BrianC14

Agreed.

Ditto! For me, Referee mag is worth the membership on it's own... the other stuff is icing on the cake.

And there you go. And if this takes longer than 3 minutes (what's up with that league rule? ) then something's wrong. Get the game moving! It's bad enough that 60 minutes of football now take 3+ hours to complete - baseball doesn't need to go that way.

First of all, good job cutting off the coaches and keeping them away from your partner. Second, and as you now realize, you should have run Coach Smartmouth. He shouldn't even have been around to make a comment like telling you to go back to your position.

Agreed. There's nothing illegal for F1 to have the ball in the stretch position, behind his back, or at his side, and rolling it around in his hand (some have referred to it as 'juggling'. I've been asked by coaches if that move should be a balk, but the answer is 'No.'

Weren't you ever a Boy Scout? Always be prepared... B)

Gosh, here's a concept for you evaluators -- - GET OFF YOUR LAZY BUTT AND MOVE TO DIFFERENT POSITIONS AROUND THE FIELD. B)

What is the "ready position" ? Never heard of that one.. ??? :wave:

In Colorado, it's been done, but not with any regularity. Often, the Varsity/JV double header is the result of a cancellation due to bad weather.

"And on your way out, coach, take two runs off the board." :wave:

Agreed. Out my way, we're taught that UIC (the dish man) initiates the signal. It's not a criminal offense if he forgets and the base man starts it, but the general rule of thumb is for UIC to run the rotation sign, time play, IFF and the like. And yes, if UIC signals that he's going to rotate up to 3B, then he'd better be there. The only response I typically give is a quick couple of soft claps of the hands to acknowledge that I understand. Some guys get a little nutty with signals, though... "catch/no-catch, tag up there, etc." That's pretty basic mechanics when you're working the 'V' - if a base guy doesn't know that, then there's more wrong than a few signals can help.

1) Hold a proper (complete) pre-game every game. 2) Improve on game management. 3) Improve my performance with each game.

Heck, I worked a Musial game last summer and my partner called 3 in one inning on the same pitcher. "See a balk, call a balk." It's guys like your 'senior umpire' pal that make me wonder "What other rules do you ignore ?" :BD:

Heck, I worked a Musial game last summer and my partner called 3 in one inning on the same pitcher. "See a balk, call a balk." It's guys like you 'senior umpire' pal that make me wonder "What other rules do you ignore ?" :BD:

Drop me a PM. I have a pair that size, and they have not been used at all.

:)

Well, I question the need for it - I'm of the opinion that it can lead to more trouble than it's worth.

Agreed. I'm with JM approach as well.

Lotto? Blotto? :wow:

Ah, yes, the tell-tale "CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK" sound of a base umpire who's lost the count. I mean, come on - if you don't have it with you, none of these silly things will be taking place. When I'm on the dish, I have my spare with me. (Last season, I went 3/4 of the season without using an indicator at the plate at all).

Same in my association, during spring. In summer league, they're even tougher, because that association is newer and still trying to market themselves as the premier source for umpires. It's like they say, you only get one chance to make a good first impression.

LOL - this reminded me of this happening to me last summer.... I had a partner whose credentials / experience were, shall we say, "questionable" (the mirror biker sunglasses and the shiny light blue shirt should have been a clue, though, but I digress). I've got the dish, and during the plate conference I notice he's got an indicator in his hand. After the conference breaks up, I ask to see it... he hands it over, I click it around a few times, as though it's the coolest thing I've ever seen... then I put it in my pocket and told him, "You won't be needing it. Now, let's get 'em going." :)

Simple. Get a black long sleeve jersey.

Certainly I"m not going to disagree if this is what's taught at JEUA, but let's keep in mind he's teaching for the professional ranks, and in that case, the "choice" option is not offered, so it stands to reason that he would teach "enforce the penalty" - - however, if the offensive manager knows the rule book, he's going to bring up the options that are available to him. As we've already seen, NCAA and FED books call for the umpire to offer the choices...

Agree with this, 100%.