ukce1861

He never reached the bag.

So what do you say to the argument about "No Catch" sounds like "Catch"? I've been told the same thing about balls to the outfield - not to say, "No Catch" because it can be confusing.

I think signaling is vastly different between two-man and three-man (says the man who's done very little three man). If my partner signals that he's doing something in two man (staying home, covering third) then obviously, I'm doing everything else. So a nod or echoing of the signal is unambiguous (provided, of course, that both parties actually know what the signal means). That's clearly not the case in three man; just because one umpire is covering one thing, that still leaves a grey area of coverage for the other two umpires, so there's a definite need for each person to indicate their responsibilities, as opposed to echoing the signal given. I'll try and figure out what those responsibilities and signals are before I do three man... As for arrival time - I prefer 45 minutes to an hour. Half an hour is pretty much my absolute minimum to not feel rushed.

So he didn't make a call at all, he just came straight to you for help? On any pulled foot play, I think it's best for the BU to make a call, and then, if help is requested, get together. In a situation like this, where you didn't get a good look at it, you have nothing to add. If you get together in a private conference, you can say that and his call stands. Now that you're doing it in the open, across the field, what're you going to say? As for your particular situation - in my mind, the only time it's acceptable for a BU to ask for help on a pulled foot is if he's inside. If he's in A, he should have - or get - basically the same angle you have. Especially if F3 is pulling to the outfield side of 1B, how are you going to help him? He's got to make a call, sell it, and then stick with it. He is (or at least, should've been) all over this call - there's no way I'm getting help on something like this. This is also a good example of where a strong secondary mechanic will help sell the call - either a "Yeah, he held it. He's out.", pointing at the base with your left hand and then banging the out, or a "Safe! He's off the bag!", giving a safe sign and then the sweeping, off the bag mechanic. One more thing, if you're trailing the batter runner, you should be running up the line, not in the infield grass.

Exactly my opinion on this. Let's face it, there will be times where F2 DID catch it, but you judged otherwise. By verbalizing, you are giving both the batter and catcher equal information with which to act upon. The smart F2s will always tag to be sure, but the Angels/White Sox game (Eddings) shows that not verbalizing can lead to disaster. I believe that game actually led Evans to change the mechanic to include a verbal. So let's say that you can't tell if F2 caught it or not. And let's say that you're working solo at a youth ball game. For the past 4 innings you've verbalized the D3K, but now you can't do that because you're unsure about the catch. So will this non-verbal moment come back to bite you? Before I start calling it that way, I want some more opinions about this situation. Well, if you're a guy that verbalizes it, you need to verbalize it. Maybe you're different than me, but there are times I'm not sure what the right call is. I've still got to make a call. You may not be 100% sure whether or not the catcher caught it, but you have to make a decision. Whatever that decision ends up being, just let them know...

I heard the "it hit the plate argument" last weekend. There were several parents right behind me that were very concerned I was completely ignoring this vital piece of information... :shakehead:

Was it under his shirt? Didn't you tell him to take it off before the game? 1 shirt and 1 pair of pants isn't the end of the world - I started out the same way (granted I wasn't getting paid, but still...). But yeah, I'm not going on the field with a partner who's wearing a chest protector.

I used to use the hammer for everything. Now, I point on swinging strikes and hammer on called strikes. I was told to point on swinging so that it's a visible signal for someone watching from behind. That being said, I've seen people do the opposite (point for called, hammer for swinging).

I started out because the umpires in my daughter's softball games sucked. I figured it couldn't be that hard to be better than them, so with little to no baseball background, I figured I'd give it a shot. I went to an pre-All Stars little league clinic, figuring I'd start working fall ball the next season. The District needed umpires, so I started working tournament games almost immediately... Like the AAA Umpire I worked with last year said, "It's an answer. It's not sexy, but it's an answer..." Turns out it wasn't too hard to be better than my daughter's umpires, but it's considerably more challenging to be good... I did Little League for two years and then last year I started doing travel ball - mostly 16U-18U. Just finished up my first HS season and I got four Varsity games, so I was proud of that. Certainly not perfect, but I feel like I get a little better every game.

Wow, Warren - that sounds terrible... I'll try and remember this next time I'm doing a bad game, and just count how lucky I am... The bunt grand slam is awesome! I've never had that, although I have seen a behind the back pitch that hit the bat that ended up a home run.

I have both of these masks, although I just got the All Star (only used it three times). The Diamond is a good mask, but the pads are junk. They're very thin and not very protective feeling and the micro-fiber really irritated my face on hot days. I swapped the pads out for Wilson wraparounds, which were nice. However, I also had an issue with the Diamond "picking" my shirts on my left side. Like I said, I've only used the All-Star three times, but so far I'm impressed. The pads seem much more comfortable than the diamond pads, although I think the Wilsons are a bit more comfortable than the All-Star pads. The All-Star is super light and still very comfortable. The throat section has three bars, which does make it a little different to grab, but I'll get used to it. The frame is also very smooth, so I'm hoping the shirt issue will be gone. If I was buying one mask right now, it would be the All-Star System 7. The price is pretty comparable, but with the Diamond, you've got to figure on buying new pads fairly quickly.

Well, R3 is entitled to 3B since it's the last base he legally touched and he's not forced to advance (since there's no R1, so neither runner is forced). So, even if R2 is standing on 3B, he's still R2 - he's entitled to 2B. In case of a tag up, R2 would need to retouch his base, or be subject to being ruled out on appeal. If the defense tagged both of them while on 3B, obviously R2 would be called out. Taking an 89' lead is perfectly legal - to my mind, there's nothing you can or should do about it as an umpire. Now, if there's a foul ball, I would require R2 to actually retouch his base before putting the ball back in play - as per the rules.

Quick question on this. If the pitcher comes set, does that count as beginning his motion, thus defining TOP? Is the "stretch" part of his delivery?

Don't overthink this - "A run is not scored if the runner advances to home base during a play in which the third out is made by the batter-runner before he touches first base." This is the same as any other play of this type - if it's a "force-type" play (I know, I know, BR to 1st isn't a force play) then no run scores.

The first pitch to B8 legalized B9's time at bat, thus making B1 the proper batter. Since B8 was still at bat when it was appealed, you simply have B1 assume the count. Now, if B8 had reached base and then B8 had been appealed as BOO, B1 would be out and B2 would be the proper batter.

One of the first things that was stressed to me was the list of umpire priorities: "Fair/Foul, Catch/No Catch, Safe/Out, Everything Else". FPSR is "Everything Else" so it falls below the play at first. They want you to catch FPSR, they need to hire two umpires.

Classic, Finnerty. That would be awesome to pull off on the field!

I got my FM4000 yesterday and will hopefully get to wear it for two games tomorrow, so we'll see how it works out. I ordered it from betterbaseball.com, and even though they sell it in the Umpire Mask section of their website (they don't even sell it as a catcher's mask) and they show a picture with the standard harness, they sent me a mask with the Delta Flex harness. I've contacted them to see if they'll switch out the harness, but just in case Brad w/ All-Star offered to get me one for a few dollars. In the meantime, I'm going to try and switch my Diamond harness over. Hopefully they'll make it right, but just a heads-up for anyone else ordering this mask. They have the lowest price I found ($64.95), but if I have to buy another harness, it's not the cheapest anymore...

I'm confused...you said he appeared to whiff it, but you said you killed it when he touched it. Sorry, should've been more clear. He appeared to whiff it when it was in fair territory - then, after he'd overrun it, he went back and picked it up after it rolled foul. I think part of my problem was that I may not have been stopped when the original "play" occured, so I didn't see it as well as I should have. I'm not sure I wasn't stopped and I'm not sure that would've mattered, but it's an area I've identified I need to get better at (being stopped when something happens) and it certainly wouldn't have hurt in this situation.

Welpe, I had a similar situation with a dribbler bunt down the third base line. It was rolling fairly straight with a slight turn towards foul ground. The third baseman charged the ball - and to me - appeared to whiff it with his glove. After that, it rolled foul. When he touched it, I killed it and called it foul. The 3BC said he touched it in fair territory, but for all the world, it looked to me like he just missed it. I feel fairly confident that the coach could see it much better than I was (he was right there and had a perfect angle) and I think he was telling the truth. I'm just now sure how I missed it... Sometimes it happens though and you've just gotta move on.

Most of the summer ball I do, I don't have lineups. The coaches exchange them and keep track - and that's fine with me. But I tell them at the plate, when they tell me they've already exchanged, that I'm not going to get in the middle of any substitution debates. You bring me a lineup, I'll keep track of it and enforce sub related rules. You choose not to, don't ask me to bail you out later.

I'm with you. I think I'd have trouble enforcing the out since I don't even have a lineup card. What's going to happen later when somebody you don't recognize as being ineligible becomes a CR and one of the coaches wants you to call them out and restricted? I would say, either you need to keep a lineup card or tell the coaches it's on them. This is always the biggest concern to me about not keeping a lineup. It's great - until somebody wants me to straighten something out...

Jeff, I was worried about all the substitution rules too when I started HS. The good news is most of the coaches don't know the rules either, so they won't catch it if you screw up... Seriously, once you do it a few times, it gets much easier. Just take your time and think it through the first few times you deal with it.

I think I agree with everything you said. Basically, you have a substitution and a pitching change. 14 for 11 and 14 to the mound. 17 is still being DH'ed for, so he is not in the batting lineup. If the coach wants him to hit, he'll have to hit in the 4 spot and the DH will be terminated. As for the BOO, if the coach tells you he wants 17 to bat in F9's spot, you should not allow it. However, if 17 just comes up to bat in F9's spot, I would think this would be a BOO. I'm also guessing that once he enters the box, he's not only BOO, he's also terminated the role of DH for the game (not 100% sure on this - off the cuff, this is how I would rule). I don't think this is an illegal substitution, because 17 is eligible to bat in the game, but only in the 4 spot. Since he's eligible, it seems this would be an unannounced substitution of 17 for the DH. Once he takes his place in the batter's box and the ball is live, he's in the game and the DH is gone.

I hate those where I'm like, do I want to call the pitch, the swing or neither.... One time, I ended up pointing straight up as I meekly said, "strike..." Not my finest moment. :shakehead: