I witnessed last Tuesday a Heckler in a small gym. I too, have experienced various degrees of "Heckling" at the field... How much do you listen to? Do you ever hope/expect for an umpire/ref to put and end to it? Do you think a coach should get involved when someone is targeting your player? Or do you sit and roll with it <and try to keep you significant other from taking a little stroll over to "chat" with the guy with the mouth?
______________________________ By the time you learn how to play the game... You can't play it anymore ~ Frank Howard
Posts: 2525 | Location: Northeast | Registered: December 31, 2002
I watched a Florida Atlantic University ballplayer's dad tell a drunk UCF student behind him, At UCF, to be quiet or get ready to take a nap. The kid left immediately.
In high school - I think it is the responsibility of the umpires and the school administrators to intervene when the heckling becomes either abusive or profane.
Unfortunately - my son was a target of some very vicious heckling throughout his senior year in high school.
I thought that the umpires - and the school personnel - did a pretty good job of controlling it at the home games. But many of the away games were very very ugly.
As a parent - I also thought it was best to just grin and bear it - and let it serve as a reminder to me of what I should never become.
Posts: 5809 | Location: Huntersville,NC | Registered: December 27, 2002
Our coachs and players never respond to a heckler unless it is an opposing player or coach. Fans have a right to make an a** of themselves if they want to. We tell our players that they should only focus on the game and that this is just part of the game. In the unusual case of an opposing player or coach heckling then I as a coach will deal with that. Our players and coachs have a team rule prohibiting such actions and violation of this rule can be dismissal from the team and most certainly will result in severe consequences.
In hs, I do believe the admin or parents need to deal with the situation. The range of talent on the field (and the proximity of the fans), can make a heckler torturous to the situation.
In college, the heckling can get purdy durn nasty, and the players either need to lose the rabbit ears or cope. If they are offending people around them, as 04Dad said, the fans can deal with it themselves. But don't go to a college game expecting it to be Miss Catherine's School For Young Ladies.
Was that a rogue, 04, or part of the Rowdy Knights? They've usually got the heckling gig covered at UCF.
--------------------------------- From 'Nice Guys Finish Last' by Leo Durocher:
Baseball lives at the center of a never-flagging whirl of irreconcilable opinions.
Orlando That was a Justin Pope 14K affair, but the offender was not one of "left, right, left, right...SITDOWN!!" crowd. That stuff is fine.
He was merely a "rogue" who thought it would be fun to get drunk then sit behind the FAU parents and heckle their kids with "COMEON14STRIKEOUT!!" Very clever. He was excused.
Last year during one of our HS games (away) there was a heckler who sat outside the fence right at home plate. Every time it was our turn to bat he would say "SWING!" and laugh out loud if he got into our players head. He even called some of our players names if they struck out or was put out. A few of our players blocked it out but the Freshman and Sophmore's didn't. He did this the whole game. And yes, we did lose.
Now some of the parents thought this was cute. Cute? The heckler was 70 years old. It may have been "cute" but still the umps had a duty to shut him up or make him move and they never did.
And this sort of thing happens a lot during Little League games. But, the umps are real good about keeping the parents quiet.
Posts: 1130 | Location: KY USA | Registered: October 27, 2003
quote:In college, the heckling can get purdy durn nasty, and the players either need to lose the rabbit ears or cope. If they are offending people around them, as 04Dad said, the fans can deal with it themselves. But don't go to a college game expecting it to be Miss Catherine's School For Young Ladies.
I have been accused of having "rabbit ears" ... and I guess I do. But my problem is when the other team is chanting and making noise and heckling from their dugout ... that really ticks me off. To me, for a coach to allow it indicates a lack of respect for the game and for the other team.
As for fans heckling ... in our conference, we have one school that is notorious for having drunken fans lining the back of the center and left field fence, making comments to our players. Occasionally one sneaks into the stands and sits directly behind home plate to be annoying. Initially, it really ticked me off but then, after listening to them for a while, I realized they were "doing their homework" ... getting our media guide and reading up on our players. Trust me when I say that these UCR guys better be sure that they want the world to know what they like to eat, who their favorite author is, etc. when they give the info to the SID.
As for the obnoxious fans who are making only themselves laugh, the sweetest revenge is to play well. Our 3rd baseman is the target of a lot of heckling ... he is often the closest to the opposing team's fans and takes a lot of verbal abuse. This week-end was no different ... so he merely went 7 for 13 with 6 RBI's and a homerun ... and they finally shut up.
************************** Go Highlanders **************************
Posts: 3937 | Location: Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight ... | Registered: January 02, 2003
Highlandermom, I totally agree. I hate hecklers, they think they are cute and can somehow influence the game by getting in the heads of opposing players. Alot of the time it works in High School games, I wouldn't think it would work with College level guys, because they have probably heard it all by the time they get to college. But the bottom line is, if you want them to shut up, ignore them and play super. They will eventually be quiet. If you talk back, or somehow let them know you are hearing everything they say, you will be in for a long day. That is what they live for. Hmmm, I don't think that is what the powers to be meant when they said "homefield advantage". Anyway, great thread.
Posts: 421 | Location: Somewherein, California | Registered: October 08, 2003
If you don't like hecklers then stay away from college baseball. Most have their own section and can be brutal. Son's college has an orchestrated section of students that continually banter the opposition. Some colleges have heckler websites: Heckle Dept Being the Tigers we have ours. It's called the "Tiger Ragger" Fungo
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Posts: 4785 | Location: Spring Creek (Jackson),Tennessee | Registered: December 26, 2002
As Fungo says, heckling is a way of life in SEC baseball. There are times when the University of Tennessee hecklers are more entertaining than the product on the field. The UT hecklers have met with the UT administration and are "instructed" on what's acceptable and not acceptable. Most of the time they adhere to certain "standards". Although what is considered good or bad taste can vary with the individual.
I've not witnessed much heckling at the high school level and, frankly, I hope it remains that way. In our area, I don't think the players or fans(primarily parents) would know how to deal with it.
I figure heckling is part of the college game. I hear that ASU actually puts one of them in their media guide...true? I kind of enjoy listening to them because they're usually pretty idiotic in what they say. Makes me laugh.
What I don't like is the wimpy heckler. I see them come into the game, heckle the opposing team from the 1st pitch, but when they start losing, they bail out. Gone. WIMPS! Had one of those at a recent college game I attended. He bailed in the 1st inning down 6-0. He showed up again the next day, and when his team jumped ahead, I asked him fairly loudly if he was gonna stick it out that day if the tide changed, or would he bail again. Everyone around him laughed their heads off and he shut up. His team lost again. He came again the 3rd day and sat well behind us out of the way. His team lost again.
Was kind of fun. Did that make me heckler too?
Posts: 3640 | Location: California | Registered: June 22, 2003
A referee or umpire should NEVER directly address a fan no matter the circumstance. That is the height of poor officiating.
If it is something that needs to be dealt with the school administrator on duty should do it. A referee can and should quietly ask the scorers table to take care of it for him during a time out. They can get a message to the administrator to deal with it. An umpire should ask the home team head coach to get an administrator involved.
As a fan your options are to deal with it yourself or ask the adminstrator to observe it and make a decision.
Posts: 384 | Location: Mo | Registered: October 09, 2003
You reminded me of a story when I was in college. My friend and I had a few beers before the big rivalry basketball game. Game was tight all the way through with our team losing late due in part to a few technical fouls called during the game. So my buddy and I went down to the exit from the arena where the refs would leave the game (not sure what I was thinking at the time). My friend had a cup full of ice. As the referee walked off the court, he looked at my somewhat drunken friend and said, "go ahead and throw it you *******!"
Well, what do you think a drunken college student would do in that situation? - you got it, he pelted the guy right in the head (no harm done). Before I could turn around, my friend was 2 feet off the ground in the hands of two policeman. Took me an hour to get him released as the referee decided not to press charges.
Moral of the story (besides the obvious - of course my buddy and I were idiots!) - no official can ever win an argument with a fan, nor should one ever challenge an angry one. Only bad things can happen.
Posts: 3640 | Location: California | Registered: June 22, 2003
My son's team was playing in the championship game against the home-town team in a 4th of July tournament last summer. There was a lot of chirping from the local fans, but the players on the home team were particularly loud, rude and obnoxious. That is, until our center fielder hit a rocket over the center field wall for the go-ahead home run. As he passed by third base, he looked over at the dugout, put his finger to his lips and said, 'SSSSHHHHHH'. He did not win the MVP award (although he deserved it), but it was the funniest thing I saw at the tournament -- and it DID shut the other team up
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Posts: 1121 | Location: Northern California | Registered: August 26, 2003
