. The ump is going to get blocked off from seeing this. All of a sudden the ball comes flying out and I can see where he thinks it was hit. Now here's the question - where was his partner? I'm assuming the guy you're complaining about was the plate ump so why didn't the guy in the field come flying in to help? There doesn't need to be a request for help because he can make the call himself."
The ump confirmed to the stands that the batter was hit, he did not confer with the other ump at all. I will relent on the parent asking the ump after the game to look up the rule when he got home even though in a polite, respectful, constructive, and nice way. I didn't know it was a new rule for 2016. I guess my days of saying good job and thanks to the ump are over. Now referring to the main topic of this post which somehow got lost in the hijack - I will not relent on my judgement the ump was arrogant. Not conferring with the other ump after the rule question by the coach (especially when the game is on the line) is arrogant. Telling people that he doesn't need to look at the rules and he knows them is arrogant.
Parents can lose it there is no doubt about it. That being said an ump can magnify at situation or minimize it. An ump should never acknowledge hearing a fan, ignore, call the game - if the person really deserves it give the coach a warning...and seldom do you have an issue. I find that when an ump attempts to explain a call to the crowd, with good intent or not it seldom goes well.
washrinserepeat posted:My head hurts....I'm trying to figure out what rule the ump missed according to the OP. Is there a rule that says the rules regarding a dropped third strike with two outs don't apply when the ball hits the batter after the swing and miss?
Easy to miss, but the rule references were in my reply ... " Rules 5-1-1(a) and 8-1-1(d) cover the situation. "
5.1.1a indicates immediate dead ball on hit by batter *and* indicates:
"1. The ball becomes dead even though the batter strikes at it (8-1-1d)."
Doesn't matter the number of outs, if ball hits batter (even after a bounce), it's a dead ball.
Still don't have the answer why the coach didn't try to protest the game for the missed rule if in fact the umpire did somehow indicate the ball hit the batter. Never hurts to ask in order to get the official ruling. Suffice to say those nasty/good curveballs don't always bounce true (I'm still sporting a large bruise on my forearm from a 55 footer that somehow squeezed between the catcher and batter then ricocheted off my arm)
washrinserepeat posted:What are you basing that on? And you didn't answer my question--you're saying the dropped third strike rule doesn't apply because the ball hit the batter?
Whenever a pitch hits the batter, the ball is dead. And, whenever a batter swings and misses, it's a strike.
So, in this play, it's a strike and a dead ball. Since the ball is dead, the batter can't attempt to advance and is out.
This rule is the same in all (major) rules codes.
SultanofSwat posted:OK, how many people looked at this thread to see if they were the topic?
Gotta admit.
Slow weekend 'eh fellas? Two pages on nothing...wow!
CaCO3Girl posted:Slow weekend 'eh fellas? Two pages on nothing...wow!
That's what happens when people hijack a post and turns it into something that it's not intended
mdschert posted:CaCO3Girl posted:Slow weekend 'eh fellas? Two pages on nothing...wow!
That's what happens when people hijack a post and turns it into something that it's not intended
Well mdschert, I could tell you were frustrated. From my limited experience, Baseball seems to have a chain of command, and a parent isn't part of the structure. But hey, if it won't affect your life in 5 years I say let it go
CaCO3Girl posted:Slow weekend 'eh fellas? Two pages on nothing...wow!
Not slow at all. There was forty-eight hours of basketball. But I also had my iPad within reach the entire time.
mdschert posted:CaCO3Girl posted:Slow weekend 'eh fellas? Two pages on nothing...wow!
That's what happens when people hijack a post and turns it into something that it's not intended
This thread wasn't hijacked. Everything (well, except the last few posts) was germane to the OP.
CaCO3Girl posted:mdschert posted:CaCO3Girl posted:Slow weekend 'eh fellas? Two pages on nothing...wow!
That's what happens when people hijack a post and turns it into something that it's not intended
Well mdschert, I could tell you were frustrated. From my limited experience, Baseball seems to have a chain of command, and a parent isn't part of the structure. But hey, if it won't affect your life in 5 years I say let it go
Not frustrated about the call in the least, it happens and part of the game. I was hoping the message about the ump's arrogance was getting through.
Matt13 posted:mdschert posted:CaCO3Girl posted:Slow weekend 'eh fellas? Two pages on nothing...wow!
That's what happens when people hijack a post and turns it into something that it's not intended
This thread wasn't hijacked. Everything (well, except the last few posts) was germane to the OP.
It is Monday and FAR too early to be playing with your thesaurus Matt13!
mdschert posted:CaCO3Girl posted:Slow weekend 'eh fellas? Two pages on nothing...wow!
That's what happens when people hijack a post and turns it into something that it's not intended
Well, there is a good takeaway on this one, I think. When an umpire blows a call, we parents can fume all we want, but there's no point in talking to the umps in the parking lot. Judgement calls are exactly that.
But more importantly, as JohnF points out, when an umpire makes a mistake on the rules, you protest the game. That should have been done here. If a parent wants to get in anybody's face about this loss, they're talking to the wrong guy. The coach should have protested the game. Too bad, cause he would have won the protest if the report is accurate. The parent talking to the ump was a waste of everybody's time.
mdschert posted:CaCO3Girl posted:mdschert posted:CaCO3Girl posted:Slow weekend 'eh fellas? Two pages on nothing...wow!
That's what happens when people hijack a post and turns it into something that it's not intended
Well mdschert, I could tell you were frustrated. From my limited experience, Baseball seems to have a chain of command, and a parent isn't part of the structure. But hey, if it won't affect your life in 5 years I say let it go
Not frustrated about the call in the least, it happens and part of the game. I was hoping the message about the ump's arrogance was getting through.
How the umpire carries himself shouldn't be worth more than a ten second comment to another parent in the moment. Then parents should let go. As a baseball, softball and basketball coach I never left still thinking about game officials. I thought about where we could have won the game.
As I previously mentioned if there's someone to be upset with it's the coach for not protesting the game.
"As I previously mentioned if there's someone to be upset with it's the coach for not protesting the game."
The team was out of state for a small tourney so no need to protest.
CaCO3Girl posted:Matt13 posted:mdschert posted:CaCO3Girl posted:Slow weekend 'eh fellas? Two pages on nothing...wow!
That's what happens when people hijack a post and turns it into something that it's not intended
This thread wasn't hijacked. Everything (well, except the last few posts) was germane to the OP.
It is Monday and FAR too early to be playing with your thesaurus Matt13!
I was thinking - We didn't give up after the germane's bombed Pearl Harbor did we?
I don't know what the OP means when he says, "Umpire acknowledged hit by pitch." There is only one way for an umpire to acknowledge a hit by pitch, and that is by throwing his hands up and calling, "Time." Once time is called, he can adjudicate the variables and make awards based on whether the batter swung, whether the batter was struck in the strike zone, and whether the batter permitted the ball to hit him. But in all cases, when a batter is hit by a pitch, it is a dead ball.
Therefore, if the umpire acknowledged the hit by pitch and then ruled the ball live, as the OP reports, that is a self-contradictory call. The losing coach should have immediately challenged the ruling. If the coach permitted the umpire leave the field without being asked to explain, that's the coach's fault.
It's possible the ump spazzed on the call and the coach also spazzed to let the error go unchallenged. But it's also possible the OP did not understand fully what the umpire ruled. I can imagine scenarios, but I wasn't there and don't think the description gives me a clear idea of what happened.
Unlike some, I don't fault the fan for asking questions, as long as it's done politely. They don't post signs telling fans not to speak to umpires, so I don't expect fans to know the protocol, which is for the umpires to leave the field together and walk briskly away without acknowledging anyone or discussing anything until reaching the privacy of wherever the post-game conference is held. More than a few times I've had to ignore long-time friends when they tried to shake my hand after games--and then emailed them later to explain.
In my association, we are strictly adjured not to engage the fans at all, ever. Fans can say what they want and ask what they want within the bounds of decency, but we're not allowed to answer or acknowledge. So if you ever try to speak to me after a game, I'll regret it if I appear rude as I walk by you with my eyes in the boat. Please understand I'm following my association's rules. I can only hope a game's worth of courteous and professional conduct will outweigh the brief impression of arrogance.
CaCO3Girl posted:Matt13 posted:mdschert posted:CaCO3Girl posted:Slow weekend 'eh fellas? Two pages on nothing...wow!
That's what happens when people hijack a post and turns it into something that it's not intended
This thread wasn't hijacked. Everything (well, except the last few posts) was germane to the OP.
It is Monday and FAR too early to be playing with your thesaurus Matt13!
Whoa, whoa...easy now.
mdschert posted:I didn't know it was a new rule for 2016.
It's not. Maybe I missed the point.
luv baseball posted:CaCO3Girl posted:Matt13 posted:mdschert posted:CaCO3Girl posted:Slow weekend 'eh fellas? Two pages on nothing...wow!
That's what happens when people hijack a post and turns it into something that it's not intended
This thread wasn't hijacked. Everything (well, except the last few posts) was germane to the OP.
It is Monday and FAR too early to be playing with your thesaurus Matt13!
I was thinking - We didn't give up after the germane's bombed Pearl Harbor did we?
Silly Luv...it was the Japanese Pears! The germane's were busy germinating :- )
Ahhh, welcome to Monday!
mdschert posted:"1. How did the ump call live ball? Did he yell something to the effect "Ball is still live"? I've never heard an umpire - good or bad - make the call the ball is still live.
2. Did you know if the pitcher had made a better pitch it wouldn't have hit the batter?
3. Did you know if the batter hadn't swung then it would have been a clear cut case of HBP and your team would have lost?"
1. Didn't hear ump but his ruling was dropped third strike so it was a live ball.
2. It was an awesome/nasty curve ball pitch to come inside that far for the batter to swing at it.
3. Yes agree, IF the batter did not swing and it hit him it would be a HBP. BUT - He did swing and he did completely miss and it did hit his leg. What's your point here??
"Thankfully the most I've had to do is just warn people I was going to call the police. That tends to calm people down."
You completely are wrong to assume this was the situation. The parent was very respectful and I truly believe the parent was trying to help the ump so he wouldn't embarrass himself again in the future. It was about respecting the game. The only solace in this situation is to believe that the ump will find out about the rule so no other team will suffer because of his arrogance.
Again, this post was not about a wrong call. It is about the arrogant attitude of the ump that will prevent him from making good calls in the future.
How did you expect him to react? If you approached the Head Coach after a game, how would he react? Not well. Most coaches will tell you in the Preseason Parent Meeting to not approach them after the game, to go home and think about it, and then write an e-mail the next day after you have cooled down. Having parents address umpires after the game is completely STUPID! The umpire may be in fear for their safety because of some crazy parent.
I would describe myself as "pretty into it", and I have never approached an umpire or coach after the game even if the call was an injustice. Bad judgment IMHO.
noumpere posted:mdschert posted:I didn't know it was a new rule for 2016.
It's not. Maybe I missed the point.
I was referencing a new rule that RJM pointed out that no one is allowed to approach an ump after the game.
mdschert posted:noumpere posted:mdschert posted:I didn't know it was a new rule for 2016.
It's not. Maybe I missed the point.
I was referencing a new rule that RJM pointed out that no one is allowed to approach an ump after the game.
It's in a slide presentation I found on 2016 changes and amendments.
Leftside posted:The local umpires here are generally not great.
Thats ok, it is high school ball. When my son was playing in high school I would remind myself they were doing a better job than I would calling balls and strikes. Since my son was a pitcher, my nephew a pitcher, my god son a pitcher....you get the idea....I would have the game over in 45 minutes. Everything is a strike. At times it would get frustrating. But, I have never, not once in Little League, Babe Ruth, Travel Ball, High School, Pop Warner football, College Baseball....I have never seen an umpire/ref crew call a game to favor one team. The closest was football game where I went to a diner after the game and the coaches from the other team and one of the refs were having lunch....haha, but, the game was called square.
As a parent the only time I have spoken to an umpire was to ask him if he wanted a water during hot days with double headers.
I disagree, travel ball umpires will regularly "adjust" calls to whichever team is winning, especially late in bracket play with a Championship game still to play. Happens every weekend, strike zone expand, close plays go against teams who are trailing. whatever gets them off the field the quickest.
It's helped us and hurt us, but like I tell the kids, late in game, the zone is expanding, be ready,
cutfb posted:Leftside posted:The local umpires here are generally not great.
Thats ok, it is high school ball. When my son was playing in high school I would remind myself they were doing a better job than I would calling balls and strikes. Since my son was a pitcher, my nephew a pitcher, my god son a pitcher....you get the idea....I would have the game over in 45 minutes. Everything is a strike. At times it would get frustrating. But, I have never, not once in Little League, Babe Ruth, Travel Ball, High School, Pop Warner football, College Baseball....I have never seen an umpire/ref crew call a game to favor one team. The closest was football game where I went to a diner after the game and the coaches from the other team and one of the refs were having lunch....haha, but, the game was called square.
As a parent the only time I have spoken to an umpire was to ask him if he wanted a water during hot days with double headers.
I disagree, travel ball umpires will regularly "adjust" calls to whichever team is winning, especially late in bracket play with a Championship game still to play. Happens every weekend, strike zone expand, close plays go against teams who are trailing. whatever gets them off the field the quickest.
It's helped us and hurt us, but like I tell the kids, late in game, the zone is expanding, be ready,
CUTFB, are you near Atlanta? I've seen this too. I have also seen Umpires favor a specific Academy, or in some cases every close call (and a few that weren't close) go against that same Academy. However, this was youth ball, maybe it gets better.
CaCO3Girl posted:cutfb posted:Leftside posted:The local umpires here are generally not great.
Thats ok, it is high school ball. When my son was playing in high school I would remind myself they were doing a better job than I would calling balls and strikes. Since my son was a pitcher, my nephew a pitcher, my god son a pitcher....you get the idea....I would have the game over in 45 minutes. Everything is a strike. At times it would get frustrating. But, I have never, not once in Little League, Babe Ruth, Travel Ball, High School, Pop Warner football, College Baseball....I have never seen an umpire/ref crew call a game to favor one team. The closest was football game where I went to a diner after the game and the coaches from the other team and one of the refs were having lunch....haha, but, the game was called square.
As a parent the only time I have spoken to an umpire was to ask him if he wanted a water during hot days with double headers.
I disagree, travel ball umpires will regularly "adjust" calls to whichever team is winning, especially late in bracket play with a Championship game still to play. Happens every weekend, strike zone expand, close plays go against teams who are trailing. whatever gets them off the field the quickest.
It's helped us and hurt us, but like I tell the kids, late in game, the zone is expanding, be ready,
CUTFB, are you near Atlanta? I've seen this too. I have also seen Umpires favor a specific Academy, or in some cases every close call (and a few that weren't close) go against that same Academy. However, this was youth ball, maybe it gets better.
You need to take into account the dinner time strike zone. 
In an attempt to add some levity to this thread, I offer the following good-natured exchanges between a parent (me) and an umpire at a 13U travel ball game this past weekend. And I swear I'm not making this up.
Pre-game meeting with coaches had ended and opposing team was taking the field. HP Umpire realizes that our team's coach had not delivered the requisite two new baseballs for play.
Umpire, walking toward our team's dugout: "I need to get your balls coach!"
Me (completely unable to resist): "Might want to rephrase that, Blue."
Umpire drops his head for a moment and chuckles. Receives baseballs from our coach. Then walks over to the fence and with a grin tells me, "You might have to go watch from one of those other fields."
The park where we were playing has the ceiling nets between the fields, and the other three fields were not in use at the time so you really couldn't lose any foul balls out of play.
Late in the game after a series of foul balls out of play, the umpire loudly announced, "I need my balls! I don't have any!" Realizing what he had just said, he spun and pointed at me and said: "Don't you say a word!" Of course, I was already doubled over laughing like everyone else so I was completely incapable of speaking at that point anyway.
I would tell you the one about me and a LL umpire, who just happened to be a testicular cancer survivor, discussing the fact that he only had one ball in his sack, but I was hoping this thread would finally die.
MrBumstead posted:In an attempt to add some levity to this thread, I offer the following good-natured exchanges between a parent (me) and an umpire at a 13U travel ball game this past weekend. And I swear I'm not making this up.
Pre-game meeting with coaches had ended and opposing team was taking the field. HP Umpire realizes that our team's coach had not delivered the requisite two new baseballs for play.
Umpire, walking toward our team's dugout: "I need to get your balls coach!"
Me (completely unable to resist): "Might want to rephrase that, Blue."
Umpire drops his head for a moment and chuckles. Receives baseballs from our coach. Then walks over to the fence and with a grin tells me, "You might have to go watch from one of those other fields."
The park where we were playing has the ceiling nets between the fields, and the other three fields were not in use at the time so you really couldn't lose any foul balls out of play.
Late in the game after a series of foul balls out of play, the umpire loudly announced, "I need my balls! I don't have any!" Realizing what he had just said, he spun and pointed at me and said: "Don't you say a word!" Of course, I was already doubled over laughing like everyone else so I was completely incapable of speaking at that point anyway.
After this thread, do you actually expect me to believe that an umpire and a parent can have a "normal" conversation? No way.
STRIKE! Keep your mouth shut.
Golfman25 posted:MrBumstead posted:In an attempt to add some levity to this thread, I offer the following good-natured exchanges between a parent (me) and an umpire at a 13U travel ball game this past weekend. And I swear I'm not making this up.
Pre-game meeting with coaches had ended and opposing team was taking the field. HP Umpire realizes that our team's coach had not delivered the requisite two new baseballs for play.
Umpire, walking toward our team's dugout: "I need to get your balls coach!"
Me (completely unable to resist): "Might want to rephrase that, Blue."
Umpire drops his head for a moment and chuckles. Receives baseballs from our coach. Then walks over to the fence and with a grin tells me, "You might have to go watch from one of those other fields."
The park where we were playing has the ceiling nets between the fields, and the other three fields were not in use at the time so you really couldn't lose any foul balls out of play.
Late in the game after a series of foul balls out of play, the umpire loudly announced, "I need my balls! I don't have any!" Realizing what he had just said, he spun and pointed at me and said: "Don't you say a word!" Of course, I was already doubled over laughing like everyone else so I was completely incapable of speaking at that point anyway.
After this thread, do you actually expect me to believe that an umpire and a parent can have a "normal" conversation? No way.
Parents shouldn't be having conversations with umpires after the game. From coaching I knew a lot of the umpires. Any post game conversation was accidental and casual. It was never about the game unless it was a joke that wasn't a jab at them.
The only time I poked at at umpire after a game my team wasn't playing. The HPU made a really bad call and knew it. Everyone knew it. I jokingingly asked if he was auditioning for a Southwest, "want to get away for a while" ad. It was a private conversation while he was changing at his van.
After a rain delay he walked in front of the plate and hollered out the game situation to the players. I can't remember what the tournament was called. This was the championship game of a 15u regional USSSA tournament. The winner went to Orlando. After explaining the situation correctly on the ensuing pop up the HPU somehow blurted out "infield fly, batter is out" with two outs.
I had to ask him what would have happened had the infielder dropped the ball ("he's out and I dig a hole"). Then I made the Southwest joke. We were on a first name basis.
I think talking to the umpires after the game is perfectly fine however I have always used the cliché method for it to be effective...
I have been around umpires for 45 years and "almost" (because I don't believe in absolutes in baseball) all know when they have made a questionable call or a call one group of fans vigorously disagreed with. Rubbing their nose in it only causes a bad association and you will see the same umpires over and over again through the years. Because they know they have made a questionable call they tend to respond defensively if approached in anger or with a suggestion that they need to read the rule book but don't confuse defensiveness with arrogance even if the response the umpire gave could easily be interpreted that way.
Over time teams that have parents or coaches that consistently complain about calls (not the groan that goes up when the call is made, that is expected, but the incessant "Missing a good game blue!", "Want me to read you the rule book blue?", "First game huh blue?") will find the umpires less willing to consult their partner which is usually the only way a call can be changed during a game. No umpire will say..."Oh my gosh!!! you people who are screaming and taunting me are right... I need to change my call"
What coaches want, if they have a valid rule based argument, is that the umpire will call time out, have a conversation with his partner and then make the definitive call. I usually begin that conversation not with a complaint about the call but with. "From where I was I am not sure I was able to see what you did, could you check with your partner to see if he had a perspective on that?" I bet 95% have consulted maybe 25% have gone my way...sure beats 100% going against
IMO the adage "If you don't have anything good to say don't say anything at all" is appropriate when applied to all umpires
In line with MDBALLDAD's comments, as a fan, I have spoken to an umpire after a game only once, and it was solely to offer complements. A couple of years ago, one of my sons was playing in a local men’s league. These are typically pretty low-key games to begin with, and there were no controversial calls in this particular game. The home plate umpire did a fantastic job on balls and strikes. I was reluctant to say anything, but as he was walking off the field, I told him how well I thought he had done. I was afraid he would say something like "Well, of course -- I always do a great job" in a not-so-friendly tone. As it turned out, he really appreciated that someone had noticed his good work and we chatted a bit.
I may retire 1-1, instead of pushing my luck by trying this again.
