C.21 - Don't Be Over Officious by Jay Miner

C.21 - Don't Be Over Officious  by Jay Miner

Over my long umpiring career I umpired several thousand games, observed a similar amount more and served as an assigner, training chairman, umpire school instructor and talent evaluator. I’m currently responsible for disseminating umpire training information to more than 1,800 officials and, of course, my esteemed readers. I can’t possibly observe that many umpires, but I get to examine more than 200 a year. I see the good, the bad and the ugly of umpiring. 

The last couple of years I’ve seen several umpires exacerbate a bad situation during arguments, but local umpire P.K. does it best or should I say worst? P.K. is a veteran umpire with above average ability and knowledge of the rules. However, P.K. uses methods that are counter productive or even infuriating to managers who want to question a call.

While working a high school girls’ varsity game, batter B1, leading off the fifth inning of a scoreless game, lined a ball safely to right-center field. Hustling B1stretched her hit and slid safely into second base ahead of F6’s tag, or did she? Could F6’s tag have nipped B1? P.K. ultimately called and signaled B1 safe.

After playing action ceased, Donnie, the veteran coach of the team A jogged out to ask P.K. about the play. Just as Donnie reached second base, P.K. assertively asked, “Coach, did you request time?” 

Some, perhaps too many umpires believe that a coach who wishes to discuss a play must first make a formal request for “time” and have it granted before entering the umpire’s dominion. Like it or not, the head coach in softball, despite some vague rulebook text about not questioning judgment calls, permits the coach to ask the umpire what happened on the play. 

P.K. had a potential argument developing and rather than explain his call and manage the situation presently and professionally, he chose to ask the coach if he made a formal request of time. P.K. then followed through by directing Donnie back to his bench without addressing his concerns. After returning to his bench, Donnie persevered by formally requesting a conference with P.K. P.K. had to oblige as Donnie followed P.K.’s instructions. The then angry Donnie  argued vociferously with P.K. in an ugly confrontation before he finally returned to his bench.

Was P.K.’s method sound or even moderately beneficial? When Donnie first entered the field he did not charge out confrontationally and he did not appear angry. All P.K. accomplished was forestalling the discussion, angering the coach and delaying the game on an obscure technicality. Is that really good game management? I think not.

Although our games are amateur softball games and not professional baseball, both games traditionally allow coaches (managers in recreational softball and baseball) to come out to ask about a play. If P.K. really believed that Donnie should have dutifully followed P.K.’s perceived procedure, wouldn’t it have been simpler for P.K. to have formally called time himself? That way his inane contention that had time not been officially declared that the players might resume the game without the umpires would be eliminated?

I’ve studied professional baseball and game management for years and professional umpires excel in managing situations and for the most part umpires and managers follow the creed, “You don’t embarrass me and I won’t embarrass you.” 

By any reasonable person’s standards, time is automatically out in those situations even if time is not formally requested by a coach.

So, don’t be an “OOJ,” or an Over Officious Jerk.

Jay Miner is a Referee correspondent from Albany, N.Y.