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B*%% $h*t. He got an unnecessary throw from a 9 year old F2 and scored a bush league run. Hope he's proud of himself. If half these Daddy coaches spent half the time they spend on trick and bush league plays on teaching baseball fundamentals, .......ah never mind...I feel rant coming on..better I stop here.

Is it possible your timing is fast, or you're not using your eyes properly? Watch the bag for the touch, listen for the pop of the glove. Replay the two sounds in your mind and decide which came first. If you have the glove sound first, raise the eyes to check for secure possession. Take you time to process it. It seems like an eternity to you, but it's not. I had a similar problem...The closer the play was, the quicker I was making a call, leaving myself open to self doubt and blown calls. Taking the extra time is key. A quick replay in the mind before the call.

Kill it and put everyone back. Explain to the OC that you thought that the 1BC was injured.

On pitches that are close, but miss in or out, I will verbalize, "Ball, that's in," or "Ball, that's out." This works extremely well for me at the college and HS levels as it answers the question before it gets asked. As a result, I almost never hear "Where was that?" or "Where did that miss?" It also helps to cut the moans and groans short on a pitch that looked good from the dugout, but missed by a few inches in or out. Instead of inviting trouble, I am heading it off at the pass. That said, I don't give "Up" or "Down" because the dugouts can see that. I'll tell the catcher if I had it up or down, but not the dugouts. I don't recommend this for all umpires. It works well for some, but not others.

Let me contrast two separate, but 100% true, events in my baseball career: I received a surprise (they all are) evaluation during my pro days. During the post-game talk the PBUC evaluator asked me, "why didn't you 'bang' some of those runners out?" (I had just given my routine "out" mechanic...I had not used my "whacker" out mechanic.) I responded by saying, "I didn't think any were really that close." (Which was 100% true. I had no arguments from any coach or player about any of the calls.) Contrast that day with a game I had last week. During that high school game, I "whacked" a kid out at first base. I heard some yelling from the offensive team. I went back to the "A" position and as I stood there I wasn't sure that I had gotten the call correct. So, what was the difference between the two plays? The first play happened at a time when I was umpiring at least one game every day for months on end. By the time of that evaluation by PBUC, my timing on the bases was as good as it has ever been (or ever will be). I was just at a point were I was not having any doubts about plays at first base. Everything looked like an "obvious" out or safe. The second example occurred in a game that was only my 5th or 6th game on the bases in the last two months (I tend to get a lot of plate assignments (sigh)). My timing was not "spot on". As I stood in the "A" position after having banged the kid out...I made sure my body language projected confidence, but inside I was full of doubt. And I immediately knew why I was full of doubt: my timing had been poor. Moral of the story: timing on the bases is just as crucial as timing on the plate. Unfortunately, getting great timing on the bases can be harder to accomplish as an amateur umpire than it is for a professional. So us amateurs have to work twice as hard at it!!!

Great advice all. One more thing @stl_ump, the culture of the baseball fan/spectator, especially at the amateur level, is one that EXPECTS the umpire to be wrong whether he is or isn't. Peoples' emotions are wrapped up in the success of their kids/players/students, so whether you're right or wrong is often irrelevant, you're GOING to hear from people even when you're right. So evaluate your mechanics and focus on getting better, and tune out the rest of the 'umps' who are outside the lines.

D-line? I'm surprised: usually they put the smart ones on the O-line (who have to learn plays). [disclaimer: I played center]

A couple of the responses you've already gotten are in line with my thinking. I focus on the process. If I control what I can control, where I stand, how I use my eyes, my priorities, the way I do everything down to the smallest detail, I can live with the outcome. Even if I get the call right and no one complains but I did the wrong thing I'm not happy. I'm after perfection in execution not in my calls. You can do everything right and get a call wrong or get criticism. Don't let that bother you. Jim Evans says 90-95% of our calls anyone can make. We educate ourselves and prepare for the other 5%. Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

@stl_ump, you have MANY more opportunities to practice proper use of eyes than you might realize. I posted this on the Fed Facebook group last week, and think it might help you as well. I'm not announcing anything, but you might look for it in the July issue of Referee magazine too. To give yourself the best chance of getting a call correct, the most important factors are (1) Get the best angle possible, (2) Be set for the critical action, and (3) Proper timing. Proper timing is one of the most difficult things for umpires to master, and even the best among us is bound to make a call too quick from time to time. So how do we practice proper timing so that when we get a whacker that may decide the outcome of the game, we are calm, cool and collected? You may not realize it, but you have literally thousands of opportunities every season to practice "proper use of eyes" which is THE key component of good timing. As the base umpire standing in short right field between innings, do you watch the infielders warm-up throws as if you were calling a play each and every time? If you are not, then you are foregoing the opportunity to build the muscle memory necessary to have proper timing. From your position, watch the infielder throw the ball to F3. Judge the throw out of his hand (is it a true throw, or off line?), snap your head to the 1B bag and listen for the pop of the mitt. Then, and this is the critical part, allow your head and eyes (the bill of your cap should physically move up) to travel up to F3's mitt to judge secure possession and voluntary release. Then, and only then, should you mentally make your call. This is proper use of eyes and if you do this on every call, whether the runner is out by ten feet, or on a real banger, then it's almost impossible to make your call too fast. This is also an opportunity to practice read steps. When you snap your head and eyes to the bag, read F3 and how he is striding to make the catch. Is he reaching towards the plate? Towards the RF line? Straight at you? Use these throws to practice reading F3 and making a mental read step in the proper direction to get the best angle. This is a more advanced drill and I recommend that you only move on to read steps after you have built your muscle memory on your head and eyes traveling to the mitt to where it's automatic in live game action. Doing this drill between innings is an excellent opportunity to perfect our timing. Use this time wisely and you'll vastly improve the likelihood of having great timing on even the closest of plays.

I think you're at least half joking, but I want to address your comment anyway. I have heard people say, "If it's close enough to say it's in or out, just call it a strike." Please understand that the pitches I am speaking about are balls. Calling them strikes would be screwing the batter. Even pitches in the batter's boxes look likes strikes to the dugouts if the catcher is set up there and the pitcher hits the spot. Not striking those pitches at any level.

I just call "those pitches" strikes in my games and will until I'm featured on a UEFL post.

There are lots of things that we don't immediately address at that level of ball. For example, a pitcher may be balking with every delivery, but instead of calling it, we'll talk to the coach about it. I'd rather do that than risk escalating a situation with a coach who is obviously ratcheting things up anyway. I doubt by doing so I'm causing much harm. Neither the players nor coaches are too highly skilled at that level, so there are plenty of opportunities to practice preventive umpiring, or at least letting some things slide in favor of taking care of them in a more low-key fashion. Because once we address it, if it still happens, it becomes a different story -- much like my balk example. First tell the coach about it. If it continues, enforce it. In the case of the OP, the coach is participating in gamesmanship and I believe it warrants a quick, non-confrontational conversation.

Rant away, brother. His actions as a coach were horse sh%% at the best. That's the example he set.

I agree. Which is why is bothers me when I see batter runners at all levels of the game running when they're not eligible. It's certainly a mix of coaching and simply not knowing the situation. In the case of the OP, it's the former (well, both, really), but in so many other cases, it's the latter. In the OP, if PU is yelling that the batter is out and the catcher throws the ball anyway, seeing has how they're nine and 10, if I let the play stand, I'd have a chat with the HC between innings about it.

I understood you post 100%. I get what you said. Not trying to argue. Just saying I'm not buying the "I coach them to run on every strikeout". Yelling to the BR "RUN RUN RUN" when it's clear as day F2 caught the ball and the PU is emphatically calling the batter out... Nothing to argue...It's BS. The whole concept of "I tell my kids to run on every strikeout" is poor coaching IMO. (Cue @Rich Ives to tell me I'm wrong )Teach the kids the right way to play. Run when the ball's dropped. And as a coach, yell "RUN" when it's a D3K.

I think you just put more time into analyzing the umpires' equipment and positioning than developers of the game did.

Well, it sounds like the purpose was to confuse the defense - especially for this age group. I wouldn't weep if you called R3 out, but in the end think you made the right call. Teachable moment for the catcher. It's Bush League at best, and typically speaking most Bush League plays are outside the ump's purview. Having said that, I have seen coaches that want/instruct their kids to run to first on ANY strikeout - especially at that age - as a habit. So he may have just been getting the kid to do that.

Latest photo of the family: • +POS ZRO-G, standard Charcoal w/ tan TWs, +POS black chrome visor • +POS ZRO-G, MaskIt Bay Blue Metallic w/ black TWs, Markwort blue spectrum visor • Honig's K-4, standard Navy w/ scarlet bicolor All-Star pads, Honig's smoke visor • All-Star FM4000, MaskIt Stealth Black w/ tan TWs

The latest acquisition – a ZRO-G in charcoal grey with black foam pads, and a sun visor – is now here (got here last week). The sun visor was already installed when I received it (Dan and/or his assistants are putting personal touch on these), but I took the pads out and put my TWs in. The pads are fairly good, and went to a colleague to replace his default (wimpy) Champro pads. This allows me to send my Nike to Tony at MaskIt to be repaired, and still have two functional black-trim masks for the intense lineup of games I have in the next month. With this rapid an order fulfillment, I've channeled no less than 4 colleagues here to get ZRO-G's from +POS while the sale is going on.

ME: I'm surprised. Coach: At what? Me: Well, a good coach would be out here tending to his player and not arguing a correct call. Maybe I'm not really that surprised.

This comment belongs in either the equipment forum (where you can debate whether +POS can get them to you on time, or whether the Official's Choice brand is a good substitute or just a cheap knock-off, or wonder when Force 3 will come out with the new-and-improved model), or in the buy-sell forum (where you can try to sell them to someone for a different use)

You tell me this NOW?! I JUST BOUGHT TWO FLASHLIGHTS WITH ORANGE CONES ON THE END.

1st game of the season and wouldn't you know it, I get 5 bangers in a 6 inning game. 1 for the home team and 4 for the visitors who ended up losing. I second guessed myself on every single one of them. As soon as I start getting complaints, especially the really "strong" ones I start to wonder maybe I didn't get it right. I do this a lot and tonight it was particularity bad as I had so many of them. I'm not sure there is really anything i can do about it because maybe that's just the way I'm wired. But man, I'd really like to make my calls and just KNOW that I got it right no matter what any one says. Either that or just do the plate all the time. Any of you guys ever find yourself doing that? Suggestions? Thanks

It's a tool. It may have invited trouble in the past, but it seems to work at the college level.

Part of it could be the fact that this was your first game of the year. My first game this year was a nightmare mechanics wise, but game #2 was like an entirely different person. Personally, I doubt myself most when I get too close to the play (sucked in) or start to anticipate the call. After one of these happens, I make a mental note and ensure that for the rest of the game I keep proper distance and wait for the play to happen, rather than expecting something to happen. Coming off of a long winter, especially with the WBC, we have to switch out of spectator mode and back into umpire mode. Your confidence will take a big boost when you get a call right, that wasn't really THAT close (more than half a step), and the offensive team complains. Then you'll think "Man, that wasn't even close and they think I'm wrong."

Ken, I think that's a very good point you made in making sure I do the proper mechanics on a routine, easy play so when the wacker comes it will be easier. I think if I work on doing the "easy" ones correctly ( focus on F1's foot on the bag and just listen) then maybe I'll have a better chance at doing the hard ones better. Thanks

To simplify (hopefully) some of the answers given... For a balk to be negated, all Runners, including the BR must advance one base as a result of the "balked pitch" (don't think thats a real term but it should be). Otherwise, enforce just the balk. No pitch. In your case, R3 wasn't forced in on the HBP so the condition to negate the balk were not met.

+1

Warn the HC that's its unsportsman like conduct and that HC and 1BC will be EJ'd if it happens again

That was the explanation he gave me between innings, which kind of confirmed to me that we may have handled it all correctly.

It doesn't matter. R1 is forced from first, so he's out if tagged whether BR is occupying first or not.

This is exactly what I was going to post.

My WV Gold came with a piece of nylon web sewn on the lower "wings" (the ones with no plates) that acts like a belt loop. I feed my harness straps under that and then secure the T-hooks. Never had a problem with the straps sliding underneath. If for some reason yours doesn't have them, it would be simple enough to make some and sew them on. Some of the pictures I find online don't have that webbing. It does look like there is a piece of trim attached to the edge of the lower wings that would act in almost the same fashion. I can't say for sure without having one in my hands, though. Even if it is not what it appears to be, you could still fashion something easily enough. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

The "Razzer" harness works really well too. I've got one on my Gold with TW pads and it does not move. Straps are a bit longer on Razzer's harness. And, he will customize it for you.

U2, and he did, which is why R2 went back and retouched. For all the good it did him. We've talked about this play before. I think that they realized that they missed the catch/no catch, but because there were multiple runners in play, they couldn't change that call. I'm guessing that the LSU coach was asking about R3 leaving early, and PU couldn't say much. I'd love to know what he did say.

I have mellowed...a lot...since my pro days when my colleagues called me "Mr. Red a$$". But, I might have been really, really tempted to reply with, "no, what I'm saying is if your catcher had been properly coached on how to receive a pitch he might not have gotten hurt." Yes, this would absolutely throw a lighted match on a can of gasoline...but I might enjoy dealing with such douchebaggery by blowing the whole thing up.

Infield fly signal, (usually​ fist with no outs or index for one), then double tag. PU communicate on a fly ball is, "I've got third if he tags, I've got third if he tags". If R2 tags, "I've got third, I've got third". Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

It's also a good idea for PU to be communicating with his partner during the play. Whether it's covering 3B or leaving 3B for HP, U1 will likely not be facing PU and needs to know where his partner may or may not be.

With R1 and R2 ONLY (not just R2, not bases loaded, not R2, R3), on a fly ball to the outfield, PU will have any play on R2 at third,, U1 will have any play on R1 at second. R1 back to first, R2 back to second. However, it PU is "on the line" then U1 has it all. U1 also has all retouches of the bases ('tag ups")by the runners. If the ball is dropped in the outfield (not caught) then PU returns home and U1 has all plays on the bases. PU is responsible to see that R1 (and R1 if it gets that far) touch third on the way by.

Me: "Coach, we're done here, go back to your dugout."

For me, using OBR I'm calling obstruction on the catcher. Granted, hindsight is 20/20, and we don't get the replays on the field, but I see the catcher blocking the plate with his left leg long before the ball got to him. If you notice, the throw actually moves him back and to the left, more into the patch of the runner attempting to advance. So for me, it's obstruction, run scores.

It might help if you made the situation a little broader. edit: Oh -- maybe there's a video I can't see

FED has several cases where if the delay is "accidental" (I forget the exact wording) there's no penalty. That's the intent of the OBR rule as well. this is one of those rules that's there if we need it, but because it's there, we don't need it.

What is the preferred mechanic for Type B obstruction in these situations? I've seen it both ways under MLB umpires. ...and both times MLB says that it's "interference"

proper would be (I think) .......TIME ......... we have obstruction, runner is safe, then signal. I don't believe they say to call the out, then reverse it

I'll be on the far end of the baseball complex this weekend and I will have my cell phone because it is a 10 minute hike to get the TD's attention... ...that and I can call my bookie after I size up the U11 teams that are about to play. .

We are better together than by ourselves. UE is an investment of time that makes us all better. Sometimes that comes in the form of sage advice from guys like Maven, grayhawk, JaxRolo, etc....and sometimes it comes from filtering out bad answers. I don't think my UE time is ever wasted time!

Yes, @maven, but did you run him? Far too often (it seems), we have fellow umpires who take "a venting" by a coach as a challenge to their authority and lack the "mental/verbal judo" skills to effectively "spar" with a disgruntled coach. You (the umpire, not you specifically Maven) are in a more effective and advantageous position when you let the sparring opponent put his "cards on the table" first. Very well done @webspinnre, I commend you. You are sure to have many more "rescuings" in the future.

I'm seldom interested in his opinion; having him talk first gives him what he wants (a minute to vent) and me a few moments to boil down my explanation to 5 words or so. A local HS coach tries to turn this tactic around. I was on the bases and had his F3 go up to catch a bad throw. He came back down off the base and the BR touched before he could find it. I signaled "safe," and then "off the bag." That coach came out and asked me what I saw.

Glad it worked out! I picked up a tip from someone on here a while back that works great. When the coach comes out, simply ask, "What did you see, coach?" I've found that they usually respond pretty well when they find you're interested in their opinion right off the bat, instead of entering into the conversation insisting you're right. It shows you're open-minded and willing to listen. So far, using this method, I've had every incident de-escalate and I've never yet had an argument get drawn out or carry over into other things. Good for you!