then his job is to call strikes strikes and balls balls.

The umpire could have immediately warned or ejected the player. What he did instead was undeniably wrong.

And be very clear, there is an umpire shortage at crisis levels now as it's a thankless job. There are many high level youth and HS age games going on with only a home plate ump. At 14, 15, 16U that's a bad situation. Lived with it all last year.

I hope what this guy did is shown to every aspiring youth player with the very clear message to shut your mouth, and play.

And I don't really care about this ump. D1 college umps are pretty protected and isolated, but guys out doing HS and youth games are saints in my book. They put up with more a-hole parents than I could ever imagine, and have to deal with them even after the game as there's no tunnel to disappear into.

So, messages like this get twisted in kids minds and then eventually you see this crap show up in youth leagues. Sue me. I'm all for the tough love.

We're not short of umps in D1 college ball. But, the game is struggling mightily with this at youth levels and it only seems to get worse every year.

and the problem that they cause/threaten to the sport.

For starters, I don't really disagree with your take about the player. His response was out of bounds. As another posted has already noted, he was subject to warning or even ejection. I'd have no quarrel with either.

But as best I can tell, while not defending the player, I don't see anything that poses a threat to the umpire's immediate safety. I haven't read a report that the kid used threatening language or profanity.

On the other hand, the umpire chose to interject himself in the game because he was pissed. He directly affected the outcome of the game by awarding the defensive team an out they hadn't earned.

I'm on these pages often enough to have read dozens of stories about out of control players and parents throughout youth sports. Like you, I find that deplorable. I certainly understand why so many officials give it up -- or never start.

That needs to get addressed.

But there is absolutely no question as to which of these two actors, in this particular incident, posed a greater threat to the game. And it ain't the kid.