Parents and Fans

Why don’t parents and fans pay admission to see high school baseball games?  If they want to heckle or cheer like they do at major league baseball game, why are they not charged a ticket fee like a major league baseball game.  Isn’t that why it costs $36.00 for an Upper Deck Box Seat, so fans can go to the game, and say what they want.  The manager and players get paid mind-boggling amounts to endure foul language and abusive remarks from their loyal and opposing fans.

I get paid about $ .11 an hour to coach high school baseball.  That’s if you break down my salary in to an hourly rate.  So, when what I am about to tell you happens, I can just tolerate it and just listen to the cha-ching in my head from all the cash I am getting to manage this baseball team.  I am coaching third base and I call a fake steal to our guy on first base.  There is a lefty on the mound who after coming to the set position in the stretch, lifts his front leg to go to pitch and then waits to see if the runner is going and then either goes to home plate with the pitch or picks off at first.  It happened once already in the first inning and the umpire was not ready so we got burned, so I said a few words to make sure he sees it next time.  So, now I, the mastermind coach, put my plan into action.  I tell my team that the next guy that gets on to be ready for the fake steal sign.  The following inning my 3-hitter/ senior/ captain/ best player for the past three seasons, leads off with a walk.  YES!  I put on the fake steal from third.  The lefty pitcher lifts his leg and at the height of his leg kick, our runner on first fakes to steal second.  The pitcher sees he is going to steal, but it is too late because he has already committed his body toward home plate.  He is caught by surprise and steps straight toward home plate, in the hole that is left from stepping in the same place every time he pitches.  He, with all his momentum going home flips a sidearm ball to first knowing he has balked, and continues to walk toward home plate the obvious part of a balk.  The runner gets back to first easily and we all await the balk call, especially the pitcher, the head coach in the other dugout, and me, standing in the third base coaching box.  When there is a safe call made at first an no balk call, I begin to ask why not.  So, I yell across to the umpire in the middle of the diamond saying he stepped and walked toward home and that it is an obvious balk. 

Missing the call is not the bad part of this, because he continued to miss a total of 7 calls on the day, so he had a rough day.  Here is the problem.  As I argued the call for the second time, a blonde-haired mother dressed in an addidas sweat suit, right by the third base line, yells,”Will you SHUT UP!”  And at that point, I stopped and weighed my options.  Do I say something back?  Would you, at 11 cents an hour allow a woman to tell you to shut up?  I would think many of you would fire back or quit.  Should I tell the other teams coach to try to get his fans uner control, to not say things that demean the class of his program?  Should I bite my tongue, say nothing and except it as just part of the game?

                I did nothing.  I later heard a man yell, “Somebody get this guy a violin!”  Because I argued a call it was like the playing of a violin.  What gives people the right to say belittling things at a high school baseball game?

                In grade school, you tell the kid who made fun of you to meet you by the flag pole at 3:10 because you want to fight him and show him you will not be verbally disrespected.  At age 32 I can’t do that anymore, but that is how I felt.

So, I bite my tongue and just understand why the world is the way it is.  I am a teacher and baseball coach.  I remember that my job is to undo the example some parents set for their children.  Can you see it as I can?  20 years from now, the player whose mother yelled that at me is sitting in the stands watching his son play baseball.  The coach on the field argues a call involving his son.  What altercation will occur?  If the example was set 20 years ago, nothing probably happens, but when it is not set properly, we get a great story for the front page news. 

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