Interacting With Umpires and Officials

This can be relevant for any sport's officials, but since my primary area of experience is baseball, I will be writing about umpires.

Early on in my coaching career I had this weird idea that in every game, we were playing against two opponents: the other team and the umpires. I'm not sure why I viewed things that way, but I did. I went into every game with a chip on my shoulder that at some point during the game we were going to get screwed by the officials. I was always ready for it, and I was always prepared for an argument. Arguing with officials was "part of the game," I thought.

What a dumb idea.

I made comments about the strike zone. I shouted my disagreement across the diamond about every close play. I belittled umpires and showed them up. And what did it ever gain my team?

I can't recall one instance over the years where behaving so negatively toward umpires ever benefited our team in any way. So, why did I do it? Ego, perhaps. Or for some kind of subliminal act of communication that I am "standing up for my team" or defending my players? When it comes right down to it, there's rarely ever a good reason.

During any game, of course, there will always be decisions that were made by the officials that will cause question, or perhaps there will be some legitimately poor judgment calls. When that happens, I have learned that there is a much better way to handle these kinds of things.

It begins with recognizing that umpires and officials are human beings and not machines that are programmed to get everything right, which means they will all be a little inconsistent at times. It also means that they are capable of relationship, and my relationship with them is either going to be a positive one or a negative one. We're going to have a relationship, that is unavoidable, because we're in the same event, focused on the same object, and we are interacting during the course of the 2-hour event. So, how I want that relationship to be – positive or negative – is (partially) within my control.

For this reason, I will always introduce myself before the game, giving my first and last name, and then I will encourage the umpires to feel free to refer to me as "Chris" during the game whenever they need anything from me. Likewise, they will typically introduce themselves with their names, and I will ask if they mind if I call them by their first name during the course of the game. To call someone by name is an added level of respect. It feels better (and sounds better) than calling someone "BLUE," and most umpires I have met prefer to not be called "Blue."

The next thing I have to do is be prepared and have a plan. In my mind, I have to already determine that at some point during the game there will be a bad call (maybe even a REALLY bad call). Okay... it happens. Now I won't be so surprised. The key is how will I respond to the bad call? Have a plan.

Here is a list of things I have learned to put away. I try my best to no longer do these:

• Question calls by shouting across the field

• Immediately react forcefully by running out to argue (from 0-100 in a second)

• Use sarcasm

• Call them "blue"

• Question or protest every little thing

In the event that I feel a call was wrongly made, and I feel compelled to discuss it with the umpire. Here is the plan I have tried to follow:

1. Wait for the play to fully end, then ask for time out.

2. Calmly walk or jog out to the umpire who made the call.

3. Address him by name, and ask if he could tell me what he saw or how he came to the conclusion he did.

4. Listen to the explanation (this is THE most important piece). Truly listen and even repeat to him what he describes by asking, "So you are saying that you saw..."

5. Explain what I saw from my perspective, which is the reason for our disagreement. And ask if there is any value to seeking help from the other official(s).

6. Accept whatever answer he gives me (don't have to like it or agree with it, but have to accept it).

7. Thank him for listening and for giving me the opportunity to address him.

I'd be lying if I told you that's exactly how all of my disputes with umpires go. But it's my plan, my goal for all of them, which means I'll be less likely to hit default and use one of the tactics in the bullet list above that I am trying to do away with.

It's all about treating people with respect. And it's all about recognizing that no one in this life, and especially in the world of sports, is perfect. No one is trying to make mistakes. Even the umpires who are really incompetent at the task are not trying to be incompetent. I can't believe that anyone tries to do a bad job.

I have told my teams, the day we become perfect in all that we do and the day I make all decisions perfectly as a coach, that is the day we can begin disrespecting umpires. I can confidently say that day will never come.

Umpires are not an opponent. They are not to be seen as someone we have to do battle against. They want the same thing we do... a fair game. It's just that they are the ones with all the pressure on them to ensure that it is played fairly. And I'll say this: just like our kids play better when they are having fun, umpires too do a lot better when they are having fun. It's hard to do your job when you are always on the defensive, always having to hear how much people disagree with you, always knowing that at any moment someone is going to confront you.

I'll close with a real-life example of a recent interaction I had with an umpire. The summer team I help coach was playing at the Midland Round Robin in Cincinnati. In the top half of an inning, one of our batters hit a ball off his foot (in the box) but it rolled into fair territory. Neither umpire called it a foul ball, and the defense played it into an out. I walked down to the home plate umpire and said, "_______ (umpire's first name), that ball hit his foot, shouldn't it be a foul ball?" The umpire responded and said that he did not see it hit his foot. I replied with, "I am guessing since the umpire in the field also didn't call it immediately, there's no sense wasting our time with asking him." He agreed, and I dropped the issue.

In the bottom half of the same inning, one of the Midland batters squared to bunt and the ball hit off his bat straight down to the plate and landed in fair territory. The batter took off for first, our catcher sprung out and fielded the ball, threw to first and got the out (so it seemed). When the runner was one-third the way down the line, the umpire shouted "Foul ball! Foul ball!" It did not appear to have hit the batter (from my angle). So, of course, I walked out to question the call. I said, "_____ (umpire's first name), if that was so obviously foul, then why didn't you make the call immediately?" He replied, "Because I wanted to be sure. The ball did hit him in the box." I said, "It looked to me like it hit the edge of the plate." I also said, "Why weren't you just as careful to be sure about the ball that went off our player's foot in the top half of the inning?" He said, "Chris, we've already discussed that." I turned and walked away.

Between innings, I asked our catcher (who happens to be my son) if I was right about the ball hitting the plate. Brock told me that yes, the ball did hit the corner of the plate but then it also bounced up and hit the batter's knee in the box. The umpire had gotten it right. From my angle, I could only see the first bounce off the plate.

So, between innings I walked out to the umpire and said, "______ (umpire's first name), I want to apologize for getting a little cross with you about the foul ball and comparing the two calls." I said, "My catcher told me that while the ball did indeed hit the plate, it also bounced up and hit the runner. That's the part I didn't see. I just wanted to let you know that he came in and defended you to me." The umpire patted me on the shoulder and said, "It's all good, Chris. I appreciate the way you handled it, and I appreciate you telling me this."

What is to be gained from treating people poorly? It's just ugly, and it helps no situation to become better, and it benefits no person along the way. I'm still growing in this, and hope I keep getting better at these interactions.