ump570

I noticed that too. Why did Metheny not argue with DeMuth? Is it now the crew chiefs job to handle it?

It amazes me when things like this happen. I see these guys make amazing calls all year, and then they kick an easy one. A few nights ago, it happened to me. I'm in C, F4 bobbles ground ball and then makes a crappy throw to first that skips to the F3. I settle in, watch the F3 take the throw, and for some reason I thought the throw beat the runner, and I call him out. As soon as I made the call, I realized I got it wrong. The crowd went nuts, and the coaches let me have it too. I think I lost perspective of when the ball got to F3's mitt when it skipped, and I thought it got there sooner than it did. From C, I didn't have the benefit of using sounds of glove and bag. I went to my partner later and asked him if I missed and he told me the kid was safe. What can you do though? It's just umpiring.

If you can't get out of the stands, then don't take the assignments. You will run into the 1 spectator who goes too far with it. You will be the one they have in their sights. You will be putting you and your partner(s) in danger. And, for what, b/c you "will be damned if I'm going to let some know-nothing daddy count the number of semi-close calls that don't go his way for 1:45 at some U12 game." Think about your innocent partner before you go running your mouth to a spectator or coach who you send as the lamb to be slaughtered. The coach will throw you under the bus. He is not taking the bullet for you at all. This kind of stuff may happen when you start engaging with anyone but the HC (and even he may lose it if you get into this kind of confrontation): You are not dealing with professionals. I agree with what you're saying about staying out of the stands. It's best to ignore it. But I hope you're not implying with the 3 examples you showed that it's the umpires to blam that they are assaulted by crazy parents, coaches. I ignore the fans; however, I have been followed to my car and felt threatened more than once by crazy parents.

He did not disagree. It was hard to disagree with these. The kid didn't even come close to stopping. The mgr. didn't even argue. He just kept telling F1 to pause, and the kid just didn't get it. I'm not a hard ass at this level when it comes to calling balks. I don't nitpick, but during the pregame, I always remind the coaches that we will call balks for not stopping and that it's important that you remind your pitcher. Just curious to know why you do this. I don't see any reason to discuss what/how we will be calling in any aspect of the game. The exception would be how the feint to third will be handled, since coaches rarely seem to know what ruleset is being used. I just think telling them what kind of balks will be called opens a can of worms. If you then don't call one in the game, they have ammo to complain (not that they usually need ammo) In some of these tournaments, particularly in age groups such as 13U, coaches will invariably ask, "Are we calling balks right away or is there a warning?" I just let them know we will be calling balks and that the most common balk we see with 13U is pitchers not coming set. I don't always pre-game it, but if the coaches ask about balks, I let them know that this is the one we see the most. I never really considered why I do it, it just seemed like it made sense. I also let them know that the fake to third will be called since we play MLB ruleset. I guess I shouldn't have said I "always" remind the coach because it doesn't always happen, but it often comes up.

Big No NO!!!!!!!!! Umpire and stay out of coaching. State why the Balk was called. Never SHOW. If I was a coach and you showed my F1 why he Balked I would tell you to do your job and stay out of mine. I know what you're saying, I just couldn't believe that the mgr. of what was supposed to be a very good team would just hang the kid out to dry this way. I mean, holy SH*#, the kid threw 5 pitches and balked on 3 of them in the first inning. I've never seen that happen and a coach not at least come out and settle the kid down. I know I shouldn't have said anything, but I actually felt bad for the kid. The next inning, the kid actually dropped the ball while on the rubber with a guy on 3rd.

Jocko, When is pitching at a batter a RIGHT and within the confines of the rules, whether properly or poorly executed? (Rhetorical, not needing a response). I understand your thoughts. We'll just agree to disagree on how to handle this situation. I'll leave it there. I agree with Jocko to an extent. In a men's league game I have no problem with teams policing themselves. One pitch high and tight lets hitter know that what he did wasn't acceptable. However, I woudln't let it fly with players younger than 18. Now, if a pitcher is throwing at the head, and not just plunking a hitter in the back I would either EJ or warn.

He did not disagree. It was hard to disagree with these. The kid didn't even come close to stopping. The mgr. didn't even argue. He just kept telling F1 to pause, and the kid just didn't get it. I'm not a hard ass at this level when it comes to calling balks. I don't nitpick, but during the pregame, I always remind the coaches that we will call balks for not stopping and that it's important that you remind your pitcher.

The PU is very new. In fact, he's done fewer than 20 games total. He did mirror my calls, but he didn't initiate any of the calls.

I'm BU for a 13U travel championship game. Level of play is pretty high. One team just went to the Ripken International Championship and lost to Japan 3-2. Other team is loaded with talent as well. Anyway, bottom of the 1st, R1. Pitcher goes into stretch and blasts right through his motion without coming set. "That's a Balk!" I call it and nobody argues. It was very obvious. Two pitches later, kid does it again. "That's a Balk!" I call it again. Coach doesn't argue, knows he didn't stop. At this point, I realize pitcher is very nervous, and I ask him, "Do you know what you're doing wrong. If you'd like I can show you." He politely says, "Yes, Sir, I know what I did." Unbelievably, the kid does it again 3 pitches later. At that point, team's asst. coach shouts, "Come on Blue! You're watching too much for balks!" I ignore. A few pitches later, bases loaded 2 outs, and 2 strikes on batter. Kid check swings. Partner appeals to me. I didn't have him going. I say, "No, he didn't." I hear grumbling from asst. coach again. I ignore. Next pitch, kid hits a bases clearing double. Here comes the crazy. Asst. coach who was chirping shouts at me from the bench area, "Those 3 runs are on you blue! That would have been strike 3! You F#$%*in' suck Blue!" I punch his ticket. Then, he starts flaring me from the bench and repeating over and over, "F#@$ You Blue! My partner walks over and tells him, "Knock it off, there are small kids here, and if you don't stop cursing and leave I'm going to have to eject mgr." Anyway, this team was out of control from the start. They ended up losing 15-0, and their kids were very disrespectful. The mgr. had no control over his coaching staff or his kids. They said and did whatever they wanted.

That's what we do on here. Umpiring can be a humbling avocation. It sure is.

I got it now. I just looked up the definition of illegal pitch and that cleared it up. That's where I was mixed up. Per 2.00 ILLEGAL PITCH occurs if the pitcher delivers a quick pitch or pitches while not in contact with the rubber. Live and learn.

So what types of plays do you call a ball on, just the quick pitch I assume? I just thought since this situation was a balk with runners on, that it was a ball with bases unoccupied. The guy that mentored me actually called this once and I guess that's why I thought I was right.

It's a "no pitch" You're making up rules. What part of 8.01 makes you think that you're correct? You don't have to be a dick about it, nobody's making up rules. I misinterpreted a rule, and I'm here to get some insight into the situation.

(d) If the pitcher makes an illegal pitch with the bases unoccupied, it shall be called a ball unless the batter reaches first base on a hit, an error, a base on balls, a hit batter or otherwise.

Ok. I'm working 14/15U championship game travel ball. OBR. I have the dish. Bases empty. Pitcher goes into his motion, is about to deliver the pitch, and then stops before throwing the ball. I step out call time, and award a ball to the batter. All of a sudden, my partner says, "Dave, No! That's not a balk. It's just failure to deliver!" I was just shocked. Not that I might be wrong, but that the guy would yell out like that. Anyway, not wanting to argue with the guy because he is the senior guy on the crew with way more experience than me, I just say, "OK then, failure to deliver, no pitch." After the inning, I call the guy over. I say, "You might be wrong, I might be wrong, but don't ever call me out like that in the middle of a game. It makes me look like a jackass who doesn't know the rules. If there's a rule issue and you must get my attention, call timeout and we'll get together, but that was a horseSH*# move man." To his credit, the guy apologized, and we moved on. He's a good umpire but sometimes he likes to show people just how much more he knows the rules than everybody else. By everything I looked up, I made the right call. In NCAA it's a warning, but according to 8.01 I made the right call. Should I have shut him down and stayed with my call. This guy has been with the association way longer and has been to pro-school a few times so I just assumed he was right.

Interesting topic. I was a catcher for years and now I coach catchers when I'm not umpiring. Since I started umpiring, I've put much more emphasis on teaching catchers how to properly receive the ball to give the umpire a better look. Looking back, I wasn't taught the correct way, and I didn't coach the correct way until I started umpiring. Now, I teach kids just to move their glove to the inside rather than setting up with their entire body inside. Also, I teach my kids to get lower in their stance, closer to the hitter and not to pop up too early on steals. I also teach them to frame pitches that are just off the plate rather than pulling the pitch. Most coaches, even guys who caught don't put as much emphasis on these skills as they should. A catcher who receives the right way can really change a game. Conversely, a catcher who has a great arm and can stop everything but can't receive can hurt his team.

People bring a variety of cognitive biases to every situation. Framing effects are well known examples. So your choice is seldom "Should I have a bias or not?" but rather "which bias should I have?" In that context, it is better to put the burden of proof on the side of calling a ball. Doing so will enable you to call more pitches strikes, which yields better baseball at every level. I get what you are saying to a point. I understand that within reason a bigger zone is better than a smaller zone. But speaking of our cognitive bias what would happen if I didn't leave the "burden of proof" with either side? You are saying that it's better for me to think of a pitch as a "strike until it proves otherwise" because then I'll call more strikes. So it stands to reason that if I think the opposite, that it's a ball until proven otherwise, then I would call more balls, so what would the result be if I thought neither? If I may be so bold, I would suggest that when your are calling balls and strikes you should not be thinking as much as you should be reacting to the various stimuli. Leave the thinking out of the mix. Read, track, react. Most pitches require no thinking. Perform the same action over and over, the correct way, until it becomes second nature and there will be no need for any cognitive bias, philosophy, or any other higher order thinking skills. Stay a cavmen! I agree with this philosophy. To put it more simply; eventually, after seeing thousands of pitches, you know what a strike looks like and what a ball looks like. If you have proper positioning and mechanics then you can be sure that what you saw was right. Then, just call it! I sometimes tend to overthink what should be a fairly simple task. I mean, we're not performing brain surgery out there. It's just baseball man! Have fun out there and let the chips fall where they may.

http://wapc.mlb.com/play/?content_id=29685411&topic_id=11493214 The announcer for the Yankees is an idiot though. He didn't realize that the home plate umpire is the one who made the call.

13U travel ball. Good teams. R1 2 outs. OBR rules. I have the dish. 2-1 count. Pitch comes in, ball in the dirt, no swing. Just a ball. R1 steals second on the dirt ball. Catcher doesn't throw down. All of a sudden, R1 walks back to first. For some reason, he thought there was a foul ball. I don't know why. I didn't say anything other than "Ball" when the pitch came in. The hitter barely moved his bat. Hardly enough to even call a check swing. I guess the kid just had a brain fart. Anyway, when R1 got back to first, the defense executed an appeal and threw over to first, at which point my partner called him out. When the OC asked him why he was out he told him, "You cannot go backwards once you occupy a base. Once he safely occupied second, he could not go back to first." Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you could go back provided you weren't doing so to confuse the defense. The umpire I was working with has way more experience than me; he works college and even independent pro ball so I assume he's right, but I just wanted some clarification in case I run into the type of play again.

R1, 2 outs. Batter hits a hard ground ball just to the right of the second baseman, ball rolls into centerfield, 2nd baseman then turns toward 2nd base and runs right into the runner about 10 ft. from the bag, between 1st and second. I signal obstruction and verbalize. As the ball is coming in from centerfield, 3rd base coach tells his runner to come to third. The kid is running to 3rd, throw comes in way before he gets there, and the coach says, "Don't worry, stay up, you'll be safe." Runner gets tagged, and I call him out. Well, here comes the SH*#storm. 3rd base coach yells, "That's obstruction! He should be safe!" I tell the coach, "The obstruction occured between 1st and 2nd, and I only had the runner protected as far as second base. I don't have him making it the 3rd on that play." He told me I was wrong and that I need to study the rule. I realize that I could have given him 3rd if I thought he could have made it, but to me it was cut and dry station to station type play. It wasn't a gapper, and the centerfielder got the ball in right away. The contact didn't knock the kid over or anything. It slowed him down a little but in my mind not enough to warrant protection all the way to 3rd. Did I make the right call here? The coach was adamant that I didn't apply the rule correctly. Of course, coaches know everything.

Good EJ. I have story. I was working one man at a jr. babe ruth game in May. I had a 3rd base coach give me a bunch of s*&^ after I called his player out on a bang bang play at 3rd. I shut him down quickly with a "that's enough Tim." Between innings, he came to me and asked what he had done wrong. I explained to him that only the mgr. can question a call, and that I'm not going tolerate him shouting at me from the coach's box. He was a soccer Daddy and clearly hadn't learned proper baseball etiquette. He then says to me, "I don't know why you're being so tough, last week at my son's JV game, the coach threw dirt at the umpire and he didn't even get tossed. Arguments are part of the game." I looked at Tim and said, "Those are the kind of umpires that make our job harder."

I actually had this happen with 9 year olds last month. OC was a real jerk, and was whining about calls all day. Anyway, there's a ball hit in the gap and with runners on 1st and 2nd. Runner from 2nd is coming home and throw comes in and hits catcher square in the nose, blood everywhere. He crumbles in a heap right in front of home plate. I see next runner round 3rd and the catcher is lying right in the base path, clearly injured. Fearing further injury and realizing these kids are 9, I kill the play and put the runner back at 3rd. I explain to the coach that I feared that the catcher risked further injury and I'm not putting a 9 year old kid's safety in jeopardy. Surprisingly, the coach didn't say a word. It was the only call that went against his team that he didn't argue.

I've been a player and coach much longer than I ever umpired, and I still coach baseball and football, so I'd be a hypocrite if I said that I hated all coaches. That being said, I've noticed that many coaches, particularly in the travel ranks, lack perspective. They think that every 12U baseball game is life and death, and they tend to not just treat umps like crap, but they treat their players just as badly. Typically, they create a culture of negativity around their team that makes it's way to the players and the parents. So, yes, I would consider those guys RATS.

Umpires should be paid at least $1000 for doing an 8u game unless all of the players are orphans. BRUTAL! Yeah, the kids are great at that age. They are having so much fun. And my partner was great too. The kid is really good and I enjoyed working with him, but some of these coaches and parents are insane.

Last weekend, I was working with a young umpire who is learning the ropes. I generally work 14U and older, but I agreed to work with this kid in the 8U division as a favor. Never again. The coaches and parents were completely insane, and it was hard to keep a straight face sometimes because the thought would continually creep into my head, "You know they are 8, don't you? You are acting ridiculous and this game is pretty much meaningless in terms of your child's baseball skill development." Of course, I remained professional, and didn't say this, but one guy actually made me and my partner laugh. The team, who was routinely being rung up on called strikes on the outside corner had a coach who came out to warm up their pitcher and while doing so looked at me and said very sarcastically, "Hey Blue, can we maybe keep the strike zone here." He said this while drawing an invisible square around home plate. Then he said, "I can't believe you called the one the catcher dropped a strike. That should have been a ball because he didn't even catch it." I laughed and said, "First of all, you can't argue balls and strikes, but if you expect an 8 year old to catch every strike then you are not in touch with reality." If they weren't 8 I may have dumped him for demonstrating but I just couldn't take the guy seriously. These people really need to lighten up. This is the last favor I'm doing for a long while.