Saturday, July 23, 2011

Polls: Ejection Rate

A quiet week: Umpire fantasy or simply par for the course? Since Ejections: Chad Fairchild (3, 4)Ejections: Eric Cooper (1) & Ejections: Mike Muchlinski (3) last Sunday, we haven't seen any ejections at the MLB level. *EDIT: No sooner did we post this poll, we noticed a late ejection addition in last night's A's-Yankees contest. The ejection of A's Batting Coach Gerald Perry by HP Umpire Marty Foster was not listed in the box score as of 5am this morning... it since has been added and our write-up will follow shortly.* That makes 32 33 ejections since July 1 (remember the news outlets' predictions for July ejections topping 70? The UEFL still stands by our prediction in the 42 range). Still, a week without ejections allows us to visit discussions and put out a case play. It also coincides nicely with the end of our most recent poll regarding your All-Star Umpiring Crews. This week, we'll ask about your own personal ejection rate.

Previous Poll (All-Star Umpiring Crew) Results: Our previous poll, Polls: All-Star Umpires, asked who you would place on your personal All-Star crew. Combining your votes on the blog and on our Facebook page, we see a mix of popular umpires making appearances. Based solely on vote count, here is the UEFL All-Star Umpiring Crew as decided by you (Total Votes: 333):
  • HP: Jim Joyce -cc - 45% - Joyce has a good reputation as honorable & decent around these parts; that surely helped him secure the top spot.
  • 1B: Jim Wolf - 42% - Wolf has surely grown popular through his work ethic, calm demeanor, and dedication to the job.
  • 2B: Tim McClelland - 35% - The reliable veteran, McClelland has persisted in baseball as a quiet umpire who simply goes to work and gets the job done.
  • 3B: Ted Barrett - 26% - The personable Barrett is admired and revered for his conduct and attitude on the field; he is often seen as a peacemaker.
  • LF: Tim Tschida - 25% - Tschida has been there, done that throughout his career, and maintains his respect through the present day.
  • RF: Dale Scott - 25% - Scott, like Joyce, had a late surge of voting contribute to his placement on this crew; perhaps his real-life All-Star performance reminded some voters of his ability. 
Also receiving votes, and named as alternates, were: HP: Jeff Nelson (21%), 1B: Alfonso Marquez (21%), 2B: Gerry Davis (20%), 3B: Dan Iassogna (19%), LF: Mark Wegner (18%), RF: Tom Hallion (18%). Second alternates were: HP: John Hirschbeck (16%), 1B: Ed Hickox (15%), 2B: Joe West (15%), 3B: Brian O'Nora (15%), LF: Angel Hernandez (12%), RF: Dana DeMuth (11%)

Current Poll: In your best estimation, what is your personal ejection rate? Open for discussion: is there a trend to eject more/less in a certain level of ball? Is there a trend to eject more/less during a certain part of one's umpiring career?

When you umpire, what is your average ejection rate?

10 comments :

Anonymous said...

From my limited experience at the youth game, it's mostly parents that don't seem to have any knowledge of.. well.. anything. The kids are usually great and the coaches for the most part aren't that bad.

Anonymous said...

I wish I would keep track of my EJ's over my 22 year career....to me the youth game gives me more ejections then anything else...in 6 seasons of high school ball (maybe 300-350 games), I had 4 ejections total. Last week I had 7 in 4 days. Last night I had #17 this season. Over the last 15 years or so of summer ball, I average 15-20 a season, mostly for equipment throwing.

Anonymous said...

Wow!! 15-20 a year? I think I would quit umpiring if I had to deal with that every year. Too much writing! Maybe we get thicker skin as we get older. I probably have the shortest season in the country (125 games, 4 months), but I'll go 4 years without an ejection. But I can't lie, I had 17 ejections about 20 years ago. I think once players stop calling you blue, and use your name, they are more apt to just argue the call, and not become personal. Also I haven't worked an aluminum bat game in 20 years, summer college wood bat league. If I did youth, I get 15 a season no doubt!

Anonymous said...

Hahah..I don't write them all up, only the doozies get written up where I want the suspension. Usually I just let the other ones go and just clarify that the lesson was learned and leave it at that....

Jon Terry said...

All of my work over the past two years has been in Nations tournament ball. 20 ejections in almost 600 games, but only asked to write a report once.

Anonymous said...

Amazing how, that of the umpires with the most special events in the last 14 years, only Tim McClelland made the list. Tim Welke, Jeff Kellogg, and Angel Hernandez did not even make the list of All-Star umpires, even though all have 14 or more special events in the last 14 years.

Anonymous said...

Oops
Only Gerry Davis and Tim McClelland with the most events in the last 14 years made it and the other 3 with the most did not.

Anonymous said...

Have a tendency to throw out more Junior High Kids then High School/College Ball... give HS/College Kids a little bit more leash because they know the game a little better.

Anonymous said...

Ejections are part of being an umpire. People say you're a bad ump if you're ejecting people. But, on the contrary, if you don't have ejections, you're doing something wrong.

Anonymous said...

So true. Ejections are part of the game. I think if ejection reports were utilized more frequently, some of you guys could eliminate having to deal with the same players over and over again, and year upon year. Ejection reports, even in amateur leagues, can track player behavior over many years of playing. No matter who's the president or UIC from year to year, ejection reports can be reviewed and updated, and accessed quite easily. Even the most harmless of all ejections, balls and strikes, should go into a report. Let alone equipment throwing. If a kid at 11yrs old throws a bat, then at 13 argues pitches, then when he is 17 and does both, he can and should be given a hefty suspension, after already being disqualified when the player was 11yrs old and 13. And even if you don't have problems with the same player again, after you have ejected him, believe me, another umpire will have to deal with him. So ejection reports can help your fellow umpires as well.

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