Leaderboard

Get some Team Wendy's

And if this was followed you'd have to fire half the umpires out there...and there's already a shortage. The only real practical way to prepare oneself is to do it. Book smart only takes you so far. The only way to "study" is to see it happen in a game. Even memorizing the rule book and case book doesn't mean you will understand the situation when you see it...especially if you've never played the game either. This means you need to learn, to some degree, on the fly...especially the scenarios that may only happen once or twice a season. The key is being open to learning. And until it gets practical to have umpire trainees do nothing but watch baseball games for a year, and then apprentice in baseball games for another year, the only solution is to fly by the seat of your pants. In short, a green newbie who gets 70% on the FED test is not going into his first game knowing the rules. You either need to put inexperienced umps with more experienced partners...or, if an inexperienced ump must work solo it should be in more recreational settings (ideally). When MLB umps still kick rules I'm going to have a very high level of forgiveness for an amateur. The above statement from the BUM is both pretentious and condescending...and, in many ways, simply not practical. As a coach, I'd much rather have an ump tell me "you know, honestly, I don't really know" rather than "absolutely, the hands are indeed part of the bat". Now, the further up I went in competition, to the national level, the less likely I was to see the first one...but I still saw the second one, and various other instances of an umpire "knowing" a rule incorrectly. Frankly, I've always said knowing the rules is the easy part...even really incompetent umpires handle the rules part of the game correctly 95% of the time...because 95% of the game is routine. Missing on an obscure rule that only comes up once every six months is not only forgivable and understandable, but expected. If they're managing and communicating well (and that too, only comes with experience), that will go along way in overcoming a mistaken base award. If FED actually believes the above statements, they might want to get around to building a framework to ensure it's feasible. Otherwise it's just words.

If you're using a skull cap, then that's what its designed for - so you'll be in good shape! And they don't look sloppy on those either. Leave a review once you get it and use it please. Thanks! Oh, and masks are huge variety, but all do the same thing - protect your face. The main differences are material (Ti and Mag for lightweight) then hollow vs. solid steel which is mainly just trying to cut the weight down. The downside to having a super-light mask is your face and neck ends up taking some of the recoil if you don't have great pads. For me, I prefer hollow steel. I got rocked in a Nike Ti with TW's that scared me a bit, so I avoid Ti masks. I know this isn't the case with everyone, but I've taken far worse shots in steel masks with no adverse affects. Then, it's what style you're looking for. Some want what the pros wear, while others are happy with what they like. I've had a ton of masks, but I cannot honestly state that there is a HUGE difference between the majority of them out there. As some on here will tell you, get a mask you like and can afford - then put TW pads on it for max protection and you should be in pretty good shape. For the early cold weather games, some of us like leather pads then switch to TW as it heats up. As a side note, I think my favorite mask that I've owned and wished I'd kept was the new All Star Mag FM4000. Very neat looking, wicked light and offers great deflection properties which affords better protection. Best of luck out there and have fun!

Easy, I had Army a few days later, and the coach said he made a mistake and watched the video, and told the umpire the next day he was right.

I say this is a good reason not to inspect the field prior to the game.

I was sitting here reading and reading and reading. I was really starting to hope there was not going to be ANY red. Lol

I would say this never happened ever!

Ugh. New umpires working solo. A recipe for disaster. Learn what you can. I've been doing it 12 years and still find things every year that I think, "Huh. That's gotta be new?" and look at books from years past and see it's been that way. As for a crash course, assuming you know the general rules, I'd concentrate on the following, based on what I see the most: Fair/foul (assuming you don't already know this) Dead Ball Table Baserunning Awards Table Interference/Obstruction Balks (pitching in general) Those will give you enough information to rule on 99% of the things that happen on a baseball field. Even the Awards Table is full of once-in-a-blue-moon situations. For example, I've seen ONE thrown mitt at a batted ball (didn't hit it) and ONE umpire in C hit by a batted ball. While those are the situations where a knowledgeable umpire will succeed, they're also so rare that even the coaches won't understand what to do. When a situation arises that you don't know the ruling and you're working solo (again, UGH), be confident in what you do. Nothing says you have to IMMEDIATELY do it, either -- call time when appropriate, think the play over, and make your best ruling and complete the actions as appropriate. If a coach questions you about it, have an answer -- don't say "I wasn't sure, so I faked it." Also, only entertain possible rule issues - not judgement issues (fair/foul, out/safe, strike/ball are judgement calls). At this point, though, you're in a pickle. You're working a game solo with no one out there to help you, and you've got a coach that either knows you kicked a rule, or isn't sure himself. If you remain firm to your ruling, you risk looking bad if you did indeed kick it, but changing it makes you look like you both missed it AND caved to a coach. My advice: remain firm until he presses a protest. Once he hints at that, you've got a bit of an out: "Coach, give me a few minutes to check the rules at my car. If I did miss it, then I'll fix it and we'll continue; if not, I'll allow you file the protest." Go to your car, check the rules, and do what's right at that point. This whole situation is a horrible place to put any umpire, much less an inexperienced one. If I were an assigner and had to have a 1-man crew, I'm sending someone that I know can handle that situation - and a new umpire isn't it.

I think Missouri has the best way of handling on-field protests. Coach comes out and wants to protest. You give him 10 minutes to find the applicable rule or case play and bring it to you. In my 11 years of high school umpiring in Missouri, I had three coaches want to protest. Two of them decided to drop it when I told them they had 10 minutes to find the rule. The third actually agreed and walked into the dugout; after about 6 minutes of looking for a rule book, he yelled "Nevermind. I don't want to waste anymore time. Get the game going again." All three wouldn't have been able to find something to support their case anyway.

Good point @noumpere. Missed that in thinking it over. So, I'd enforce CI, put BR on 1B and return R3 to third. @beerguy55, I've always been instructed to enforce CI and wait for OC to say something. All levels of play.

I've had both. The DF harness is hard to use for umpires. I have a big head (7 3/8) and it's still kind of loose on me. It only has Velcro adjustments instead of the normal ones we're used to using as umpires. It's built for use over a hard helmet/catcher's cap, so not built for normal hat-size. To each their own, but they look bad too (hence the nickname of sports bra) for an umpire. If it were my decision and the difference was only $5-10 between the FM4000 and the FM4000UMP, then I believe the regular/umpire harness is better than the DF for umpires and would spend a few extra bucks for it. That's my . Bottom line: do what you are comfortable with and can afford. We've all used gear that maybe wasn't our favorite or the best out there until we could afford what we really wanted/needed.

You’re not going to. Harness is the only difference. If there are discrepancies in pricing, it’s due to the catchers’ deltaflex harness... and that a retailer likely got a larger quantity of for-catchers’ masks than for-umpires. My existing FM4000 started life as a navy-padded catcher’s mask. I sold the navy deltaflex to a high school kid, stuck the pads on my navy mask (for high school games in eastern states!), and then put TWs and a black harness on it.

Same in Kansas. Coach to me: "according to my records, that pitcher should be on one of his required days of rest." Me to coach: "then I suggest you file a report with the state association office tomorrow. Ready to play?"

And this is why I'd be a terrible ump. "Jesus Christ - whip out your dicks, let's measure and let's go!"

I submitted my test yesterday...Somehow I ended up with a 98. THIS^^^^^ is the one I got wrong.