Fittske24

A lot of LL (60 ft field) umpires have a softball background. This mechanic is softball influenced to take plays at the plate on 1BLEX

All of this could have been avoided by placing the kids all on separate teams. Play one LL game a week on their regular season team, then play all together on their travel ball team on the weekends. At the end of the regular season then select all the travel players to the tournament team. They got greedy.....didn't frame their "tom foolery" tactics within the framework of the rules....and got caught.

That can't possibly be what you smell.....someone must have farted. Lol :)

Thanks to everyone who sent an email, phone call, text or FB post wishing me luck yesterday! I had a blast! Some of you know I umpire many levels from LL to NCAA D1...but nothing can match the feeling when one volunteers his time to support the game of baseball and most importantly the kids that play the game for the love of baseball. Special thanks to my past and present umpire mentors who help get me there!

Thanks for the kind words guys! I treat every game with the same level of effort and respect regardless of the level. I got my umpiring start in LL so I always give back to the kids by volunteering my umpire talents at the local, state, and Regional level. As @Jocko stated above....I treat every game from LL to D1 like it's Omaha...and tonight will be no different. Thanks for the support!

LOL @ slap nut...

I don't think I saw this posted over the two pages of posts but if it was my apologies... How I handle this type of situation: Base umpire owns this call 100%. However it is the PU responsibility to trail the BR and assist on swipe tag and pulled foot. Once the BU makes the call right or wrong as PU you return to the point of plate. When the coach comes out to argue the call, If I have something different than the original call, I will immediately gain distance toward my partner and the coach making sure I am in the line of sight to my partner. I will then give my partner the “I have something different†signal (usually taking my plate cap off). That lets him know that we should get together. If I don’t have anything different, I will stay at the POP or a few steps up the line to listen to the argument in case of ejection of the coach. It is this method of silent communication that allows the base umpire to completly own the call and the argument. As the base umpire, he will know immediatly if his partner has something diffrent. If the partner has nothing, then there is no need to go to him for help because he already knows he has nothing diffrent.

There is a rumor that Majestic will not be the official supplier of MLB umpire Uni's next year. Nike will supply the uniforms for both teams and umpires.

Not to fond of the changes.....YMMV

I am an admitted gear whore. I have 2 Nike masks, one Mizuno mask, 2 Douglas CPs, 2 Vintage WVG's and countless other umpiring odds and ends in my gear bag (which is an ebag by the way). Anyone that knows me from this forum knows I can talk gear with the best of them....but those who know me personally, know gear comes second to my passion for learning about the rules, mechanics etc of umpiring. With that said if I had $500 to spend on camp or equipment it qoud be no question it goes toward a reputable camp or clinic. However all camps/clinics aren't created equal. Understand the premise of the camp before attending. Understand the difference between a "Fantasy" camp and a "Recruitment" camp. If they are not telling you that they will be hiring for conference/non conference assignment then don't expect it to happen regardless of how many Pro guys are in attendance telling you that your hammer looks solid. Every year I invest some of my earned umpiring income in camps and clinics. Most often the camps and clinics I attend are evaluation camps. I look to get in front of evaluators and supervisors that will help further my career. I also do a self assessment to determine the areas of improvement my game needs. I use this to help me determine which fall camp I will attend. So far this formula has worked very well for me. This year completes my 4th season as a college umpire. A season that included 67 college games with 32 D1 games including non-conference games at several SEC and ACC schools, 9 conference weekends across 3 different conferences, and a NCAA D-lll regional. What @MidAmUmp says is very true, conference coordinators will be looking to hire a crazy amount of umpires this fall. This fall for me will be no different than any other of my past four falls...I will be somewhere spending my $500 on sharpening my 4-man mechanics with hopes of getting hired to work in some of the premier conferences in America.

@Bill Slope how did you get the green? Did you request it or is that how it was sent?

I umpire 7-8 LL all the way up to Div-1 College baseball. Regardless of the field I'm on..... I umpire the same way. I only know how to umpire one way. I treat the GAME...its PLAYERS....and its COACHES...with the same respect and hustle regardless of the level.

I beleive they were prototyped as far back as 1990. Riddell had the non-patent model from 90-93. The first patented version manufactured by douglas came out around 1994/1995

^^^^^^^Bingo

99.9% of the baseball I work requires logo'ed caps, shirts, and jackets. There is nothing more that I don't like than blank caps and shirts. I understand that for the guys that work in multiple associations this is more economical.... but to me it looks like @$$. I think a properly logo'ed uni and hat add to the overall "professional" look and uniformity of the umpire. Personaly the logos on my uniforms show personal achievement for the levels I work. Everyone is not entitled to work those levels or wear the logo. That's why I have a problem seeing umpires wear MLB or MiLB caps and shirts on the field unless they were affiliated. All logos should be earned.

The C.C.A. manual is not simply Tom Hiler's manual. Input and changes to the C.C.A. manual come from all of the conference coordinators, NCAA Umpire coordinators (DI-DIII) and Tom Hiler who is Director of umpire training for the NCAA. I would be concerned If your college association does not use the C.C.A. manual as its primary mechanics standard while working college leel games. That may work for Juco and NAIA ball, but if you expect to work at he Div-l level be it conference or non-conference, the C.C.A. standard is what you will get evaluated on.

^^^^^^^^^Ouch.....thats going to leave a mark!

Keep in mind the TW pads don't eliminate the effects from taking a shot...it simply minimizes some of the force. Key word here is "some" not all. There will be some shots you will take that it won't matter what pads you wear....your going to get stung or possibly concussed even with TW pads on.

Try not to answer a coaches question or statement with another question. This promotes additional dialog that could lead to more argument and possible ejection. In this case I would not respond to the coach unless he addresses me with a question or continues with prolonged verbal disagreement. Then I'll answer him short and precise.

Congrats my umpire brother. Enjoy the TW pads and more importantly enjoy your championship assignment. Good luck and don't suck!

We had a protest at my Regional this year. This was the protocol we followed: original call was made, coach disputed call asked for crew consultation, crew got together and confirmed initial ruling, coach didn't agree and decided to protest. Crew chief left the field to obtain rule book, The rule in question was located, both coaches were brought to home plate where the rule was cited aloud by the crew chief, crew was correct...protest denied. Process took about ~5 Min. In a regional. It is best to hold the game up for 5min than have a protest and have to come back and play the game from that spot.

The best type of combo pants are the ones that never get bought..... :-)

I would prefer to see him 3BLEX in the second video so he can see ball in glove on the force play at home.

I wouldn't care if he was a 20+ year MLB umpire. If he is in the dugout in a coaching capacity...then he gets treated as any other chirping coach. Address the first offense.... issue warnings on the second... then when all else fails eject. Simple umpire math.

If I were a betting man......I'm sure we will see this clip again at the 2015 NCAA clinics....