| Author |
 Topic  |
|
CharlieHustle
11 Posts |
 Posted - 10/25/2010 : 15:50:33
|
We played in a 10U tournament this weekend, and in one of the games, the opposing coaches got very upset about one of the chants that our kids were doing. The exact chant goes "I smell pepper..Ahh..Ahh..Choo!" just as the pitcher throws the ball.
I did not think anything about it, but the opposing coaches felt that it was very unsportsman-like. Of course, this was in a bracket game in which they lost by a run when our team scored 4 runs in the bottom of the last inning for a come from behind win. Perhaps that was the source of their anger ? In any case, they were extremely angry about the chanting. I do not like to be around this kind of anger / drama during my recreational time.
I would really like to hear some other opinions on this. Was that chant out of line ? The umpire did not think it was inappropriate. |
|
|
TAZ980002
831 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2010 : 18:26:48
|
| The chant is out of line when directed at a player on the opposing team. In my opinion, this was out of line since it was directed at the pitcher at exactly the moment he is throwing a pitch. |
 |
|
|
SSBuckeye
575 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2010 : 18:34:30
|
| If a chant is designed to inspire your teammates to do well, there's nothing wrong with that. If the chant is designed to interfere with the performance of the other team, then it's unsportsmanlike. My $0.02. |
|
|
|
loveforthegame25
448 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2010 : 19:26:32
|
| I dont agree with any chanting or screaming when a kid is about to release the ball, swing, catch a pop up or anything related to those instances. Its just not the way the game is supposed to be played. |
|
|
|
Gwinnett
791 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2010 : 20:47:35
|
| More than the chanting I see a lot of loud yelling from coaching staff to instruct players usually from the opposing team but sometimes from there own team. Pop-up yelling tag up, tag up. During pitching base coachs yelling right before the pitch "back" or "go". Sometimes I've seen it so loud between both teams at the same time I wonder how the kids know who to listen to or what to listen to. We have played some teams recently that did a lot of yelling and chanting. My son and I have discussed before and he simply says I tune it out. It was interesting to hear him say that when he's on the mound he's in the zone and really only focuses on the catcher and batter till the ball is hit. He says he really doesn't hear anything else. Oh wait, he told me he does hear my voice on occasion....lol |
|
|
|
Spartan4
913 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2010 : 22:24:35
|
| I don't really like any kind of cheering, mainly because you never see it at the older ages.....Mine is a pitcher and I can tell you that kids yelling in his windup gets under our skin... Down in FLA a completely classless team kept yelling BALK!!!! in his windup, eventually he will be old enough to deal with this on his own. That is what I love about the game of baseball, it polices itself. There are ways to deal with classless teams, showing off, and stealing signs. |
|
|
|
in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2010 : 22:29:21
|
| Charlie, it's bush league. Buckeye puts it in proper context. Any of the chatter coming from the dugout should be directed at their own team/team mates and should be positive encouragement. Do that sort of thing at the older ages and watch your players get ear-holed by the opposing pitcher. |
|
|
|
Spartan4
913 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2010 : 00:23:01
|
| LOL, I didn't know which Charlie you were talking too...For the guys with older boys, what age does this disappear?? I know in high school this would never go down, but I don't really remember it past 8yr old rec ball, and that was just hey batter batter stuff.....Never yelling in a windup or going after one particular player. |
Edited by - Spartan4 on 10/26/2010 07:56:13 |
|
|
|
Triple
26 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2010 : 09:18:18
|
| I've heard this kind of "dugout chatter", "chanting" and yelling at the pitch delivery, etc. although I hear it less and less. I have to agree 100% with what everyone has posted here. It's not ok. Let the kids play. It teaches and encourages bad sportsmanship. I'm embarrassed for the parents of the players and the coaches for letting that behavior go on. I always tell my boys if it starts up in our dugout, they are not to join in. I don't want to win if it takes being disrespectful to another child in order to do it. |
Edited by - Triple on 10/26/2010 17:15:41 |
|
|
|
CharlieHustle
11 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2010 : 10:13:22
|
I sincerely appreciate all of the responses that have been posted. I personally do not like the chants. I sit in the dugout and keep the book and those chants reverberate through my head for a long time after the game. My son is not the chanting type and does not participate. I really never thought of it as unsportsmanlike because when I played Little League in the 70s we all chanted hey batter, batter, batter….. swing.  Distractions will always exist – this is baseball not golf.
I do think that if the opposing coach had just handled the situation a little differently, the anger and drama could have been avoided. If he had just called a meeting at the plate with our coach and asked politely for us to stop it, we would have ended it. In the future, I will prevent our kids from yelling these type of chants. |
|
|
|
zwndad
170 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2010 : 13:27:07
|
| From my experience, I saw it go away last year (my kids' first year in high school). I saw it all the way from 10U through 14U (the ages my kids played travel). |
|
|
|
Tribe
82 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2010 : 14:27:14
|
| Chirps, timed screams to disrupt a swing or a delivery, and other assorted disruptions are never taught or allowed by good quality coaches. Haven't seen this since 11U, and have never seen it practiced by competitive teams. Bush |
|
|
|
bluecup
49 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2010 : 15:04:17
|
For comments or chants that are directed at a player, I'd bring it up to the umpire and refer to MLB Rule 4.06(a) which is usually incorporated into every organization's rules by reference:
(a) No manager, player, substitute, coach, trainer or batboy shall at any time, whether from the bench, the coach’s box or on the playing field, or elsewhere --
(2) Use language which will in any manner refer to or reflect upon opposing players, an umpire, or any spectator;
(3) Call “Time,” or employ any other word or phrase or commit any act while the ball is alive and in play for the obvious purpose of trying to make the pitcher commit a balk.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/official_rules/start_end_4.jsp
|
|
|
|
Alter-Ego
802 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2010 : 17:05:01
|
It starts to tail off at the end of 12U and the beginning of 13U.
Funny thing is, it starts back up in College and is brutal between rival schools. |
|
|
|
crackedbats
160 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2010 : 16:17:07
|
| just saw it this past weekend in the 15u TC State. Opposing players trying to distract the pitcher as they were throwing. Classless to say the least. |
|
|
|
scottwill311
52 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2010 : 19:50:31
|
Cracked,
At 15U? Someone would get a fastball on the butt cheek until it stops! |
|
|
|
Taterhater
66 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2010 : 09:41:42
|
I coached baseball at a high school in extreme northwest Georgia for several years and our dugouts were always rowdy. The opposing dugouts were too, at times. I found that this behavior was rare inside metro Atlanta, but not at all rare outside of it. Strange, I know. Not sure why that is, but I am not the only coach that noticed it.
Maybe we were just a bunch of rednecks? |
|
|
|
Triple
26 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2010 : 16:09:48
|
| Rednecks?, Definitely. Although, I think most were talking about younger kids and not high school age. |
|
|
|
kingdog01
1 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2010 : 16:09:32
|
| My son is an 11U pitcher...when he is on base sometimes he claps trying to distract the opposing pitcher. After reading all of this I spoke to him about it and he said that he thought that it was just part of the game and that you have to be mentally tough. He said that he would stop if it is considered poor sportsmanship. Is this the type of behavior you are talking about...perhaps this is ignorance because we would not ever want to be poor sports, classless, or rednecks? |
|
|
|
bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2010 : 18:11:09
|
| I would say, do you see MLB players doing it? If not, don't do it. Those guys still have fun in the dugout and get real excited when they win, but all the little antics you see some of these teams doing is not part of the game. At least in my pea sized mind. |
|
|
|
CharlieHustle
11 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2010 : 10:12:45
|
I do believe that it bothers the coaches and parents a whole lot more than it bothers the kids. I think that the kids just tune it out. As others have said - go watch a college game between rivals and listen to what goes on. Again, this is baseball and not golf. Many in these forums love to pronounce behavior that they do not care for "Bush League" (this term is way over-used here). These are kids and really these are the bush leagues. Last time I checked, we are not posting in the mlb.com forums. Before passing judgement on a type of behavior, ask your child what he thinks. Remember he is the one actually playing the game, not you.  |
|
|
|
bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2010 : 10:49:19
|
I really think there is a big difference between cheering for your teammates and getting into the game and doing things to purposely distract another team's players. That is poor sportsmanship. I would prefer to teach my kids the right way to do things from the start. If they practice something wrong from a young age, it will be very difficult to stop it when they get older. Maybe that's why some college kids can act like a bunch of idiots at times. It still doesn't make it right in my mind. I would suspect that the college kids are not screaming "balk" at the pitcher just as he is about to release, or calling "I got it" to distract a fielder, or coming up with irritating chants to get on the other teams nerves.
What is good sportsmanship is good sportsmanship regardless of how old the players are or what level they play. |
|
|
|
thegoat
29 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2010 : 12:36:30
|
| What is this golf? |
|
|
|
Tribe
82 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2010 : 13:19:07
|
| Take it easy Charlie. In your original post, you asked the community's opinion. The community responded overwhelmingly against most types of chatter. I'm guessing you didn't get the response you were hoping for, but now you know where most people stand on the issue. |
|
|
|
HITANDRUN
436 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2010 : 15:34:29
|
quote:
Originally posted by Alter-Ego
It starts to tail off at the end of 12U and the beginning of 13U.
Funny thing is, it starts back up in College and is brutal between rival schools.
Colleges? Maybe in the student body in the stands I have never heard a College Baseball team chanting. Softball but not baseball. What college did you hear doing this? I haven't watched a lot of college games lately maybe I have missed something. |
|
|
|
Blue
7 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2010 : 21:44:27
|
I can't blame the kids since they are only doing what they were taught. But that kind of behavior is a very poor reflection on the coaches and parents.
What's worse than kids chanting like that? Parents doing it. It's not terribly common but I've witnessed it. Pathetic behavior and absolutely not in the spirit of youth baseball. |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
Dugout Chatter
