lawump

I know for a fact that we (the NFHS Rules Committee) discussed this very topic. You are to offer the coach the choices. We even discussed the fact that this is not pro ball (nor even NCAA). Now I just have to find where we published it. Might be the Umpire's Manual. I'll see if I can find it.

I brush off the plate on a turf field with the rubber pellets that get all over the plate. (I've never worked on a field with a plate that is "painted on"...only on a field with a "real" plate. I don't do it during the inning (unless there is a slide at the plate that covers the plate in pellets). But, I'm superstitious (big shock...someone in baseball who is superstitious) and I "have" to brush off the plate before each half inning.

None that I am aware of during the last 8 years. (Sorry for the slow reply. Ruptured my appendix while traveling over the holidays. Better it happen then than during baseball season. LOL.)

I put a link to the story in the "professional" section of the boards.

My chief instructor at umpire school and a mentor as an MiLBer. Minnesota native Jeff Nelson retires as MLB umpire with no fanfare (startribune.com)

Can you send me some of the stuff you've been adding to your local water system? I'd like to spread it in our our county water supply so we can get the same result! Congrats!

Seriously, the President of our state's baseball coaches association reached out to us two years ago and asked us if we would object if they petitioned our state league to institute time limits on sub-varsity games. After we finished laughing ("object?????") we told him "hell no"! Apparently, they petitioned too late to get it instituted for 2023, but it should be starting in 2024.

My two cents: I personally feel that a pitch clock/inning clock is completely and utterly unnecessary on the high school level. The games are already two innings shorter, and unlike professional or Power-5 NCAA we're not dealing with any media timeouts. With that said, I do harp on my umpires that you have to continue to work between innings. However, I do NOT tell them to keep a clock. Rather, I tell them to count the five pitches...giving a warning to F1 or F2 after 4 pitches to "throw down"...and then resume the game. And, if a pitcher is slow coming out to warm-up, I tell my umpires to reduce the pitcher's number of warm-ups (unless it's a new pitcher as we don't want an injury due to not being allowed to loosen up) and the pitcher will then learn his lesson and get out quicker the next inning. I mean, 95% of my NFHS games this past year (all of which are varsity) had a game time between 1:45 and 2:15. I had one 1:25 (playoff game between two good teams) and I had a couple of really good games go 2:30 to 2:45 (one was extra innings). Do we really need a clock? I find this to be a solution in need of a problem. (And, as for sub-varsity...which, admittedly, can have some really long games...South Carolina is instituting time limits in 2024 which means pitch clocks, etc., are not needed). Even the games that are traditionally the longest (a really good team against a mediocre team) are significantly shortened in South Carolina (and most states) with the [15-run (after 3 innings) and 10-run (after 5 innings)] mercy rule. Not everything that is good for NCAA is good for NFHS. For me, this is one of those instances. (PS I love the part about being proactive about defensive subs).

The NFHS Executive Committee (which has to approve all rule changes proposed by any sport's rules committee) doesn't really care about umpire mechanics. (I don't mean that as a negative towards them.) They just want them to be professional and universal. As a member of the umpire mechanics sub-committee in 2015 (which was comprised solely of the rules committee members who were also umpires)...the mechanic was changed by umpires for umpires to acknowledge the fact that NFHS is the only rulebook that makes a balk an immediate dead ball. We (the sub-committee) recognized that most umpires work non-NFHS games, and these umpires were not going to change their mechanic to match FED's "unique" balk rule. While we had to go back to the full rules committee and receive its official blessing to our proposed mechanic changes...the non-umpires on the committee were absolutely deferring to us on mechanics. The NFHS Executive Committee has made it very clear (twice, in fact) that they do not want the balk rule to change. [You can go to the NFHS website and look up the Executive Committee and see who comprises that committee should you desire.] At this point, it is so crystal clear that the Executive Committee is not going to allow the balk rule to change that I would place the odds of the NFHS balk rule ever being changed during my umpiring career at close to zero. (And I haven't hit 50-years old, yet. Getting close, though. LOL)

South Carolina: $80 varsity. $125 for a 5-inning DH game (both games). $160 if either (or both) games are 7-innings. We have mileage of $0.55/mile...but an $11 minimum. (I used to live literally behind the right field wall of one school and it used to piss off the AD that he had to pay me a minimum mileage fee.) So, at a minimum one is getting $91 a game (with $11 not considered taxable). If one's round-trip total is at least 37-miles, then one's check is $100 or more. With most schools more than 18.5-miles from my house, the overwhelming majority of varsity games result in a check of more than $100...which is not bad considering the cost of living in SC. Sub-varsity is $65/$110/$130 with the same mileage.

...Not bashing the umpires, LOL. Actually listening/watching game and the announcers are debating whether or not a bunt could be hit high enough to result in an infield fly call. Play-by-play announcer asked the analyst if he had ever seen an umpire call an infield fly on a bunt. Analyst said "no". Play-by-play responded with, "maybe we'll see it here because anything can happen at the Little League World Series!" (or something similar). Good grief!!!

My GOD, this would cause me to have a new ejection mechanic. Instead of saying, "Good-bye!" as I gave the big wind-up toss, I'd have to say "to the convenience store!". Then, I would hold my right-arm out fully extended at shoulder height and pretend I was jiggling keys (like they used to do at the Single-A Frederick Keys games during the 7th inning stretch!) That would be my ejection mechanic in this league. I can further assure you that if they gave me the nickname "Mr. Red Ass" in the minor leagues...I can't wait to see what nickname I'd get in this league after they get a load of what I'd do in this league. LOL. Oh, it would be a good summer.

I will say that my proudest rule was the complete re-write of the verbal warning, written warning, ejection rule. The year they first tried to create this rule (2015 rulebook) it was a complete disaster. The summer of 2015 was my first year on the committee. I told them it was a disaster and some at the NFHS appeared a little insulted that I said that. However, all of the state administrators who were on the committee at that time quickly spoke up and whole-heartedly agreed with me. It was, in my opinion, an example of all the administrators telling the NFHS staff that the rule was not working and was causing them nightmares in their state offices. We literally had some states interpreting the rule as saying a coach could not be ejected unless he had both been verbally warned and restricted. Other states took a different interpretation. It was bad; there was no consistency. I re-wrote the rule (including making sure that it was clear that an umpire can eject without any warnings if the game participant's behavior so warrants.) I know that no constituency today outright loves the rule, and that every constituency (umpires, coaches, administrators) has gripes. However, the fact is that the number of complaints about this rule went from "too many to count" in 2015 to zero in 2016. It was the best case of putting out a fire I have ever done in my life. Now, eight years later, pretty much everyone has bought in to the verbal warning, written warning, ejection process as it exists in the NFHS rulebook and casebook and how it is to be applied. It took a long time to re-write the rule and case plays on that one. And while it may not be universally loved...at this point its been there for eight years and no one is clamoring for it to be changed or modified. (There hasn't been a proposal since I re-wrote the rule to modify, amend, or change it.) So, it has stood the test of time. And, I'm proud of that.

To respond to your signature block: No, you're welcome! (LOL)

I agree whole-heartedly with this.

To follow-up on the video: When I was on the committee, I argued that we really need a case play that makes clear that on a force play the runner, if he does not slide, must avoid. I argued that this point had been lost over the years and that too many high school umpires were becoming too focused on the "he doesn't have to slide" and believing that it allowed a runner to go in standing up...even if the middle infielder was on the bag trying to make a play. Most of the committee members thought I was nuts and I was told (to paraphrase) "everyone knows you have to avoid if you don't slide on a force play." I argued that we had not made that point as clear as the NCAA. I submit this thread as Exhibit #1 in defense of my position. It is clear that many umpires have lost sight of the fact that if the runner does not slide on a force play, he must avoid.

Unless the contact is also a force play slide rule violation. For example, bases loaded, no outs. Ground ball to F1 who throws to F2. R3 slides in a straight line into home plate (and touches home plate). R3 would be "safe" because F2 pulls his foot. R3 continues to slide in a straight line through home plate, but then reaches out with his left arm and maliciously slashes at F2's leg as F2 is trying to throw to F3. The penalty for the "force play slide" rule would negate R3's run even though he touched the plate before the malicious slash/contact.

Each school pays the association $25 for each scrimmage worked. The association can use that money as they see fit. We've elected to do a post-season banquet. The reasoning is that it is the contract between the state high school league and the local associations. In layman's terms the contract is: "Our member schools will pay umpires X per game, and will pay a booking fee of Y per game to the assignor...in return you (the local association) agree to provide trained and qualified umpires and provide umpires for 2 scrimmages at each team at each school". Honestly, I have a pretty good feel for the pulse of my association. So I can say with confidence: while no one loves doing scrimmages...it is not that big a deal in our association. We require our guys to work a minimum of two scrimmages (they're assigned like games). We don't usually have to require members to work more because a lot of guys volunteer to work more (they want to get ready for the season.) I think everyone is okay with this because the high school league office has worked very hard over the last five years to convince its members (schools) to increase our pay. Our minimum pay for this year is now $91...and if you travel more than 20 total miles to get to/from the game it will be more than that. The vast majority (95%) of my games will be more than $100. For this part of the country...that is not bad. Considering that I made $110 for Big South and Southern Conference non-conference games in the late 1990's...I'm not complaining about getting paid $100 to $125 for high school games that are normally 1:30 to 1:45 in length...and I get to sleep in my own bed every night. The other place where we come out ahead is that the schools are not required to use three umpires until they get to the "state level" of the playoffs. With that said, many of our schools will pay for three umpires for their spring break tournaments and all of them pay for three umpires for the entirety of the playoffs (i.e. "districts"). So, we have a lot of "extra" opportunities for guys to work. It all works out.

I'm with you! I can also say that we have used our funds to bring in people teach at our annual weekend clinic. For instance, we brought in the MiLBUD executive director one year, we brought in an SEC umpire this year, we brought in a CWS umpire another year. And, our camp is a 100% teaching camp. That is, it is not a camp where guys work games all weekend and get called over to the fence between innings "for instruction". And where the camp administrator keeps all the game fees because the umpires are working the games for free because "its a camp". That is the biggest scam going on...in multiple sports: Where officials have to attend the camp, but the camp provides minimal instruction (only between innings, or between quarters, etc.) and the camp keeps all of the game fees normally paid to the umps/refs by the league (in addition to the camp charging campers tuition). We actually provide 16-hours of hands-on training. And we have some pretty good damn instructors.

I guess it depends on the nature of the association. Yes, we charge dues in the association of which I am President (the association that assigns for the 31 high schools in the Columbia, SC metro area and the associated American Legion teams). Our dues are $25 per year (which I think most would find to be reasonable). We need that money to pay for the room we rent to hold our pre-season meetings, pay for the guest instructors we bring in for our weekend on-field clinic, and pay for training materials. We do not have any other source of revenue. Sometimes, if we're frugal with the money after a couple of years we may actually have a thousand dollars or so saved. Then, we'll spend that on the membership. In the past we've provide shirts, hats, etc., which helps reduce some uniform costs. With that said, we're about as democratic an association as an association can be. We have an 8-person Board of Directors that oversees everything and half of the Board is up for re-election every year. If any member wants to "see the books" they can. I'm a firm believer that if you're going to collect dues from members you (the leaders of the association) have to be open and honest about where that money is going. FWIW, we had two guys join our association this year from the northeast (they both just retired and moved South). Both of them could not believe how reasonable our dues are and how much they are getting paid per game. So, I guess compared to at least one other part of the country our association is a good deal.

Our agreement with the state is that we are required to work 2 scrimmages for each team at each school. The umpires are not paid, but the association is paid $25 per scrimmage by the school...which is new the year. With 31 schools, most of whom have 3 teams (varsity, jayvee, and freshman (called "B" Team))...we've decided to use the money to pay for an end-of-season banquet. While no one likes be unpaid for scrimmages...there's not a lot of complaining as the state has significantly increased our pay for games over the last few years.

This series is produced by our neighbors to the south and west (Georgia). They do a real good job. They (Georgia) have completely re-vamped their umpire program and they have some really good umpires leading the development program in that state. In fact, I have one of them come and teach at my training camp in Columbia, SC, every year. With that said, this is the state that upheld a team's protest in 2017 over a purely judgment call in a playoff game. Let me be clear: that crazy ruling had nothing to do with the great umpires in that state who are now leading the umpire training program, and had everything with the people running the league office. Hopefully, with the re-vamping of their new umpire program (and the introduction of some great umpires into the training program) that will never happen again in Georgia. But the video series on YouTube is great. Here are some links to the 2017 debacle if anyone cares: https://www.closecallsports.com/2017/05/ask-uefl-game-ending-appeal-force-play.html https://www.closecallsports.com/2017/05/dangerous-precedent-ghsa-overturns.html

Not high school, but a prime example: (BTW, Mike Lowell is now a high school baseball coach in Florida. I had them in a spring break tournament in South Carolina this past year. Good guy.) I play this video in my association every year to teach this rule. I playfully teased him about it during a pitching change.

This

Yes and Wilson