Many of you know my 6 year old is playing 7-8 coach pitch this year. I'm not coaching, but I'm helping out when the coach needs me to.

On Saturday, we had a game for which we were the home team. Coach asked me to umpire and I said no problem. We score 3 in the bottom of first inning, so coach is happy guy. In the top of second, other team scores 3 to tie things up. While we are still in field, I hear coach telling the boys to chatter a little. The next thing I know, he has our players yelling "hey batter, batter...swing", as the pitch is coming into the hitter. I yelled timeout and asked him to speak at home plate. He was behind second base directing the fielders. I told him I didn't want to hear his team (my son's team) talking to the other players. I was all for chatter, but constructive chatter not directed toward the other team. The coaches on the other side could hear me, so could a few parents sitting directly behind the backstop. The coach got all upset and said, and I quote, "it is part of the game. Getting into the other kid's heads is what our boys need to learn." I am not kidding, he said that. I was so disturbed, my voice started to raise to a level much louder than I wanted. I told the coach it was not part of the game, and that if his son were at bat and another team did that to his son, he would be the first to complain. I didn't necessarily want a "gotcha moment", but I got one anyway. Gotta love unintended consequences.

Needless to say, we didn't have anymore problems the rest of the day. Not only did the other coaches tell me after the game they appreciated me stepping in, but many of our parents told me they wanted the coach to teach them baseball, not how to get over on another seven year old.

OMG

There is absolutely now way you can be objective
in that situation.

"hey batter, batter...swing" is as much of
Little League Baseball as Apple Pie and Chevrolet.

In winter clinics, and using a Solo-Hitter, I
actually teach the pre teen hitter how to stay focused while the 'Crowd' (ie. boys and girls around 'the cage') 'harass' the players.
It gets very very loud in the gym, and the 10U love
to make the noise. I have used my 'Concentration' charts and timed the students before and after the excercise.

I wonder when one would over-react if umpiring a girls softball team and not wanting to listen to the chant and singing all game?

Reminds me of the games vs the NY Youth Services ball clubs and all the banging of the drums, and clanging of the cymbals. It is a part of the game.

I DESPISE "Hey batter batter batter". And anyone who has ever played with my son knows it. The difference between "H-B-B-swing" and the chanting and cheering from the dug out: HBBS is bad sportsmanship against the other team, while team chants are positive cheering for your team. BIG DIFFERRENCE in my opinion.

Let your play do all the talking, nothing wrong with cheering teammates, all the rest is just bush.

I despise this stuff. It is not a part of baseball. Neither is the bell clanging or drums or other stuff. Cheer on your team and don't talk to the other team. If it is part of the game, so is throwing at a batter. Do you guys who believe it is part of the game believe a pitcher should hit a batter when the dugout starts this stuff?

I tell my sons who have just started umping LL to stop it immediately. Let them cheer and talk to their teammates but when it starts to the other team, issue the warning immediately.

It was a part of every game back when I played. Every batter learned to ignore it very quickly. Early start on not having rabbit ears.

quote:

Coach asked me to umpire and I said no problem. [QUOTE]

[QUOTE]I hear coach telling the boys to chatter a little. The next thing I know, he has our players yelling "hey batter, batter...swing", as the pitch is coming into the hitter.

quote:

The coach got all upset and said, and I quote, "it is part of the game. Getting into the other kid's heads is what our boys need to learn." I am not kidding, he said that.

Number 1.........welcome to our side of the game....beware it can becoming addictive....

Number 2........good call.....chatter all you want as long as it is not directed at the opposing team..

Number 3........Getting into the head of an 11 year old is not part of the game....good call.....


I once had a similar experience.......a short chubby kid came to the plate and the other team....started calling him PIG........I immediately called time.......sternly took off my mask and admonished the other teams dugout that I would not tolerate any more name calling.........

The game was quiet from that moment on.........then as I was walking to my car, the boys mother came up to me.......and said........that PIG was his nickname.....and everyone called him that.......seem these teams were made up of school mates.....

well.......I didnt know that........so I just stopped it.....felt a bit foolish about it but thats the standard I hold.......

good job, by you.....

quote:

Originally posted by Bear:
OMG

There is absolutely now way you can be objective
in that situation.

"hey batter, batter...swing" is as much of
Little League Baseball as Apple Pie and Chevrolet.

In winter clinics, and using a Solo-Hitter, I
actually teach the pre teen hitter how to stay focused while the 'Crowd' (ie. boys and girls around 'the cage') 'harass' the players.
It gets very very loud in the gym, and the 10U love
to make the noise. I have used my 'Concentration' charts and timed the students before and after the excercise.

I wonder when one would over-react if umpiring a girls softball team and not wanting to listen to the chant and singing all game?

Reminds me of the games vs the NY Youth Services ball clubs and all the banging of the drums, and clanging of the cymbals. It is a part of the game.

Bear...big difference in Mel's clubs chanting from the dugout in Espanol, and 7-8 year olds yelling swing. Big, big difference my friend!

quote:

Originally posted by Texan:
It was a part of every game back when I played. Every batter learned to ignore it very quickly. Early start on not having rabbit ears.

With all due respect Texan, smoking in the dugout was OK when I played LL 35 years ago as well. Should we advocate that again? We are supposed to learn from our experiences and make things better for the next generation. I don't see how yelling at a batter who is trying to focus on hitting the ball without getting hit by the ball himself is "part of the game"?

I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

With all due respect, smoking has proved harmful beyond a shadow of a doubt. A most inappropriate and inaccurate comparison.

I know of absolutely no one who was harmed by "hey batter, batter swing". In fact, it probably helped players learn early to focus and tune out distractions. It wasn't personal, it was part of the chatter. Any batter could hear it at times, it was random.

I'm with TR on this one (wow, is that the third time this year?), political correctness has gone too far. A generation of kids is coming up with a significant percentage who are molly coddled to the point of having difficulty learning and functioning on their own. And the PC philosophy is contributing to this problem.

No argument here on the PC stuff. But how is telling kids not to try and distract the batter PC? Is it not our duty, as adults, to teach the kids how to focus and play baseball the right way? Or is it our goal to help the youngsters develop some real good zingers to use on their pals and opponents? Why is it illegal for a runner on third base to yell time when a pitcher is in his motion? Shouldn't the pitcher not have rabbit ears? C'mon...some of you guys would be telling us how the kid on 3B needs to be drilled the next time he is at the plate. If we teach focus and concentration (and fun) at the younger age groups, then we might not see the "ego" problems we see at the older age groups, agree?

In the greater scheme of things, I would want my 7-8 year old fielders thinking about where the best out would be, or what am I going to do if the ball is hit to me, not worrying about timing swing when the batter is supposed to swing.

The problem is that it never stops at hey batter, batter swing. It goes further with the beating on the dugout and hollering at the pitcher.

My main reason is it is against the rules. As an umpire and coach, I am suppose to enforce the rules.

Much ado over nothing...

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Connell:
The problem is that it never stops at hey batter, batter swing. It goes further with the beating on the dugout and hollering at the pitcher.

Didn't go further back in the day...

quote:

Originally posted by Texan:
Much ado over nothing...

Huge ditto.....

As quoted. Do you have a problem with throwing at a batter in this level ball? It is teaching them to prepare for the future. Retaliation by most is part of the game.

By the statement, didn't go further in the day. You must not have been to many games lately. It goes a lot further in today's games. These are not the good ole days.

If it goes further, the coach should stop it. If he fails to do so, the blue should. Pretty simple. Don't outlaw all driving just because some driver speeds. Keep it within the limits.

Some kids at the plate could get distracted by folks in the stands. Should we ban spectators?

Some kids could get distracted by something going on in the dugout. Should we empty the dugouts & make players stand out of sight if they aren't on the field?

Some kids could get distracted by an airplane flying overhead. No fly zones over LL fields?

Anything gets personal, that is over the line. Chatter? Nope. Part of the game.

Some kids could get their feelings hurt if they strike out. Should we eliminate strike outs? Some kids could get upset if they make an error. Mulligans, anyone? Some kids could have their fragile psyche damaged if they make the third out in the last inning with bases loaded. Perhaps we shouldn't even let kids play this game...

TR, take over. I'm tired of this stuff.

Texan


Our society today says "Though shalt be afraid of hurting anyones feelings"---this is just part of the entire picture--

Texan and TR,

This isn't about hurting anyone's feelings. This is about teaching 7-8 year old kids the right and wrong way to cheer and chatter. We hopefully can all agree that the best way to keep kids in the game is to focus on what they and their teammates need to do, correct? And can we agree that this bantering back and forth at the 15-16 or 17-18 level can get out of control and destructive at times, correct? Well now, if we agree to that...can we agree that by teaching our 7-8 year olds not to address the opponent in a negative light, that perhaps that same message will carry them through when they are 17 years old, and therefore more volatile situations may not arise?

I've been very fortunate to coach a lot talented ball players. Some are in the major leagues starring for their teams now. When they played 17-18 ball, they didn't talk to the other team in a negative tone. If they did, they were done. This wasn't PC, it was about keeping them focused on their jobs. I have found that the coaches who think this chatter stuff is a good idea, are the coaches who want to be buddies with the players.

Hey batter, batter...swing/miss/swing/miss