Polk deputies: Man disagreed with umpire's call, punched him in the face
Booking image for Alberto Escartin Ramos (Polk County Sheriff's Office)
LAKELAND, Fla. - Polk County deputies arrested a Lakeland man who, they said, attacked a youth baseball league umpire after a game.
According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, the attack occurred Friday evening at the Highland City Ball Park in Lakeland. Deputies said 22-year-old old Alberto Escartin Ramos disagreed with a call the umpire made during a ballgame in which his nephew was playing.
After the game, they said, Ramos went to the clubhouse and began yelling at the victim. The umpire asked Ramos to leave the ballpark, but Ramos responded by yelling he would “kick his a--.”
The argument escalated and Ramos allegedly punched the umpire in the face, cutting his lip and breaking one of his teeth.
"He wouldn't leave the umpire alone," a 911 caller told dispatchers. "The umpire said, 'You need to get out.' And they started swinging."
Ramos was arrested for felony battery of a sports official.
"This is completely inexcusable -- assaulting a little league official while he's officiating at a game where children are supposed to be having fun, and learning sportsmanlike behavior,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “Not only was he arrested, he's also been trespassed from the ballpark."