yawetag

...5 months later.

I think @maven's point was that if we had the same standards as coaches, we'd all be bumbling idiots strolling around the field, wearing Crocs, basketball shorts, and our shirts untucked. We'd also be calling hands as part of the bats, all collisions as "interference," and giving 1+1 base awards. Of course, this is not my impression of the coaches who visit here.

I know it's not the case here, but I'll say this anyway: as an umpire, you should never mention something happening without a player saying something first.

The only thing I would ask before ruling on it is "Are you appealing that the runner missed the base?"

I'll agree that anything past the rule book has shared responsibility. Every group has their own quirks to mechanics and expected norms. I'll also agree that my approach to learning is different than others, so I don't expect the same level of desire from others that I showed my first years of umpiring baseball (and my first year of refereeing volleyball). But to not even open a rule book until two full years after starting? That's baffling and absolutely falls on the individual. The rule books are available for free online and less than $10 for the book itself. There is no excuse for someone working the craft for two years and to not even once think "Ya know, I should probably read the rules." I can't even imagine someone working even one season's worth of games without thinking "I really don't know what to call here" or "Wow, maybe that coach is right." Never a deer-in-the-headlights as they watch a player run into another? Never a ball thrown out of play and the concern of whether they awarded it correctly? A weirdly caught(?) ball? Nothing where the crowd is yelling after you guessed at what the correct call should be in the situation?

There's only one person to blame for this. Before I stepped on a field, I had read the book at least twice, found several online tests, and downloaded PDFs of different mechanics from various organizations. No one told me to do it, but I felt it was my duty as an arbiter of the game.

I don't see why it matters. Just give the ball to someone, call "Play," and wait for the madhouse to begin.

@beerguy55, I agree with you. This situation seems so basic that I wouldn't expect anyone to question it, much less an umpire on the field. Maybe 5.08 should become 1.01.

Fed's Preseason Guide: https://90ac9e9a-2bbe-42cb-ac6e-cea4f0862761.filesusr.com/ugd/0d194c_9822c00a6d7b4c6e91f545a202a9b027.pdf

The third out was on the batter-runner prior to him reaching first base. No run.

Therein lies the problem - it's more around 50% in high school.

I think you're in the wrong thread, @dumbdumb.

The first PG-13 movie was Red Dawn, released on August 10, 1984. Karate Kid was released on July 2, 1984.

I wore similar setups for over a dozen years. The only time it prevented me from focusing on outside noises was when someone was talking. Based on this only being used for pitching signs, that shouldn't affect any hearing during play. The NFL has been using them for years and, AFAIK, no issues. I know the comments to the on-field helmets are still coded, so I'd suppose the same would be true for baseball. Also, with today's technology, you can digitally scramble with auto-channel changing and such. It would take knowing whatever "code" is in their encryption (which can change between games and innings) to "hack".

@The Short Umpire, you must not have much experience with Referee Magazine (the people who publish the newsletter). I don't know their process of obtaining photos for their publications, but they are frequently by the same few people and have little regard to written and unwritten mechanics for the officials they portray. Not only baseball, but all sports.