Game Management - Articles

I Will Get More Ejections!

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:40:33 +0000

I Will Get More Ejections!

Gentlemen, I’ve long been an advocate of the ejection being the tool of last resort. You may have seen my many posts on various forums where I state somebody has been too quick to toss a player or coach. I’m coming to the realization that I’m just being to lenient. The players and coaches are pushing the line too far, and as officials, overall, we’re not holding the line. I am now going to give much less latitude to folks and do my part to hold the line.

Over the years I’ve probably had 15 or fewer ejections. I’ve even gone a few seasons without any. I’ve always thought of my fewer ejections than others as a strength as to my ability to control the game and situations. The majority of these ejections were on players for flagrant violations: malicious contact, tossing the helmet across the field, cussing at me… Very few of these were for demonstration or showing me up. These are the offenders I will be targeting both players and coaches. I’m not saying I’m going to become a red ass, I’m just going to hold the line.

Players and coaches are getting out of control and the problem is that they are getting away with more and more. It’s an endless cycle bad coaches & parents spawning bad players they never get set straight and become the bad parent/coach. Too many youth coaches think they can act like Lou Piniella to the umpires and too many players want to be Milton Bradley. Just a week or two ago in a LL Seniors game (with HokieUmp) in the first inning I called strike three on this kid with a tremendous ego. He didn’t say anything to me but steps out of the box and makes a motion marking the lower part of his shin and yells something to someone up in the box.

I pulled off my mask and had every intention of tossing him, but for what ever reason I didn’t. I *probably issued my loudest warning ever, but let him stay in the game. He was quiet the rest of the game, but I really doubt he learned his lesson.

It’s been said time and time again, “You won’t regret the ejections you make, but you surly will regret the ejections you don’t make.” This couldn’t be more true. This situation has been bothering me ever since that day. Then when I started to think about the times I hadn’t ejected someone but should have I got frustrated with myself. The vast majority of these things dealt with demonstrating or showing me up. When I thought about some of the close situations where there was hard contact but judged it not to be malicious or the pitch which plunks a batter and in the back of my mind I’m thinking that might have been intentional but made no call. Those didn’t bother me, the ones that got my blood boiling are the times when a player or coach is demonstrating or otherwise showing me up.

The almost funny thing is that many of these things didn’t bother me at the time. I’m thinking of a time when I had a banger at first and the head coach was in the 1st base box with his team in the first base dugout. I had perfect positioning and gave the emphatic out call. I hear all the moans, groans and boos coming from that side. The coach comes up to me hollering about he was safe by a country mile, etc… I keep to my usual philosophy of let him vent and when answering keep it short and sweet. I must have said, “No sir he was out” a dozen times.

He then faces the dugout and his spectators and shouts, “You mean to tell me that I, and everybody over here could see he was safe, but you think he was out?” Obviously, not speaking to me but meant to incite the players and spectators.

I just gave him ‘the look’ and told him sternly “That’s enough.” This did end it on the field, but he went to the dugout and continued to rant and rave between innings. Thinking back that no-ejection bothered me for a while, that was his ticket out that I didn’t punch. Maybe I’ve been more reluctant to toss folks because my warnings have generally been heeded with no further incident and I have rarely needed to back up my warnings, but I think my warnings were in err.

I should have learned my lesson much earlier. My very first season umpiring I worked a district Bronco tournament game and I was being evaluated by one of our NCAA D-1 guys. Sometime in the game there is a runner on 3rd (who just happens to be the coaches son) the batter sends a ball, fair, up the right field line and rolls to the fence. I’m now 20 feet up the first base line and turn around to watch the runner touch the plate. The runner could have been on his hands and knees and crawled to the plate with out any problem, but instead comes in full speed. He runs through the plate and intentionally bumps the catcher with his shoulder, who is 6 feet down third base line extended. The catcher who was not paying attention or expecting to be hit goes down. I called time and issued a warning.

Dad, the coach who was in the third base box comes down to holler at me. I had never had anybody approach me like that and was admittedly intimidated. I got my self together and told the coach something to the effect of, ‘It’s only a warning coach, if you make sure things like this don’t happen again, there won’t be a problem, so lets get back to playing.’

The game went on and his team lost. My partner and I go to the concession stand to get paid. As we’re waiting for the person with the money to come, in comes coach dad. He starts hollering and cussing at me and yelling about how I cost him the game. I honestly must say I was frightened. He only got a sentence or two out before my partner stepped in between us and gave the coach everything he had been giving me and then some. My partner told him he was lucky it was me behind the plate because if it were him he would have tossed his kid and then tossed him the second he came out of the coaches box hollering like that him. They ended up going at it for a little while until the person with the money arrived and got rid of the coach.

We went back to our cars and went over the evaluation. I scored pretty well on most of the categories for a rookie. Obviously the majority of our conversation centered around the incident on the field. His final comment to me, and I can hear his voice in my head right now as I type this, “There is never a need to issue a warning. If you feel the need to issue a warning, just eject ‘em.”

I should have paid attention to his advice much earlier, but finally, many years later I’ve learned my lesson.

Pre-Game with Your Partner

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:39:34 +0000

Pre-Game with Your Partner

The pre-game with your partner is one of the most important parts of the game. This can make the game on the field go a lot smoother. Unfortunately, I as well as most of the umps I work with really take this part of the game for granted. Good use of this time will save headaches and make the umpire crew look much better in many of those difficult situations.

The game actually begins for the umpire crew when they both arrive at the site. Our association has a rule of arriving 30 minuets to an hour prior to the game; I believe this is an absolute minimum. Most of the time the crew is using this time changing into their uniforms and equipment and the talk is about past games, not the one they are there for. I am guilty of this too. All of the pertinent info can be shared in just a few minuets and what needs to be covered will vary by game. Then we can get back to shooting the breeze.

Since we seem to be most concerned about talking about our past games lets start there. Talk with your partner about your past games both at this field and with these two teams. Keep the conversation relevant to what will help the two of you in this game. Telling me, hey last time I was here the right fielder elevated on the tarp. Letting me know there is a good or bad history between you and this coach. Remember, history is just that, history. Do not go out on the field thinking last time this coach… Keep this information in the back of your mind and use it as something to be aware of if it comes up, but don’t use this information to go looking for trouble.

Talk about the field, its conditions are there any wires, dugout overhangs, etc… which need to be discussed in the pre-game at the plate? Even if you were at the same field with the same partner as yesterday, things may have changed. Look for those things and discuss them. Maybe the volunteer who mows the rec field snagged the fence this morning with the tractor and you have a large area where the ball can now get out, or maybe they finally repaired the one from 3 seasons ago.

Talk about assignments. Hopefully you worked out position 3-5 days before the game when you confirmed with your partner that you will be at the game. On the first base side, discuss who will take the fair foul and to how far; to the cut out or to the base. Also, discuss if you’re going to shrug any assignments. One of my favorite situations is, “Hey this is Bronco you just stay put behind the plate and I have all of the bases. There is no need to rotate.” If you have never worked with your partner discuss signals. Earlier in my career I worked with a guy who used the “hang loose” gesture for rotation. I took that as I’m hangin’ loose here at the plate, then sure enough we had a play at third and we were on top of each other. But there are also some signals which aren’t standard which are very helpful. Many guys I have worked with a subtle signal to let the plate guy know if the catcher made the third strike catch or not. This is enormously helpful for the times there is a doubt especially in youth recreational ball where more than half can’t catch to begin with. Then, when they do catch they don’t catch it in front of them where you can see. There are also many variations on the Infield Fly Rule signal, make sure you’re on the same page as your partner.

A good pre-game with your partner is a way to help ensure you have a good game experience. It keeps you looking sharp, professional, and adds to your credibility to the players, coaches and fans. The more credibility you build, the better career you will have, and the less likely that you will have a confrontation on that close call.

One last thing to talk to your partners about, this website. A shameless self plug, but nonetheless. Tell them how Umpire-Empire is your one stop resource to umpiring articles, ump gear reviews, the place where you can have your rules and mechanics questions answered, and the place that gives you an online forum to discuss umpiring with your fellow umpires. Spread the word!

Look Sharp

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:38:39 +0000

Look Sharp

I had a game one afternoon where I was actually embarrassed for my partner. Not because he blew a call, no my partner looked like crap going out to the field. Gentlemen, we talk about “selling the call” and a huge part of that is your presence and appearance of authority. The issue of appearance of authority begins the minute you step not just onto the field, but you leave your car for the field.

My partner’s clothes were so wrinkly it looked as if he threw his uniform in his trunk wet and set it under his spare tire. I offered him one of my shirts to wear, unfortunately I couldn’t have offered him one of my pairs of pants but as his waist was 6-8 inches less magnificent than my own. Nevertheless he declined my offer. I asked him, “How can you go out on the field like that?”

His reply was, “Oh, it’s fine, the wrinkles will work themselves out.”

Just because we are amateur umpires does not mean that we are we do not need to look our best or be at the top of our game. Umpires who appear sloppy tell me that they have little or no respect for themselves, their avocation, their umpire association, or baseball as a whole.

When you leave the umpires’ locker room, err… parking lot you should be neat and clean in your appearance which includes clean, ironed or pressed clothes and polished shoes (yes, even if you’re the base guy). Walk to and on the field with your shoulders back, chest out, chin up and a confident smile giving the image that you are in control. While I don’t have anything more than anecdotal evidence, I firmly believe that those umps who carry themselves in a more confident manner have less problems even with the most unruly coaches and fans. Please note, if you carry your confidence too far to arrogance you get the opposite reaction.

Build your uniform collection up. I actually have a few uniforms I only wear for scholastic or championship games and a few uniforms for rec ball (which were former scholastic ones). This keeps me looking sharp on the field.

Once in March doing a HS game it was unusually cold. My partner wore his plate coat and I must say looked very sharp. Before we even held pre-game conference we could hear both players and spectators commenting on my partner. One made a comment to the effect of, ‘look at these umpires they really sent us the good ones.’ We hadn’t even met with the coaches and this was the impression we made. That’s exactly what you want.

While I’m ranting on this topic I want to discuss the umpire crew being uniform, not in uniform, but uniform.

Here in the southeast where the daily forecast from June to mid-September is temperature and humidity in the mid-upper 90’s and scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. We turn to our powder blue shirts to give us some relief. There are at least 4 variations of the light blue shirt each with different trim on the cuff & collar. If you both are not wearing the same shirt as your partner, including the trim, you are not uniform and may as well be wearing different color shirts altogether. The association I belong to is specific about which one we are to use and even gives 2 of the vendors item numbers, yet so many of the guys have the wrong one. One time I wore a different light blue shirt from my partner and felt ridiculous. I won’t do it any more.

There is no excuse not to be uniform. Even if you do an out of town tournament not scheduled through your association they will usually specify the uniform, if not ask the tournament director.

Here are some things I have seen which are also not acceptable:

Steel toed work boots
Grey Dickies rather than umpire slacks
Man’s dress belt vs. 1.5+”baseball belt
Nylon mesh hats
Stubble – A five-o’clock shadow is fine, but a 2 day growth is not

Take pride in yourselves and your work and you’ve won half the battle.

Game Management

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:20:51 +0000

Game Management

This is my first post to this site, I'm not too web savvy and not the greatest computer guy but I have been umpiring for over 13 years and have graduated from Jim Evans Academy. I am an evaluator for my local association, we work mostly high school, rec and have a few small colleges on contract. Our umpires also work NCAA Div I through affiliated assignors. Our association has a clear cut ranking system from levels 6 through 1, and a stair step career pattern to reach all the way up to College Conference status. I see a very wide range of talent as the season goes along, working with NCAA conference level umpires all the way to first year PONY guys doing 8-10 year old games. I wanted to put out there for all, some of the things I see at all levels that we as umpires need to improve on. Game management is the number one area for improvement. By this I mean simple things to move the game along.

Plate guys: get the ball back into play immediately, throw a baseball to the pitcher ASAP, did a 3 hr 20 min NCAA game, plate man never once threw a baseball and catcher was chasing balls all game, so it is not just PONY and youth guys.
Get enough game balls, if they give you 2 ask for 3, youth guys keep a few spares in your car use them to move games along better.
USE TWO BALLBAGS and have 6 baseballs in your possession in the better levels before every inning, do what you can at youth levels to get baseballs from the coaches and press box guys.
Record changes more effectively, key point here is that the game NEVER waits for the Umpire, we are always ready to go, too many of us take 5 minutes to get the card out, find our writing implement, figure out who we have, change should be only this "5 for 15 in the 4 spot" thanks coach got it. That's about 2 pen strokes, putting one line though 5 and placing 15 on the line in the 4 spot, we don't care if he is short stop, center or anywhere else, only the batting position is of importance to us.
Base guys, DO NOT CALL TIME EVERY PICKOFF or after every play, if the first base guy holds the ball to try to get a cheap out I tell him right away, "get the ball back to the pitcher we are not getting any outs like that today" set the tone in the first inning that's BS baseball, not playing that today.
Make the fielder on the wings after a foul ball leave the ball get a new one in play, have non-player or coaches chase fouls, not my right fielder who is running 400 ft away when I have 5 balls in my bag ready to go.
Pay attention between innings for warm up pitches, if one is thrown wild, see number one above, GET A BALL TO THE PITCHER, let catcher catch, you or on deck chases wild pitch. Remember reliever gets 8 same guy gets 5 to be completed by rule in 1 minute!

That's all of my rant for now, managing your "dead time" in a game is a huge plus for an umpire wanting to move up to a higher level. I see a lot of chit-chat with coaches and fans between innings, remember you are there for a paid job, they are paying us to manage these games and get them in. A professional is attentive at all times on the field not just when ball is in play.

Plate Conference

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:06:07 +0000

Plate Conference

The plate conference is more than an annoying pre-game ritual we have to go through each game; It sets the ground work for your game management. You can earn huge credibility points here. It’s sad to say that this critical part of the game is done so poorly by so many guys its frightening. Most disappointing of all, it’s easy. Being slack here can let coaches think you will be slack through the game and now you have lost a portion of the control of the game before the first pitch. As umpires we need to stay in full control from the moment we step on the field.

First, many times your coming fresh on to the field have a crisp, clean uniform with freshly polished shoes – you look the part. Easy enough.

Next, take proper positioning. I hate too sound remedial, but I’ve seen it done incorrectly so many times I feel it needs to be said; Plate ump behind the plate, base umpire(s) across from the plate facing him. This is part of your job, so do it properly. Even on the small diamond.

As the coaches arrive exchange introductions, as a tool to help me remember their names I write their names on their line up cards. I make every effort to address each coach by their name. It’s a matter of courtesy and professionalism. I also try to make sure they use my name as well.

I recommend developing a few scripts to when conducting the plate conference. I have two I use. One for Rec ball and one for scholastic.

Here’s an example of my script for a high school game from after the introductions and exchange of the line up cards:

“Coach Smith, Coach Jones, we are playing a 7 inning game with no time limit under federation rules and the 10 run rule will be in effect after 4 ½ or 5.

I then give any quick remarks about the ground rules the field. Such as:

· The light posts being outside the fence

· Face of the dugouts being in/out of play

· Anything else needing to be noted

· Some games and fields there won’t be anything to add

Note: I have edited this since I first posted it. Originally I mentioned getting the home coach to take us through his ground rules. I no longer suggest this. Coaches will take you over every nook and cranny of the field and take too long. My new suggestion is to meet briefly before the game with the home coach get his ground rules then you as an umpire make note of the important ones and share those at the plate meeting.

I continue my script, “Gentlemen, are all of your players properly equipped?” Note: You must get a verbal affirmative response here. Don’t let a non-answer or head nod slip by. I continue (if necessary), “Keep in mind of our sportsmanship obligations, and let’s have a great game.”

The major difference in my script is that for Rec ball I start immediately behind the plate and go clockwise covering every aspect of the field where I think a ball may get out. For big boy games you don’t need to cover any nook and cranny of the field. Doing so would make you look inexperienced, and therefore diminish your credibility with the coach.

Base guys , at the plate conference you have 3 very important duties:

Look sharp
Introduce yourself
Listen to the ground rules

Please note, other than the introduction, none of the above items require any talking on your part. The only conceivable time you may have permission to speak is during the ground rules. Anything said by the base umpire should be asked directly as it relates to a ground rule the coach lays out. This meeting should be quick to the point and still professional.

I see and read about umpires with a number of bad habits at the plate conference such as issuing warnings, putting their own ground rules into effect, bring up history or other such ridiculous things. This is highly unprofessional and just plain wrong.

If you find yourself in a situation where a AD, Tourny Dir., or some other person is asking you to issue a warning before the game I would suggest asking them make such warnings before the plate conference on their own. This sets a bad, confrontational tone and things can only get worse from there because the coach(es) will be immediately put on the defensive and will now see you as a bad guy.

We also do not bring up history at the conference. History is just that, history, in the past. More likely than not you would eject a coach who brings up history negatively to you, so don’t do that for them. I’m not saying forget completely about it. These things are useful reminders we should keep to ourselves and use as appropriate, but never mention verbally.

Another bad habit I see is being too friendly with one of the coaches. I don’t care if the guy is a good friend from 30 years back in high school. Yucking it up and being overly familiar to one of the coaches leads the other one to think, ‘oh, they’re buddies, I’m screwed.’ He will be on the defensive and will be looking for that close call that doesn’t go his way. On the field your relationship is professional no matter who the coaches are.

Don’t underestimate the power of a good plate conference. It’s an easy way to show you are in control and gain credibility with the coaches.

Earn Big Points with the Little Things

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:56:50 +0000

Earn Big Points with the Little Things

There are many aspects of umpiring which often go un noticed unless they’re not there or something’s wrong. Often times it’s the little things that make people successful. This holds true as an umpire.

[INDENT]

Arrive on time – Don’t start out behind. It puts you and your partner in a bind.
Appearance – I can’t say it enough, look the part. A clean, crisp uniform and polished shoes make a world of difference.
Posture – When on the field have a straight back, chin up, & shoulders back. Give the air of being in control by your mere presence.
Vocals – If you give a vocal on a play; give a loud, strong, understandable vocal. And use the proper terms, “he’s out!” Not “Got Him” or anything else. And never call a ball, “Fair!”
Do it with purpose – What ever you do, do it in an immediate, direct way. If you appear lackadaisical the coaches are more apt to see you as a good target if the opportunity arises.
Hustle – Not only in live ball situations, but dead ball situations as well. Beat the catcher back after breaking up a conference, run back down the line after a rotation play. Coaches will notice, and so will your evaluators.
Strong Mechanics – Nothing says “I don’t give a crap” like weak mechanics. Even on a routine play give it a strong mechanic. Routine plays are a great time to actually take a moment and think about what you’re doing and develop good habits.
Cleaning the plate – This is a personal pet peeve of mine. When you clean the plate, stand on the field side of the plate square to the plate and your fourth point of contact towards the pitcher and brush it. Don’t just swipe it with your foot or tell the catcher to dust it with his glove.
Putting the ball in play – One of the most overlooked aspects of play. After a dead ball situation the ball must be put back into play. If nobody is aboard just point to the pitcher, remember strong mechanics. No vocal is really necessary. With runners aboard, give a strong “Play!” Make sure the pitcher is in contact with the pitcher’s plate before making the ball live. You don’t want to be on the losing end of an argument about the runner didn’t know the ball was live, or you made the ball live before the pitcher had contacted the plate giving him an advantage over the runner.
Chit-Chatting with your partner – I do not like seeing umpires group together unnecessarily between innings. Usually in the pre-game I’ll tell my partner let’s plan to talk at the end of the 4th unless something comes up. This is a good opportunity to check on each other. But if something gets screwy in the bottom of the 4th, you don’t want to get together. That invites a coach to drop by as well because the natural assumption will be that you’re discussing his play. On the other hand, if there is something you need to discuss at a point other than the pre-defined time do so, but make it quick. Be deliberate and hustle back to position when you’re finished.
Call the coaches by name – This is a simple act of professionalism and courtesy. It not only strengthens rapport, but helps bring down the tension in uneasy times. Try to make sure the coaches return the favor.
Smile – While we want to be as professional as possible. There is nothing wrong with smiling, being friendly and letting people see you want to be there. Don’t carry this too far and jabber jaw with every coach, player and spectator.
Keep the game moving – I love baseball more than most people, but I don’t want to be at a 3 hour 40 minute game. Keep the game moving by not calling time unnecessarily, quickly put balls back in play, and don’t allow too many pitches between innings.

[/INDENT]Remember get the small things nailed down, so that when the train wreck comes you will have the fundamentals out of the way and can focus on the situation at hand.