Why do Umpires get upset when I tell them to "Open Your Eyes"?

I have been an umpire for 30 years and I dont get upset when people say ignorant things. I dont say things to hitters, coaches or fielders about how they do things but I can assure you most umpires dont get upset by ignorance. However if we feel you are questioning balls and strikes we reserve the right to eject you from the game. SInce I am guessing you havent been ejected yet (because you also face suspension for ejections for a minimum of 1 game...maybe more) that is further proof the umpires arent too upset. What you need to understand is the umpire controls the field and if they are truly upset with someone they reserve the right to remove anyone they have issue with....umpires normally dont do that because usually we realize most people who run their mouths do so to defend their own failings. Some people say that umpiring is a tough job....as a 30 year veteran I completely disagree, it is a very easy job for us and we have no problem making the close call or the call that could go either way....it is up to the players and coaches to read how we are calling a game and act accordingly....the good umpires are generally very consistent. If I decide to call a wide corner for the pitchers that call never changes throughout the game. If I decide to call a tight plate you will never get the call if it is 1" off the plate. Not hard for us.....we have seen it all and if one is being completely honest and unbiased they will notice we almost always get the very close calls right. We are human and will miss the occasional call but again I can say I have never in my life done a makeup call. A plate umpire may be required to make 200-300 calls a game between pitches from both teams and judgement calls from out/safe to interference, infield fly, baserunning ruling (leaving early, missing a base, intefering with a fielder, etc) and even with the calls that could go either way we might miss a couple calls which still puts us at over 99% accuracy (as a high school umpire we are graded and under 99% is failing for us....I've never gotten a fail). I have yet to see a hitter who is at 99% (or a .990 BA), yet to see a fielder who has never made a throwing or fielding error at some point or a coach who hasnt made bad baserunning calls, situation calls....the only people on the field who are required to be nearly perfect are the umpires (if we grade below 99% too many times we either get demoted to JV or worse or we lose our high school umpiring accreditations).

Okay, let's be honest, your not really giving him criticism, you're being rude. I play softball, so I know it is unbelievably frustrating when the umpire makes bad calls, but you have to accept it. Being rude with him is only going to make him hold a grudge against you, if anything you should get on his good side. Plus, imagine being an umpire for a second. We're all the first to complain when he makes a bad call but none of us could do the job half as good as he does it. Have some respect.

I don't see how the review system could possibly be putting pressure on the umpires. If anything they should be more relaxed in the knowledge that if they make a bad call it will probably not influence the result of a test match (it still could if a team doesn't use their reviews properly but at least it's not solely the umpire's fault then).

Baseball umpiring is much harder than it seems. We watch it on a tv and see replays 5 times before we make the call. They see it a real life speed and they can not be biased. If you are a player there are much things you can do to help your team than blame the umps. Im sure they get some things wrong but they try their hardest to get the call right.

There's a difference between constructive criticism and being nasty. How would you feel, when you missed a pitch by two feet, if the umpire told you, "Open your eyes"?

Sarge

would you be upset if the umpire told you to open ur eyes and stop swinging at air, thats pretty good constructive criticism.

Umpires feel that if you say "open your eyes" you are arguing balls and strikes and everyone knows that if you argue balls and strikes they could eject you right there and then but usually high school on down they are leaniant on the rule.

Because the sight they just saw was so awful they had to close their eyes. By telling them to open their eyes you are being a bully. bully.

Maybe the umpire you yelled at was actually blind? That would be quite upsetting to be reminded of the fact.

It is not your freakin job to tell them how to do theirs. If you hit the ball over the wall they can not miss the call, right? Get your attitude straight and stop whining. I hate whiners.