Joe Sullivan: For the love of the game

WHEN SOMEONE irritates me, I simply avoid the person. But when baseball and softball things irritate me, it's a different ball game because I love those games so much.

So here are some things that I find irritable and unavoidable.

Baseball and softball coaches and managers who, while on the diamond in any capacity, wear their hats or visors backwards. They should wear their hats the right way to show respect for the game and to set a good example for their players.

Baseball and softball managers who, with their teams holding big leads, bring the infield in whenever the opposition moves a runner to third base. Talk about showing baseball and softball ignorance.

Baseball and softball managers who hold on-field meetings after every half-inning of defense their teams play. Blah-blah-blah.

Baseball and softball managers who bring kids in to pitch before they've taught them the rudiments of how to pitch.

Baseball and softball managers who coach a base and keep score at the same time. It just doesn't look right.

Baseball and softball umpires who explain -- either by word or gesture -- why a pitch they called a ball is a ball. "Ball" suffices.

Baseball and softball umpires who hold the indicator in the right hand, which is the wrong hand. Most baseball and softball people know that the right hand should move only to indicate a strike. Lifting it to check or adjust the indicator sends a false message.

Baseball and softball home plate umpires who, upon calling ball four, point to first base with the right hand, which is the wrong hand.

Umpires who know what they're doing always point to first with the left hand. Why? See above.

Baseball and softball umpires who let games drag by chatting each other up between half-innings. Baseball and softball are fun when they're played fast but too many umpires don't do enough to keep games moving.

Baseball and softball players who sit on the diamond when play is interrupted for a pitching change, injury, or conference. Umpires never sit.

Neither should players.

Youth baseball and softball volunteers who get carried away. Case in point. A hard-working grounds crew at a Jimmy Fund 10-year-old All-Star game dashed onto the diamond to manicure it only before their team was set to play defense. Now if that had been at the end of completed innings, so be it. That's the way it goes. However, on this night, the host team had lost the pre-game flip and was the visitor.

So, the crew came out after the top half of each inning was completed, not after the entire inning was completed. A fan from the home team voiced an objection. One of the groomers replied, "There's nothing in the rule book that says we can't do it when we want."

He was right. There is nothing in the rule book that covers this.

But if there were a sportsmanship book, it would be in there. (The home plate umpire saw what was transpiring and ended it immediately. Manicuring then took place at the end of completed innings.)

Parents of baseball and softball players who can't accept the fact that some teams are simply better than other teams. To illustrate, here's an incident I observed recently: A teenaged girl accompanied by an older woman I assumed to be her mother, arrived at a baseball park. The girl wore her high school softball uniform. The two were greeted by several friends and one asked the player, "How'd you make out today?" Before the girl could respond, the older woman spoke. "It was close for a while but the home plate ump squeezed us something fierce. He didn't give us a thing. We got beat, 12-0."

This poor woman doesn't have a clue. Umpires do affect games but it's ridiculous to blame a 12-0 loss on one.

And then there are the incompetents at Lionsgate Films. Whoever determined the release dates (theater and DVD) and orchestrated the publicity for the movie "The Perfect Game" must be bereft of baseball savvy in general and Little League mania in particular.

Thousands of youth baseball and softball teams (both regular season and all-star) have recently concluded their seasons. Team get-togethers loom and what better way to celebrate than to watch the inspiring story of the 1957 Monterrey, Mexico Little League all-star team.

However, the movie is unavailable on DVD and I was unable to determine if it has ever been in general release. I went online and the only thing I found was the marvelous trailer for the film that included this tidbit.

Reporter to Monterrey manager: "Are your boys concerned about how much larger the American kids are?"

Monterrey manager to reporter: "We're only here to play them, not carry them."

Other than the trailer, "The Perfect Game" is a perfect mystery.

And that really irritates me.

Joe Sullivan's collumn appears every other Tuesday in the New Hampshire Union Leader. He may be reached at jsullivan@unionleader.com.