Suit up or shut up. That’s the ultimatum on town in New Jersey is offering Little League parents who have no trouble criticizing and critiquing baseball umpires in a very loud manner during games.
Little League officials in Deptford Township, New Jersey have discovered a way to quiet down some of the loud-mouth parents. If an individual yells at an official, they must volunteer to umpire for the league.
And it’s not just one game, either. If you run your mouth, you’ll have to do the job for at least three contests before being permitted back on the premises.
“They’re coming here, they’re being abused, they don’t need that. So they’re walking away,” Deptford Township Little League President Don Bozzuffi told WPVI.
This new rule comes after two volunteer officials quit because of rowdy parents. So, the league in Deptford Township wanted to prevent these situations from happening in the future.
“You’re not allowed to come onto our complex until you complete three umpire assignments. Once you do that, then we’ll let you come back,” Bozzuffi said.
Maybe this is a new strategy that should be adopted across all of Little League. It would probably cut down on at least some of the ridiculous behavior we see at these games. Plus, it seems that it’s getting support from the community.
“If the parents are going to be sitting there, yelling the whole entire game, they might as well use that energy out on the field,” local mother Kateland Tokley told WPVI.
We can’t wait to hear if this new rule helps cut down on the number of parents harassing umpires during games.
Massive Brawl Breaks Out at Minor League Baseball Game
It’s not just parents who can get a little unruly during a baseball game. A massive brawl broke out during a Minor League Baseball game in the Florida State League on Sunday. It was a coach who threw the first punch.
The fight started when Tarpons pitcher Alex Bustamante hit Threshers batter Erick Brito in the top of the third inning. Clearwater manager Marty Malloy was visibly upset with the situation and had some words with the Tampa dugout.
Tampa pitching coach Gerardo Casadiego was standing at home plate when Malloy started walking towards the area. After more words were exchanged, Malloy threw a punch at Casadiego.
That’s when all hell broke loose. Multiple players and coaches were ejected, and the game was delayed 20 minutes while everything got sorted out.
It was an ugly scene during Sunday’s game. Something tells us the Florida State League won’t require any of these players to start umpiring, though.
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