Adults Gone Wild?
Umpire, coach clash after 9/10 year-old baseball game

By Alan Arthur
Sports Editor

Umpire Chris Saucedo calls a base runner out at a 13-15 year old city baseball league game on Tuesday evening at Ford Canyon Park. Saucedo and Royals coach Richard Morgan were involved in a fight recently following a 9/10 year-old baseball game. [Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

GALLUP — An argument between an umpire and a coach is considered common in baseball. What happened recently at Stafie Memorial Park in Gallup was not.

A disagreement during a 9/10 year-old baseball game ended up a fistfight between umpire Chris Saucedo and coach Richard Morgan in the press box on May 20.

The two main characters in the fight each had their own version of what happened.

"It's a he said, she said situation," Boys and Girls Club baseball/softball board member Charles Mataya said. "Who you talk to depends on who initiated (the fight)."

Mataya added, "Obviously, we don't condone that kind of stuff at any level."

"I was getting attacked by a coach," Saucedo said. "You can't do that."

"For me, it's sad that I went in there. I shouldn't have. I understand what I did was wrong," Morgan said. "I had to forgive him for what he did to me, to my family. And I do forgive him."

This past week, the board suspended the Royals' head coach Morgan for the remainder of the season. This came after an initial meeting where Saucedo and Morgan both gave their sides of the incident.

"We brought in the coach and his wife and got their version of the story and then we brought in young mister Saucedo and got his version," Mataya said.

After that meeting, the board told Saucedo that he was not going to be allowed to umpire in the 9/10 year-old league for the remainder of the season.

That decision elicited an angry response from Saucedo, according to Mataya.

"We brought some issues that other coaches (in the league) had brought up about (Saucedo) not being approachable," Mataya said. "We told him their complaints and he snapped. He said, 'write me my check and I'm done.'"

"They told me I was unapproachable," Saucedo said. "I've talked to numerous coaches that like me as an umpire. That's because I help the kids out."

Saucedo continued to umpire this past week, working the 13/15 year-old and 11/12 year-old age divisions.

According to the 19-year-old Saucedo, who has umpired for three years in the youth leagues and just finished his first season as a registered umpire with the NMAA, the problem began during the Wednesday night game when he ejected three fans.

Morgan said 'something was wrong' with Saucedo before the game even started.

"When I went to give him the lineup card, he told me, 'you're out of here, coach.' I asked him, 'you're just itching to throw somebody out.' 'Yes, I am,' he goes."

Morgan added, "And he was egging on my fans. 'Who wants to buy me a hot dog or else I'll throw your coach out.'"

Saucedo, part of a two-man umpiring crew that included Dennis Romero, later said he called the game due to the time limit, which angered the Royal fans even more. He said he was threatened as he walked off the field, went into the press box and had it locked up.

At some point, Morgan and his wife went to the fence in front of the press box and began arguing with Saucedo. Saucedo said both directed profanities and threats at him at this time.

According to Saucedo, Morgan's wife at some point "flipped me off" and said a profanity.

"I flipped her off back and said (a profanity)," Saucedo said.

"It had nothing to do with the ruling. It had to do with what he did to my wife," Morgan said, whose wife is the team manager and the scorekeeper, "throwing her the finger and telling her to come in here and sit on it."

Morgan said he went to the press box to question Saucedo on the ninth-batter ruling. Due to a rule change, an offensive team is only allowed nine offensive batters in their half of the inning.

"We were trying to tell him that we were the home team, we're the home (scorebook) and that wasn't our ninth batter," Morgan said. "He wouldn't have anything to do with it. He didn't want to listen. He had his mind made up.

"He was telling us 'your kids will never win. Don't ever come on this field thinking you're going to win because you never will."

According to Saucedo, Morgan came yelling into the door of the concession stand, advanced to the connecting press box and attacked the umpire.

"He was yelling as he came through the concession stand," Saucedo said. "I couldn't understand what he was saying."

He later added that Morgan said, "You threw my wife the finger. He hit me in the face and scratched me."

Saucedo added, "My life was in danger. After that it was self-defense. That's when I hit him in the face."

Morgan's account of the fight differed from Saucedo's.

"I went up and asked him, "What's wrong with you. He stood up, there other guys there, they came together and pushed me into him. We just wrestled, but I was the one that got punched," Morgan said.

"They were holding me back, the other umpire and those two other guys. I was the one getting punched."

Witnesses pulled the combatants apart and the police were called. No arrests were made.

"They told me they didn't see it and they can't do anything about it," Saucedo said. "They said they couldn't arrest (Morgan) because they have to be present for the assault."

Saucedo said he went to the hospital for treatment immediately after the incident. He said as well as the scratches to his face, he had bruises on his right knee and his shoulder, and felt pain in his back.

Morgan said he talked to his players and parents about the incident.

"I was wrong to go in there (the concession stand). I apologized to my kids, I apologized to my parents," he said. "I talked to my kids and told them 'never resort to violence, because it's wrong and will get you in trouble.'"