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Honey_Badger_Badger27 karma

Former umpire here. Like OP said it’s a last resort type measure. I made it my business to focus on what happens within the fence boundary of the field. When a spectator or parent became particularly unruly (and it had to be pretty bad for me to willingly act) I’d call a meeting with BOTH managers and state the following or something like it:

“Gentlemen, I’ll be brief. I don’t know whose fan it is and I don’t much care. What I do care about is this is a name_of_league_game and it sets a bad example for players and by the sound of what is making it onto the field, parents in that section don’t enjoy sitting next to that behavior either. Do either of you have any question about who I am referring to?”

Universally, one coach will acknowledge they know exactly who I’m referring to and take ownership. The other guy will behave like I asked him if a cucumber is growing out of his forehead or feign ignorance.

Speaking to both managers but looking the home manager dead in the eye, I finish with this:

“Great. Sounds like we are in agreement about the problem. Let’s also agree on the solution: Please remove said individual from auditory and visual range of the park by the end of the next half inning or I will find someone who will. This goes for both benches. Any questions?”

For the teams I’m regularly working with usually I’d not have to explain that final statement any further. If the manager is young, new, questioning or a combination of those, I’d politely inform him I would be ejecting BOTH managers from the game, and continue through their staff one at a time until the problem is solved. I’m semi-addressing the home manager more directly because the home field manager is technically responsible for park management issues if they become part of the game. Warning both of them encourages “teamwork” to take care of the matter if needed. Also prevents the home manager from intentionally removing the wrong individual to escalate the situation out of protest.

Thankfully, I’ve never had to eject anyone. I have heard of guys having to call 911. That’s just crazy to me, but I can see how it could happen too.

When the stick is covered entirely in shit, it’s best avoided. When you can’t avoid it, it’s best to make sure everyone is on the same page BEFORE picking it up.

Honey_Badger_Badger9 karma

Or Slack.

Honey_Badger_Badger1 karma

Obligatory not-OP but...

Youth. The answer is the youth. Buddy of mine moved his family to an area where they pay the kids to call games. It’s amazing. League is based outside Minneapolis. He said the training and quality was more garbage than our area where dads are calling the games but no one loses their minds from the stands on a 13 yo. calling a 9U game. Because kids.

He rebuilt the training program after he arrived. Things are looking up!