And if we needed another example of how some over the top baseball parents can be the absolute worst.
If you grew up playing baseball at some point, there’s a very good chance that you witnessed a parent treating a meaningless youth league game like it’s game seven of the World Series, and going absolutely ballistic on their kid, the coaches, the umpires, or all of the above.
Most of the time, these parents are ones who never were successful at the sport themselves, so they live vicariously through their son.
But speaking of insufferable baseball parents and umpires, this parent took things to the next level by getting physical with the signal caller.
According to the New York Post, this one went down in Florida, where viral video footage shows Jorge Ignacio Aponte-Gonzalez, sucker punching an unsuspecting umpire, all because his son was bad mouthing the ump and he was telling him to tone it down.
Osceola County Sheriff Marco Lopez told the outlet:
“The umpire is obviously going to maintain control of the game, because that is what they are there to do. To make sure kids learn all about unsportsmanlike conduct.”
Lopez added that the umpire, whose name was not released but has been identified as 63-years-old, was telling the player to control himself:
“The kid was being disruptive, so the umpire’s like, ‘Hey, tone it down,’ maintaining control. They went back and forth a little bit. I don’t know exactly what was exchanged, but… that is what upset the father.”
After the discussion, the umpire walked over to a gate to wait for a another to sub in for a few innings.
That’s when Aponte-Gonzalez walked over to the ump and socked him from behind, knocking him to the ground. You can then see players and parents run over to help the umpire out as he laid there unconscious on the field.
Lopez continued:
“This umpire is a 63-year-old man. He’s a veteran. A United States military veteran. He does this because he has a passion for baseball and he likes to give back to his community. He loves to dedicate his time to baseball and kids.”
Aponte-Gonzalez told arresting officers that he was just defending his kid after his arrest, and showed no remorse for his move.
Defending him from what? Looks to me like the umpire was just standing there…
Lopez said he talked to the umpire, who said he wants the culprit prosecuted so that other referees and umpires don’t get into a similar situation.
“There should be no parent acting like this public.”
Aponte-Gonzalez is now facing charges of battery on a sports official and disruption of a school function. He was booked into the Osceola County jail on a $1,500 bond… with a smile on his face.
Certified scumbag.
New Jersey Little League Is Now Forcing Heckling Parents To Umpire Themselves For 3 Games
I’ll admit, being a little league umpire may be one of the most thankless jobs on the planet.
Seriously, you can’t do anything right.
When you’re umping a little league game, you have to call any pitch close to the strike zone a strike, or you’ll be squatting behind home plate for a whole hour and a half and one inning hasn’t gone by yet because the pitcher can’t hit the broad side of a barn and walks in seven runs.
On top of that, they get paid next to nothing a game, and they’re typically a bunch of college kids who are trying to scrap up some loose change, and they still have to deal with every parent and coach chirping in their ear the whole game.
Of course, this has been going on since the invention of youth league baseball, so what’s a possible solution to this problem?
Well, it appears the folks who run a New Jersey little league has figured it all out.
And the answer?
Have the parents who heckle umpires be forced to umpire three games themselves.
According to WPVI, it’s all going down in Deptford, New Jersey in South Jersey, as league officials are saying if you fight with the umps, you’re going to be making the calls the next three games until you’re allowed to come back as a spectator.
Deptford Township Little League President Don Bozzuffi told the outlet:
“The kids love it. The kids come up to you, they’re all excited, it’s great.”
He also mentioned that the parents heckling has gotten to this point:
“They think that the call was bad, which always amazes me that they can see a strike better over there than the umpire can one foot in back of them.”
He added that the heckling has gotten so bad, that two volunteer umpires have already quit:
“They’re coming here, they’re being abused, they don’t need that. So they’re walking away.
The main purpose is not for them (the parents) to be able to call a baseball game, but for them to see what’s going on out here and it’s not that easy.”
The parents who the outlet spoke to also seem to be fans of the move.
Paige Durham of West Township said:
“If one kid is shoving too hard, parents get really aggressive.”
Pop Little of Paulsboro added:
“It’s bad sportsmanship, but it also, a lot of times, teaches the kids like – winning is everything, rather than playing hard, competing.”
Needless to say, some unlucky parents may be having to eat their words here soon.
And if you need an example of parents giving umpires the business…
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Baseball Moms Prank Their Sons By Changing Walk Up Songs
Well this happened back on April Fool’s Day, but the hilarity of the video makes it still worthy of an article.
Usually you only see videos come out of Little League if one of the players is a child-prodigy or one of the parents “gets into it” with one of the umpires (who don’t get paid enough to deal with B.S. from parents). This one happens to fall in the rare category of neither of those.
Little League Baseball (where apparently now has walk up songs for the kids) is a great way to grow the sport. The lessons that the kids learn playing the game will last a lifetime.
The kids also learned that for the time being, their mothers are still calling the shots. In this hilarious TikTok video, every single Little Leaguer couldn’t believe their ears as they walked up to the plate and their regular walk up songs had somehow been replaced.
An epic April Fool’s Day prank by these Moms, and like the video is captioned, “it does not disappoint.”
Watch below:
@d1_percent #baseball #baseballboys #walkupsongs #aprilfools #walkupsongchange #moms #warriorsPC @realtor_stephanie ♬ original sound – D1Percent
We don’t know what each batter’s original walk up song was, but we at least know what their mom’s choice was for them. I have the song choices listed below just like they were a baseball lineup you would see for a pro team.
Batting Order
1. “Milkshake” by Kelis, which bring the classic lyrics of “My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they’re like, it’s better than yours”
2. “Anaconda” by Nicki Minaj, which also could’ve been the version from the SING movie franchise. It was tough to tell, but you did hear the lyrics “Oh my gosh, look at her butt.”
3. “Pretty Girls Walk” by Big Boss Vetter, which might be the best song choice because it is somewhat related to baseball.
4. “Made You Look” by Meghan Trainor
5. “Players” by Coi Leray, which played “Yeah, yeah, girls is players too, uh” as the kid stepped into the box.
6. “Just A Girl” by Gwen Stefani’s No Doubt group.
7. The weirdest song of the group, which the internet says is “The Cuppy Cake Song” and played the lyrics of “You’re my honey bunch.”
8. FINALLY A COUNTRY SONG! Shania Twain’s all-time-classic “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”
9. “Don’t Cha” by The Pussycat Dolls, which has the lyrics of “Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me.”
DH or Pinch Hitter (I guess 10 players got to hit): Miley Cyrus’ new hit song “Flowers.”
Each and every last kid was embarrassed as hell as they walked up to the songs chosen by their moms, but it seems like everyone enjoyed the clever prank.
Plus, give the moms a break! They have to drive them to and from practice and games all the time. The least the kids can do is let their mom’s listen to music they like while they watch Little League Baseball.
And now… actually one of the best walkup songs of all time:
Cody Jink – “Loud & Heavy”
