I am the Jay Mariotti of interns

I cover a local baseball team.

Long story short: on the team's "Family Night", a bunch of players got pissed about an umpire's call and acted ridiculously at game's end - threatening the umps, swearing at the top of their lungs. There were dozens of shocked-looking children - again, "Family Night" - in the immediate vicinity when it happened. The players only stopped when a mom in the stands yelled at them.

Anyway, I led my game story with this. Props for me in the newsroom for doing that - managing editor sent me an email saying it was the best story in the paper that day and that he was thrilled I didn't just do a "gamer" - but the team's manager is steaming. He's told his players not to talk to me, and he also told our other baseball guy (it was my day off) to tell our sports editor not to send me out anymore. Obviously, the editor laughed (as I did).

Obviously, this is small-time, but I'm wondering if any of you Experienced Ones have advice on the best way to proceed. When I go to my next game, should I just attempt to do my job as usual? Should I approach the manager post-game and say "Hey, I hear you're pissed at me...you wanna talk?" Something else?

And when he yells at me - as is inevitable - what is the ideal response?

(PS: I will let you all know if anyone calls me a fag. And Whitlock, what do I have to do for you to write a column about me?)

 

if the guy yells at you the answer to what you say back is obvious: you call him a fucktard, go order a cheeseburger and head back up to the pressbox.

fucktard. that really is great.

 

Tom: Nice "What I've Learned" in Esquire ...
Sirvaliant: You go back to the next game, and if they give you shit, you report it as such. "Coach Asslcown declined comment." You can only hope they'll continue to behave in a similar fashion so you can expose them as the jerks they are. Do it straight, though. If their behavior goes the other way, then report that, too. Then when someone calls to complain, you say, "If you don't want it in the paper, don't behave that way in public."

 

Buck up, look him right in the eyes as he screams at you and continue doing your job: Be fair, be accurtate, be professional.

But don't be intimidated, either.

And if his shit gets to you, remember this: You still have a chance to work your way out of the minors to the big leagues. The manager doesn't.

 

That's the highlight of my day.

You may be covering the minors, but welcome to the big leagues....experiences like that are your real education. Consider yourself lucky.

Go back to the park, business as usual, and remember who you are.

 

Report the facts. You'll be respected for it.

And never compare yourself to Mariotti, it devalues your work.

 

Strong advice, despite the fact that it comes from a guy with a picture that zooms in on a man's crotch as his sig.

 

sir,

what kind of team is this?

oh, and 90 percent of the time when a coach/manager says he'll never talk to you again, he changes his tune after about 24 hours.

 

Sirvaliant:

I had a similar situation in college, covering an Indiana baseball that featured future major-leaguers Mickey Morandini and John Wehner. I wrote a story about how, again, Indiana was playing a weak schedule that didn't seem to prepare it for the rigors of the Big Ten season, and quoted many players saying they were as bored beating up the Valpos of the world as I was watching them do so. Unfortunately, the next day I had a conflict, so the other reporter in our two-person team went solo. This being early in the season, the coach apparently hadn't figured out which of us was whom, so he proceeded to rip my partner a new one, wondering where "I" got off writing such stuff, and why couldn't "I" be supportive, and, this is a direct quote, what color was my underwear? My partner lets the coach go on for about five minutes of this, lets it hang in the there, and says, simply, "I'm not Bob."

Fortunately, this was all recorded, so I got to hear the coach's sudden backtracking. I wish I still had the tape.

Interestingly, when the coach saw me next, he didn't give me a hard time about my story. I guess he got it out of his system. By the way, Indiana did again suck rocks during the Big Ten season.

 

I've had two coaches both pull this act.
One apologized 30 minutes after the game, via cell phone on the bus back to his country school.
The other, same school, did so three days later in person.
He knows he is wrong. His boss knows he is wrong. He was more than likely just letting off steam in the direction of you. He'll realize it soon enough and apologize or say something along the lines of "let the past be the past."

 

Let 'em rip your ass... and take notes the entire time.

When they use the word "asshole" — be sure to ask if they want that as one word or two.

I've found that usually puts a speed bump in front of them.

 

Thanks, everybody...

I like this piece of advice in particular.