2011 legion Baseball

[Manfred]

Thanks. All you said is true. Mr. oww must have gotten his ego bruised against the Saints.

[say_oww]

I've never won or lost a game to him, so there goes that argument. As part of my job, I watch a lot of baseball. With the exception of the AAABA coaches (ahem), Gramling and his son dish out the most umpire abuse in this area. The only "burr" I have is that very time I go to a game down there, I watch Gramling recite the Legion pledge and then also watch as he refuses to uphold it. Legion baseball is supposed to stand for something, and every time I have watched them, he goes out of his way to whine, moan, and in many instances embarass his own players on the field. He may win games, and he may let the kids have "fun", but as someone who has sat 50 feet from their dugout, I can tell you it is a sight to behold. It would be different if he were a AAABA coach - they have no pledge or published code of conduct. Legion baseball does, and Gramling's behavior shows that he goes out of his way to break it. He isn't the only coach who does it - Waldron was pretty bad, McCabe was too, and Joel Holsopple from Stoystown was probably the worst ever. (Seriously - I was at the game with Nanty Glo when he chased the umpires to their car, and only got a one game suspension. You never saw Tom Link move so fast.) But none of those guys coach legion anymore, and no one is on here touting their graces either. This thread has gotten way off target, but the reality is that you can't discuss St. Michael Legion baseball without someone bringing up Gramling's behavior. Sorry Manfred, but thats just the way it is.

[Manfred]

You are entitled to your opinion. I am by far not alone in mine.

[peytonsaturday]

i thought i saw holsopple as a ump? was he a coach before? is he an ump now? maybe im wrong. but if it was him he was pretty good.

[k7213]

I know this is an old thread but it is a joke and you really must not know what you are talking about. Anybody in baseball (including umpires) knows that there are bad calls in games. So if Denny lets an ump know that he made the wrong call then the next close one might go St Michaels way. So if he has to go out and get in someones face to get a call later in the game then why wouldn't he? I wouldn't want to play for a coach who didn't do that.

Also if you never noticed he does not let his players fight with the umpires. Yeah there have a been a few times in the past where there was nothing anybody could do and a player got ejected but for every one time that has happened, there have been 20 times when Denny told the kid to sit down and shut up and he would go argue the point.

So you are calling out a coach who does what he can to win and stands behind his players? Sounds terrible.

[say_oww]

Its actually a case of pointing out the fact that Mr. Gramling doesn't permit anyone to argue with him on the football field or basketball court. However, he acts in a completely opposite manner anytime he disagrees on the baseball diamond. Unsportsmanlike, hypocritical, unprofessional, immature, disgraceful, out of control are all descriptions of Gramling I have heard through the years.

Regardless of your position, motivation is not justification for unsportsmanlike behavior.