Baseball Etiquette for Coaches

This letter was provided to coaches in a local little league.

Umpire Etiquette
(Or, How to get yourself thrown out of a game)

Judgment calls such as fair or foul, ball or strike, or out or safe aren't up for discussion. If you want clarification on a ruling, it's appropriate to come out and discuss it. But coming up and telling the umpire that he's wrong and the ball was really fair isn't going to accomplish anything.

Standing in the dugout or base coach's box and calling out questions or complaints is poor manners. If you'd like to discuss a call, call time and go over to talk to the umpire.

If a call needs to be discussed, the manager should be doing the discussing. Having the manager, a coach, and three players surround an umpire to argue a call isn't necessary and tends to escalate any confrontations that might arise.

Be calm and reasonable. If you come running onto the field, shouting, or otherwise acting aggressive, don't expect to make it to the foul line before you're ejected.

Don't show up an umpire by demonstrating or re-enacting a play, drawing diagrams in the dirt, or pulling out a rule book.

If you're unhappy with a call, get over it and move on. Coming to the umpire two innings later to re-start the discussion isn't going to help. The call has been made, play has continued, and there's nothing to be gained by re-hashing it.

Discuss calls with the umpire who made them. Another umpire will not ever overturn his partner's call. If the base umpire made a call you disagree with, talk to him about it, not the plate umpire.

There's three ways to guarantee an ejection. Personal attacks, profanity, and persistence. Telling an umpire that he's not any good, saying "you made a bad call," or calling him names will earn you an instant trip home. Any player or coach using profanity directed at an umpire or anyone else earns an immediate ejection. And once an umpire decides it's time to end a discussion and move the game along, don't persist in discussing it.

Bumping, pushing, or otherwise touching an umpire is taken very seriously. It will earn you an ejection and most likely a suspension of several games. Depending on the severity of the offense, a season-long suspension or even arrest may be in your future.

Do feel free to ask the umpire about a rule or play between innings or after the game. If during the previous inning there was a play or call that you didn't understand, ask him about it. Just don't bring up a play you've already come out to discuss.

Remember that the umpires are volunteers with varying levels of experience and training. They make mistakes, just like you do. But an umpire has never cost a team the game. Sure, a bad call for the final out of the last inning might prevent you from getting the winning run, but your team's inability to get a runner home in the 4th with the bases loaded and no outs was probably a bigger factor in your loss.