Guys,

We had a situation at Santa Rita Park last Sunday. See below for my summary. The bottom line is that Dale Wilson no longer will be assigning games for Ray Judd tournaments. Ray has defiantly told Dale that he doesn’t need him, and he can get plenty of other umpires elsewhere. “Elsewhere” usually means that Frank Meza will be calling to schedule. “Other” means you.

Joe Robinson has relayed my letter to A.C. Williams, and will inform me of any decision/action resulting from what has transpired.

I cannot tell you whether or not to accept future assignments for Ray Judd tournaments. All I can do is to recommend that you not accept games for the immediate future. It is the quickest way to get this thing resolved.

The “immediate future” right now means this weekend: 25-27 July. Ray will be running the Women’s Fastpitch State tournament this weekend.

Please make your own decision and stick to it. I ask that you minimize conversations with the softball community until we have a firm plan of action, which should come from our State UIC. Let’s do things through the appropriate channels. This document is just a “heads up” until we get official instructions on how to proceed.

Your cooperation is appreciated,

Bob Marcialis

Mr. Robinson/Mr. Wilson/Concerned Umpires,

Just got back from Santa Rita Park and the Men’s Class C
State tournament. When I left, the 4 police units and 6 bicycle policemen were
still on-site. It looked like the next game (the final) was about to get started.

When I showed up this morning at 8:30, I was informed that
Denny Morton and I were being switched from Field #1 to Field #2 due to some
unpleasantness on Saturday evening between umpire Mike Alexander and the team Famosa.

Our 9:00 game proceeded rather uneventfully, although there
was much complaining and whining about Denny Morton’s strike zone by Famosa.

For the 10:45 game, I had the plate in a game between Famosa
and the Hurricanes. Other than the sheer number of homeruns by both
teams (and the more than usual number of strike zone bitches by both teams),
most of the game was played routinely. However, the game did end on a circle
rule violation by the Hurricanes. The tying run broke from 3rd
when, in my best judgement, the ball clearly was being held by the pitcher in
the circle. It was the last out of the game, with Famosa winning.
Several members of the losing team got very verbally abusive and threatened me
with bodily harm. One player had to be restrained by his teammates from
attacking me. My partner and I exited the field as fast as we could.

I headed for the snack bar until the upset players had some
chance to clear the parking lot. Ray Judd’s son asked me what he could get for
me. I said, “Maybe the police. A bunch of players for the Hurricanes
have been threatening me.” Judd just smiled and went about his business. To
their credit, both Jumbo and the manager of the Hurricanes tried to
control their players (however with no success). And the manager did come to
the parking lot to apologize afterward.

The 12:30 loser-bracket final game was on Field #1, with
Denny on the plate and me on the bases. The game was between Los Apaches
and Famosa. Play began rather smoothly, until about the second inning,
when one of the Famosa players started talking trash with one of Los
Apaches. We managed to defuse the situation and continued to play. In the
fourth inning, the Famosa 3rd baseman and the Apache
bench renewed the trash-talk and mutual threats. I escorted the 3rd
baseman from the first base foul line back to his position, telling him to “Let
it go. C’mon. You’re better than that. Let’s play the game.” At this point,
Denny called both managers out and gave each a warning that the next player
from either team who started talking trash would be ejected.

When the 5th inning ended, #39 from Famosa had a few
words with the Apache 1st baseman. It was in a speaking
voice, and only the two players and I were close enough to hear it, so I didn’t
dump either of them. In the 6th, #39 again started in with the Apache
dugout. He was ejected by Denny. As we tried to resume play, I noticed #39
walking behind the dugout towards the Apache dugout. He had a bat in his
hand, and he was making threats and cursing as he approached the other dugout. Los
Apaches cleared the field, but someone in their dugout had the sense to
block the way, or else there was no doubt of a fight breaking out. I was at the
dugout gate when Denny forfeited the game. We left the field as fast as we
could. I told Denny, “Ray really should call the police.”

About 10 minutes went by, and the situation continued to
deteriorate. The Hurricanes had been watching the game and they began to
side with Famosa. Denny and I were out at our cars with Larry Heath and
Mike Alexander when we saw Ray Judd finally get on his cell phone. Ten minutes
later, two police cars showed, followed shortly thereafter by two more and a
stream of six officers on bicycles. The police talked to us about what was
going on, and we pointed him to Ray Judd. While they spoke with Ray, other
officers came to talk to us.

Larry and Mike said they did not feel safe taking the field
for the Championship game unless the Hurricanes and Famosa
players were asked to leave the park. The beer was flowing freely at this
point. If something happened on the field, Larry and Mike reasonably felt they
would have problems getting out safely.

There were no ASA representatives at the tournament either
day, except for a brief period when Dale Wilson put in an appearance early
Saturday. As a State Championship tournament, a UIC should be appointed and
present in case of a protest or a situation like the one I have just described.
As the senior umpire there, and since I had completed my scheduled games, I was
not going to leave the park until the situation was resolved.

Again the police came to talk to us. Mike and Larry said
they would work the Championship game if the eliminated teams were asked to
leave. The police were in the process of dispersing these players, when Ray
Judd came over. He told Mike and Larry, “Get your asses out on the field and
umpire this game or none of you umpires are going to be paid for the whole
Goddamned tournament!” The four of us almost got into our vehicles and took
off. TPD was in the middle of dealing with the situation, and it looked like
only a few more minutes would be required for a peaceful resolution. There was
no need for Mr. Judd to become abusive to our crew. He was very pissed off that
Larry hadn’t been standing around with his plate gear on in the heat through all
this. As Larry was strapping on the gear, Ray again yelled at him to hurry. A
policeman even tried to keep him across the street at this point.

When Denny and I left, it looked as if the game was about to
get started without further incident. No good could have come from us hanging
around, and we honestly did not feel safe being at the park.

As Larry dressed, the four of us all agreed this was the
last time we would work a Ray Judd tournament. Our reasons follow:

We are consistently berated, asked to sustain verbal abuse, and physically
     threatened by the players. The players do not fear any retaliation, as Mr.
     Judd consistently sides with them (i.e., those buying at the
     concession stand).
Beer is being sold in unlimited quantities, despite how adversely the games are affected.
By his own admission, Ray did not have enough game balls for even one new one to
     be given for every game. This reflects badly on the ASA program,
     especially since this was State Championship play. The players get abusive
     to us when we can’ give them a new ball, and we can’t blame them for
     being angry: they’ve paid their entry fee and deserve one.
There was absolutely no field maintenance all weekend, until the players from
     Willcox took matters in their own hands while we they waited for the
     police to clean up before the Championship game. When we showed up for the
     first game Sunday, the fields had not even been re-lined.
The problems I experienced at the 10:45 game in large part never would have
     materialized had the field been lined with a pitcher’s circle.
Umpires are consistently told by Ray not to call illegal pitches. Those who have
     in the past are denied the opportunity to work ASA Men’s ball, also a
     detriment to the ASA program.
Despite temperatures over 100°F, the umpires were not given water unless we paid
     for it. We feel it is not unreasonable to ask for a cooler of ice water
     for the umpires. This is not a convenience issue. It is a health issue.
The game fee Ray pays is $22, as opposed to $23 or $26 for JO games and $30
     typically paid at other Men’s tournaments by Herb Wisdom. During my trip
     to Colorado last month I asked umpires from several other states what
     their game fees were for Men’s ball. With one exception (New Mexico), all
     said that $30 was the minimum.
“Get your asses out on the field and umpire this game or none of you umpires
     are going to be paid for the whole Goddamned tournament!” is not something
     we would tolerate from a ballplayer, and not something we will tolerate
     from a Tournament Director. It is unprofessional and merely serves to
     demonstrate the lack of respect fostered in the current environment.


In sum, until and unless this list of concerns is addressed,
we do not wish to participate further in the Arizona ASA Men’s program.

Bob Marcialis