Phil

Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful replies. They are much appreciated, as well as the encouragement that I did the right thing. At the time I made the call, I was thinking that the only thing that could cause this to blow up in my face would be if a coach tried to argue the "implied" live ball: But like Pete said, the "No pitch" saved me.

If I remember correctly, I believe he hit another fly ball to the outfield, but it was caught. R3 tagged up and scored, R2 moved to third.

Yes, I had called time before the pitching change. And I do point to F1 and say "Play" when the ball needs to be made live. I just don't think the kids always remember that I need to do that before anything can happen.

Thanks for the comments. This is a good idea. The kids in this league, to their credit, like to get in the box quickly and don't delay on the mound. That said, it seems like they rarely are actually waiting for me to call "Play." I try to call it as soon as the batter is clearly ready in the box (when it needs to be called), but the pitcher is definitely not waiting for me. So the thing about this is, I overheard at least one comment from one of the kids that the grand slam got waved off because "the ump wasn't ready." There's also this nagging feeling in the back of my head that there's some rule interpretation that if the pitcher is clearly ready (he was) the batter is ready (he sure seemed to be, since he hit a HR), and if the pitcher pitches then it is assumed that the ump has put the ball in play. Which as I'm typing it, seems ridiculous, but are kids really taught to wait for the umpire to signal "Play"?

Little league. 10-12 year olds. 2 outs, bases loaded, home team changes pitchers. As umpires for this particular league, we are instructed that after a pitching change, when the game is about to resume, to announce the count on the batter, the runners on base, and the number of outs (presumably to the new pitcher, but of course loud enough so all can hear). I have no clue if this is common in other little leagues. Anyway, I'm standing behind F2 and giving this information, but the batter has already dug in and the pitcher winds up and pitches. I have not put the ball in play. As the pitch is coming in, I'm yelling "No pitch!" but the batter swings and hits one over the fence to center. I wave it off and of course the VC goes bananas. Did I over officiate? In hindsight, I think I might have. Let me have it. I'm here to learn and improve.

Your experience sounds a lot like my first game as PU as well (which was only about two weeks ago). Very stressful, forgetting everything I'd ever learned about the most basic stuff (IFF), getting flustered by little leaguers doing crazy things (running out of baselines to avoid tags). I think my strike zone was awful. Everything goes better the next time out. Good luck!

Thanks, bigblue! I'm hoping to attend the MBUA clinic in Springfield next season so I can get some actual training.

I think I indirectly made a pitcher cry in my very first game behind the plate. LL 10-12. It was not the kind of game I wanted for my first time as PU. This pitcher just could not find the zone (many balls way outside, some behind the batter, two HBP), but at the same time, I was not confident I was doing a great job calling close pitches just due to nerves and inexperience. F1 broke down when the coach came to get him. I felt awful just because really wasn't sure how much of it was him stinking and how much of it was me stinking.

Thanks all for your input!

Hi all, I'm Phil, and I've just started umpiring Little League out here in Western Massachusetts (Pioneer Valley). I've wanted to get into umpiring for a few years, mostly just due to love of the game. I have minimal training as I only inquired about umpiring with our Little League in April, and the only clinic in the area seemed to be in January-February. I'm hoping to attend that clinic next year. I've been lurking on the boards for a year or so, learning as much as I can because I really want to improve. I have a good understanding of the rules, but my mechanics are only as good as the training PDFs I've been reading. For better or for worse, our Little League division (10-12 year-olds) appears to be pretty desperate for umpires -- pretty much all games are done with a single umpire. Apparently last year there were a small number of games that had to go un-umpired. So when I contacted the guy who runs the league, he had me work the bases for a few games with a more experienced umpire to "see what I could do" and then asked me, "Do you have enough confidence to go behind the plate?" I told him I had the confidence, though I don't think I had the experience he would be looking for, but I think they're just happy to have a warm body out there. From what I've seen, there is no dress code for the umps. I've only met a handful of others, and they seem to wear t-shirts and shorts, though there is one guy who dresses pretty nicely (clearly has some true umpire clothing). As for me, I have an umpire shirt (got as a gift) and I've been wearing that along with black pants and black shoes. From reading the boards here, I realize that with our league's umpire attire and training standards, we're not exactly living up to the levels of professionalism that most of you would like to see, but as the new guy, I'm not in much of a position to change that, and I'm just excited to work the games in any capacity. Interestingly, I was told I would be paid (I thought LL was all-volunteer), so I'm torn between donating anything I get paid back to the league (since I have no formal training, it really doesn't seem right of me to get paid for this), and spending any income on umpire gear. The league supplied me with a mask, an outside raft protector, shin guards, and an indicator. And then they threw me behind the plate. Perhaps if anyone's interested I'll post a description of what a perfect storm of mediocrity (on my part and the quality of play) my first game was. My second game went a lot more smoothly. --Phil