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Originally Posted by albionmoonlight
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Knowledge of the rules, or lack thereof is a huge part of umpire abuse. I couldn't begin to count how many times I saw opposing coaches trying to argue a rule they didn't understand or misinterpreted. The few times I saw someone in the right and arguing it was always done the wrong way. They put the ump on the defensive and they dig in.
In all my years of coaching I successfully argued and got a call changed twice. Neither time did I yell or berate the ump. I simply went out and asked what he saw. I then referenced the rule and asked if he was OK checking to see if the other umpire had a better view. Once was the field ump making the change to the call the other time it was the behind the plate ump. Both times the other coach came out absolutely passed they changed the call, but I found yelling at these guys (and sometimes kids) did absolutely nothing to help you. And if they're not interested in getting help from the other ump there's nothing you can do but head back to the dugout.
I also had my fair share of opposing parents yelling at me and misquoting rules while I questioned a call. My favorite instance was we had confusion when the opposing catcher went to throw down to 3rd on a steal attempt and hit the bat of my player in the batters box. The ump mistakenly called the play dead and sent my runner back to 2nd. I went out to discuss the call and had several opposing patents politely telling me how wrong I was to claim that its a live ball. Then the very next day it happened in a MLB game involving Buster Posey.