R E S P E C T

AMEN

Sometime a kids bad attitude is just repeated
things he has heard his parent's complain about.

Great post TPM!

A very good point TPM. I think we all should teach respect to our sons when they are young. I always thought respect was a very important part of any sport and I still do.

This may come out wrong but I'll say it anyway. As our sons mature into adults things do change a little. When they become older we accept their disagreement or maybe even the disrespect an individual coach or umpire because we know they aren't disrespecting the game but questioning the intent or the character of the individual. I think over the years they learn "how" to disagree with coaches and umpires and still maintain the integrity of the game. I have seen a called strike three draw nothing more than a slight hesitation from the batter before he leaves the batter's box, but his body language says it all. Or what about the pitcher that cuts the corner with a nasty 3-2 CB and the home grown umpire calls ball four and the pitcher look down to the ground and takes a deep breath. You know he has no respect for the man behind the plate and you know what his thoughts are. I think this pitcher and this batter have been taught respect when they were younger but they also are due some respect for their ability. Could it be they have learned another aspect of this great game?
Fungo

Good points Fungo and I understand your post. The things you have mentioned happen all the time, a part of the game.

Big difference questioning an umpire's call (respectfully) and having a tantrum about it afterwards. Would you agree?

Now on the other hand, if the coach wishes to challenge the call.....

absoloutly agree
the other thing they develop or learn is character.my definition being what you do when nobodys looking.nothing can make a parent prouder.

TPM, I think you and I agree 100%. I like to see a little fire in a coach. I figure he has to get tossed at least once in order to understand how far he can go.

quote:

Originally posted by Fungo:
TPM, I think you and I agree 100%. I like to see a little fire in a coach. I figure he has to get tossed at least once in order to understand how far he can go.

I think most coaches know how far they can go with the toss thing, they often do it to wake up their players.
And they often know, even when things can't change, it shows the player he is in their corner. It also prevents the player from feeling frustrated later on, if it happens again.

I think that when pitchers have to deal with a bad umpire they're learing one of the most important lessons that can be learned and that is to be able to deal with rejection (bad call) and then to put it out of your mind and come back with your best effort. It's something they have to confront mutiple times every time they pitch and it just amazes me when I see a guy (especially a young kid) who is able to repeatedly do this even when he's getting crumby calls.

Son once asked coach "was that a strike?" coach responded "Son there are 3 strike zones the pitchers, yours and the umps." It helped me deal with "bad calls"

It always amazes me when I see a coach constantly complain about calls. "Blue that was on the black". "Come on blue". "Wow wear was that one". On and on we have all heard them all. And then the pitcher starts showing disgust and when he comes in the dugout what does the coach say. "Hey you got to block that out and stay focused son". Players will follow your lead. If you look for excuses and complain and show disgust so will the players. Of course umpires miss calls. Of course some umpires are just not as good as others. There are ways to get your point across to the umpire without letting your players know what you are doing. I know this is off the topic a bit but some of your post made me think about this.

I learned a great lesson from my son. In his junior year, he struck out just once in the entire scholastic season. His team was ahead in a game 12-3 late in the season and he was up with no one on and two outs in the home sixth. He took a 3-2 curveball that the umpire called a strike. I usually sit as far away from the plate as I can so I couldn't tell what the pitch was. My son heard the call and ran back to the dugout to get his gear on. When he returned to the plate area, the umpire said a few words to him, my son smiled, said something and went right to warming up the pitcher.

After the game, I asked my son what transpired. He told me that the curveball he took was about five inches off the corner and that when he got back to the plate the umpire apologized for missing the pitch and told him that he respected his class as a baseball player for not arguing or showing him up. My son's response to the umpire was "It's OK Blue, let's get to work."

As we were speaking, the umpire came through the gate, approached us and asked if I was his father. He told me that he thought my son was a special kid "who plays the game with grace." That was all he said. He slapped my son on the back and walked away.

I've never been so proud of a strikeout in my life.

BaseballDad thats a very special story. It almost brought tears to my eyes. I love the special connection that a good catcher who respects the game and a good umpire that respects the game have during the ball game. You dont have to hear a word they are saying you can just see the way they work together. I taught my son at a young age as a catcher to respect that man behind him. I told him "Not one ball hits that backstop I dont care if no ones on. I dont care if we are up 20 runs. And under no circumstances does that umpire get touched the entire night"! Last season we were in a bitter contest in a big conference game down the stretch. My son had hit a ground rule double his last plate appearance and was up again late in the game with us up by 1 run. The pitcher threw one to the backstop and the pitcher walked to home plate to get the ball from the catcher. As he got to home plate we saw him say something to my son. My son did not say anything back. On the next pitch he hit a line drive out to put us up by 2. When he got to home plate I saw the umpire say something to my son. After the game I asked what happened. My son said when the pitcher came to the plate he called him a B----! I then asked him what the umpire said. The umpire said "Thats how you speak on the baseball field son , with your bat". After the game the umpire made a point of seeking my son out and telling him what a class player he was. And how he hoped that he could be behind the plate again behind him. Sure made me proud.

quote:

It always amazes me when I see a coach constantly complain about calls.

Coach May I couldn't agee more that the respect goes beyond the player.

Coach May,

Hat's off to your son. There's nothing like carrying yourself with class and turning a pitch around on a guy who doesn't have the respect for the game that he should. I imagine that the pitcher would think twice before calling any batter a name again, given the result. Great job by your son!