Carl Hoeger asked:
OK, we have all heard what not to do; now how about giving us idiot managers and soon-to-be rookie umps some pointers on what TO do: how to argue a call, etc. Thanks!
Jim Mantle was kind enough to offer this mind-dump of thoughts:
1. Don't show up the umpire or grandstand. You're there to make your point, not put on a performance for the crowd.
2. Control your anger, no matter how ticked-off you are. Most umpires will listen to arguements - none should listen to you yell at them.
3. Recognize when it is futile. Some umpires are a legend in their own mind, or don't understand they might have kicked one. When this happens, resist the urge to get the parting shot in.
4. Go to the right umpire. Not to the oldest one, or to the plate umpire. Go to the one who made the call. No other umpire should overrule another, so if you've gone to the wrong umpire the conversation you've earned should sound like:
"I thought he missed that swipe tag at 2B on the batter-runner".
"Yep, the runner from second touched 3B on his way through to score"
"Huh?"
"You're talking to the wrong umpire. He made that call, not me."
"Oh"
5. Modify your approach to the age of the umpire, especially if you have a 15 YO out there. Just the fact that you are an adult is intimidating. Don't be condescending, don't use your age. Just be factual and treat him as a competant doing-his best individual.
6. If you paint an umpire into a corner, or try to intimidate the umpire, you've likely either shut him up or gotten him defensive. Either way he's not listening to you, and you're not going to persuade him to change his mind. Which is why you're out there.
7. The word which should get you ejected immediately is not the dreaded F-word. It's the Y-word. You. As in "You made a terrible call" or "You are a terrible umpire". Talk about the call, not the individual who made it. "I think that call is wrong" is factual, "You got the call wrong" is personal.
8. There is a chance you have the rule wrong, not the umpire. OTOH, it isn't anywhere near a sure thing that the umpire has it right either.
9. You're stuck with the umpire for the rest of the game. Don't moan, bitch and gripe for the next 2 hours. Don't play mind games with the umpire - chances are it will get him thinking too much. That call is history, what you're really interested in are the calls for the rest of the game. And rattled umpires sometimes do not make good calls.
10. Go on a 2 hour car trip on a sunny summer day. Turn off the A/C. Put 2 kids in the back seat. Listen to them fight and bitch and complain for 2 hours. Imagine that you're an umpire listening to a crybaby coach. That's what it is like to listen to that coach. It makes you understand why, for some species, parents eat their offspring. Don't do this (that is, don't be a crybaby coach - what you do with your offspring is your business).
11. Set a positive role model for your players. Hustle your butt out there (but don't charge the umpire like a raging bull). Make your case crisply. When it's done, hustle back. And don't moan to your players about the umpire all game - all it does is teach the players that they can blame their lack of success on anything and/or everything external.
12. Good things to say:
After the play is complete and as you leave the dugout: "Time, please"
"Blue, I have a question about that call. Why did blah-blah get called out."
<listen>
"OK, I though that yadda-yadda should have been called"
<Umpire should have a reason why this wasn't true>
Shut mouth. Think. If it makes sense, say "Thanks", turn, and go to dugout.
13. If it doesn't make sense, say so in a nice way, and make an arguement which is better than the mechnical game-saying of "Did-so" "Did not". [ref. Monty Python, I'd like to have an arguement, please"] For example, having heard that your runner was sent back on a Catcher's Interference, come up with something better than "But the runner on second was stealing, so you can't let the catcher take it away just by putting his glove up". Answer could be: "Sure can, that's what the book says". You're toast, even though you have the rule right and the umpire has the rule wrong. But you have nowhere left to argue.
Try: "I know runners are sent back if a runner gets nailed by a batted ball or the batter is HBP, but a catcher can cause interference on any swing of the bat and so that's the one exception in the book where a stealing runner gets to keep his stolen base." You may not get your ruling, but you will have an umpire reading his rulebook after the game. I hope.
Which brings up #14:
14. Know the rules to a reasonable level. If you've been chirping "1+1" after every overthrow, don't expect to be taken seriously when you come out to discuss a rule interpretation.
15. Sometimes, a coach will come out to discuss a judgement call, knowing full well that the call will not be reversed, but that your objective is to have the umpire wake-up for future calls. Now, if you scream "he's not stopping" from the dugout, and the pitcher doesn't stop on the next pitch and blue balks him, the other dugout will chirp "Come on blue, he's intimidated you into making that call".
Pick your moments. If their pitcher isn't stopping, come out at the end of the inning, and say something like "Excuse me, blue, last inning I counted four times when we had a runner on base and I thought the pitcher didn't stop. Our base runners are frozen, and don't know what to do. Please keep an eye on it. Thanks."
You didn't ask for a committment from the umpire to call it. You didn't say "You missed it". You left the umpire some room - maybe he has it right, and you don't. And you got him thinking that he might be missing something, which was your objective. And you did not show him up in front of the crowd or the other team - nobody but the two of you knows what you talked about. A good umpire will say something non-committal like "Thanks, I'll keep an eye on it".
Just make sure you tell your pitcher to make his stops very clear, because the next balk may be on you, either because the PU is over-anxious or because he has a gonads problem and he's pissed and he's going to stick it to you. Either way, suck it back and don't bite.
16. Remember that you DON'T want to argue with an Umpire. You DO want him to consider your alternative view. This probably should be #1 on the list.
17. If you're absolutely darn certain that you have the rule right, and they don't, consider the game situation. If it's a blowout, or in the first inning of a 7-inning game, is this worthy of a protest? Even if you're right, perhaps not. In an important contest, don't be afraid to do it. We all hate protests, but if it's the only way to get obstinate umpires to confer or read a rulebook, then I *very reluctantly* suggest that it might be the right thing to do.
Just remember, the rulebook is a poorly-written and very confusing place. When you have the crowd and both teams watching you, it's tough to find the rule you want. You may not want this to happen, unless you can do some good coaching.
Never bring a book onto the field, but don't be afraid to reference the book in the dugout, come out, and simply say "The rule that applies here is 5.09f".
When the umpires are ready to state their ruling to you, it may be a Good Thing to suggest that they tell both coaches at the same time - then you both hear the same words.
18. If you manage to get the umpires to confer with each other (judgement, missed call or rules situation), you've achieved your objective so retreat to near your dugout (stay on the field). Let them confer. They'll beckon you over when they've figured it out. Then hustle. Don't make them chase you down.
19. The correct ratio in a discussion is 1-1. Get your players and coaches out of there, then make your case.
20. Control your parents and players. Tell your players "You swing the bat, it's my job to deal with the umpires".
#19 & #20 will make you many friends among the blue corps. It may not get you any more calls, but at least you should be listened to.
And what to do when you have an absolute A-1 jerk of an umpire who does not have a clue?
21. Don't have a hairy. Keep plays simple. You're not married to the dolt, you only have to endure him for maybe 2 hours of your life. Suck it back. Make notes during the game. And have a factual discussion with the league admin or UIC later that day.
22. When it's over, it's over. Discussions end, and not everybody will be happy. Games end, and everybody's memory should be purged. If you encounter the guy again, it's a new game, the slate is clean, and you will not remember any specific situation from the previous game (although you might remember that he has no idea how to call a curve, or he doesn't give the bottom of the zone, or whatever).
23. The umpire is in control of the game. Leave it that way. If the guy cannot call a curve ball, or won't give the outside corner, then his reality differs from yours. And his is the only one that counts. Deal with it. Adapt to it. And if you can adapt to this faster than the other coach, then you have an advantage.
Timothy Ace Holleran added these thoughts: Jim Mantle is a great Netizen on the rec.sport.officiating newsgroup -- I thought his screed well writ. Natch, I'd like to add ten to it:
1. Don't blame an ump for your player's mistake(s). Yes, you're ticked because Johnny threw the ball out of play. Then the award to runners raises your sphygmomanometer another notch. Flailing away at the ump won't win you any style points.
2. Be verrry careful of pregame remarks. Don't accost umps too harshly on minutiae like illegal bats; "where's your zone, blue?"; not enough warmup time on field, etc. Much of this junk is the province of a site director or other official.
3. Constant chirping can shorten your life expectancy. If you've been carping at virtually every pitch, don't expect plate ump to allow a filibuster when you *really* want to argue.
4. "Ump, I have a question on a rule, please," will almost always win you a chance to haul your soapbox out.
5. I have seen a good many mediocre and a few incompetent umps. I have never seen one who was crooked. When you start inferring bias, you are skating on a tissue-thin sheet of ice.
6. If you are of the "great pitch, Jason" school of trying to get under the ump's skin, be careful. If this ploy gets noticed, please don't give the old "but I wasn't talking to you, ump" palaver. Some of us, in fact, fell off the turnip truck right after Woodstock.
7. One of the weakest arguments (after a hairy play/call) is "But that's gotta be *somethin'*, blue." Be specific: "Isn't that obstruction?"
8. Hand gestures--which all can see--as well as jumping hither and yon, are showing up us blues. Often you can make the same point verbally, one on one, with lower Richter-scale repercussions.
9. When you are about to personally berate an ump, imagine an arbiter who, the whole game, said to you stuff like: "Can't you find a kid who can reach the plate?"; "What were you thinking of when you bunted that power hitter?" or something even more insulting. An umpire who behaved this way would be sent packing in a New York nanosecond.
10. Sometimes, the best course of action is to note things in umps such as: lack of hustle; unkempt appearance; spotty rules knowledge. Report these things factually and succinctly to the apropos chairman, commish, tourney director, etc. Chances are that other coaches are doing the same thing, and you may not have to worry about seeing a certain umpire again.