The Adjudicator

I seldom see umpires asking kids to remove the hemp looking necklaces so popular in baseball.

Jewelry and Chewing Tobacco

Mike was very helpful this past fall when I was getting my Little League Forum off the ground. Never met the man but spent many many years reading and learning from his posts in several forums. Admin Leagueforum.org

Great Quiz, think I'll steal this Link for our Little League Forum Leagueforum.org

Thanks, just sent you a PM

If somebody were to be able to convince me they have the passion, dedication and energy to run a site like Umpire-Empire for another sport, I'd provide the technical side, software, serverspace, etc... How can I get in touch with you, I have a few questions about setting up a similar forum.

Nowhere in the rules is there anything that says you have to be able to catch up with a runner. Smart baseball players have been taught for years that when a runner is hung up between bases the fielder should run directly at him and make the runner commit. That is what is happening here.

Simple call, F6 has R3 hung up between 3rd and home and is making a beeline directly at him. If R3 stays put he will be tagged out by the pursuing F6 so R3 breaks and R2 interferes.

It's an advertisement for Musco Lighging and it is an insult to umpires.

Little League umpires at regional games and above often place baseballs in their shirts, this is not unique to Cynthia. I don't understand why they do it, my only guess has been that its better than your normal season relay of f9 to f3 to f2 which could take six overthrows, 2 misses etc..

I believe they use one of the umpires who is not assigned to the current game along with an official of LLBB

For those of you who would rather offer positive critique to these umpires rather then then tell everyone how much they suck would you offer any opinions/recommendations on the Midwest vs. Great Lakes game and the continual time out calls in the box. It seemed like there were many requests for time when the pitcher was starting his motion. It really got under the pitchers skin but was there anything there?

Wow, you guys are relentless. Volunteers who pay their own way around the world to umpire games, often work solo wiling to umpire whatever game needs coverage. Often work 9 year old softball one night, senior league baseball the next. Most important they dedicate hundreds of hours to little league each year so kids can play for $50 a season and never get turned away. Get your jockeys ripping them apart, these guys are all heroes in youth baseball

Our Baseball Board teaches this mechanic that whenBU is in B or C he can go directly to PU for help on a pulled foot. As for those who say you might not be watching you have to understand the if your Board accepts this mechanic, you better be watching because its your responsibility. "Joe, did he hold the bag?" "Yes, he did" "OUT!"

I've noticed that in the pros they are not calling the double set, I am guessing, however, that if you double set you need to double set every time. The difficulty is when the pitcher does not double set and tries to pick on the initial set as that is actually legal. It's the double set that would now get the balk. Seems odd that you might tend to let the double set go and then eventually call it.

Ont forget wearing shinguards outside your pants

Think strikes, be consistent. I reward a curve that hits the mitt in the middle if the zone, I don't care what the flight pattern was

In softball this is a frequent situation and they teach U1 to drop back and prepare for the call at the edge of the 1b coaches box. PU moves toward the mound in preparation of a call at 2b I suppose what you could have done was called in your partner between innings and make an adjustment that with no one on the bases he follows the BR up the line 1/2 way to cover the call at 1st. Yute ball is a game of adjustments, reading and anticipating plays that you might not see as the kids get older.. So if you have the outfield shallow, a speedster at bat maybe add a simple sign point to F9 then 1b to employ it.

My take is that it is a text book INT but not a call that is going to be enforced without contact as the runner is doing what he should be doing. If F4 wants that call he needs to initiate contact, if not play on.

What a sh%# head, I think I might have to make up a rule against that piece of crap.

Go easy, sounds like it might have been the biggest event in that town in a decade.

Sounds like your game management was fine, I'm with KLAH about coaches not warming up pitchers. It's against the rules do not allow it. To elaborate I read a story many years ago about a dad warming up his son between innings, pitch hit the front edge of plate as dad turned his head to avoid and took it to the side of the head. Passed away that evening. Since I read that article I have never allowed a coach to warm up a pitcher on my watch.

I was not there, received my normal evening phone call when any rule question in town comes up. I would take option A, UmpJM, interesting take as my thinking was home plate ump and only home plate ump owns the count. If he lost it he needs to own what he thought it was.

Middle school game, bottom 7 2 outs normally rookie board umps 1 strike on batter and coach replaces the pitcher. Umps reset counters (whoops). New pitcher, another strike, a ball or two and next pitch is a swinging strike, ball in the dirt. Ump calls strike 2, batter beelines for 1st on dropped 3K and catcher listening to ump returns ball to pitcher. Mayhem infield and umps finally admit they lost the count at pitching change. Now comes damage control, would you: A) bring batter back with 2-2 count B Strike 3, catcher would have had kid nailed, call game over C) leave runner on 1st and bring up next batter.

The way you described it I would not do anything 11 and 12 year old kid are going to mess around and as long as they do not delay the game or make a mockery if it I let it go. If the runner kept messing around I might kill play, tell the, to get the ball to the pitcher and play ball but only if they start getting silly.