My final baseball weekend
My final baseball weekend of 2008 had two games of very different tones. The first one was with my own team, hosting Storks from The Hague in a battle for the second-to-last place in the lowest division of Dutch baseball. They went in with a 3-9-1 win-loss-tie record, while we carried a 2-10-1 record. It was the final game of the season for both of us, so the best we could hope for was to win and not end up in last place all alone. We did just that, taking away a 10-7 victory after coming back from a 5-7 gap. Not that it would have mattered, really. Our goal for this year was simply to have fun and not worry about winning or losing. Still, it was nice to win this one.
Our regular starter was feeling the effects of pitching most of our games, so I took the mound and managed to get my first complete game of the year. Except for one five- or six-run inning against, that went very well. I also got to contribute offensively, going 2-for-4 with a two-RBI single, a double and two runs scored.
Yesterday’s afternoon game was the last one for our club’s other men’s team, who are playing two divisions up from my team. They’ve been doing very well this year; in fact, they were ahead in the standings by a game and a half. It just so happened they were playing the number two team, Terrasvogels from Santpoort, yesterday, so a win would clinch the championship. If Terrasvogels won this one, they could win the division in their final game next week. At this level, it’s common for games to be umpired by people from the home club. As plate umpire, I was determined to call as fair a game as possible and I hoped the players wouldn’t put me in a situation where my call on a close play would decide the game either way.
There was quite a crowd, the weather was good, and the game started off with a couple of scoreless and easy-to-call innings. Terrasvogels took a 1-0 lead in the fourth and extended that to 4-0 in the sixth. As the home team found themselves unable to regain control, they became ever more irritated and started to blame my partner and me for their own mistakes. The negative atmosphere in the home dugout intensified as the game proceeded into the late innings and things turned ugly at the end of the eight.
My partner called a home team runner out on a close play at second (correct call, as far as I could tell) for the final out of the inning. The runner disagreed and became vocal enough about this that my partner ejected him. This sent a couple of players running out of the dugout, but order was restored without any further incidents.
The ninth inning remained scoreless to give the visitors a 5-2 win, and that’s when the situation really ran out of control. The final batter for the home team charged my partner and pushed him, taunting, “What do you want to do now, eh?” My partner ejected him (as is indeed still possible at that time) and the player was quickly restrained by his teammates, but he still managed to throw his helmet against my partner. He tried to attack us again when we left the field and his teammates had to intervene once again. It’s a shame the season had to end on such a sad note. For the player in question, next year will start on a sad note, too, as he’ll probably be suspended for at least six games.
I congratulate Terrasvogels on their deserved win. They were the better team yesterday and also the more pleasant to interact with as an umpire. Nevertheless, I would have preferred the home team to win; despite the negative attitude yesterday, we are part of the same club and I can get along quite well with most of them. I wish them best of luck for next year.