How Angry Are You?Ask yourself these eight simple questions. If you answer yes to two or more, then you likely have a problem with anger.1. Has it ever been suggested that you might have an anger problem?2. Do you sometimes wonder why you get so angry or angry so often?3. Do you resent people who have treated you unfairly?4. Are you often critical of yourself or others?5. Have you been told, more than once, that you “always have to be right?”6. Do you feel, more often than not, that you don’t get the respect you deserve?7. Do you have difficulty letting others get close to you (difficulty trusting)?8. Are your good intentions often misinterpreted or misunderstood?Source: The Anger Guy, psychotherapist Evan Katz
In almost 30 years of umpiring baseball games, Al Slater has dealt with his share of angry parents, coaches and players. He’s proud to claim he’s never ejected one — but admits he’s come this close.
“I was umping a tournament and one coach just didn’t know how to conduct himself. He was real aggressive — and that’s the kind you have to keep an eye on,” says Slater.
The coach had a runner on second when the batter stroked a line drive into right field. Slater says he got into position because he knew the coach would try to score the runner from second. Sure enough, the runner was rounding third as the throw to home was coming in.
The right fielder made a good throw to the plate, Slater says, and the catcher grabbed the ball in his mitt, then dropped to a knee. The runner slid into home in a cloud of dust and … out!