JonnyCat

I'm assuming you are asking about the classroom exams. Tests are multiple choice on the rules. Typically, I want to say, that the tests were about 20-30 questions each time. The final was cumulative and as I recall that one was about 100 questions. For me, they weren't hard as I had a really good grasp on the rules going in. I think my final grade was around 92%. I got a few 100%, and I only scored below 90% a handful of times. I can look at my notes from school and give you more detailed information. To be perfectly honest, I hardly ever studied for any of the tests, I wasn't looking for a job. I would look at my notes the night before and I'd go over some things with my roommate. The tests don't try and trip you up. They are pretty straight forward on the rules. The classroom instruction is great and there is plenty of time to study for the exams. Depending on how strong you are with the rules going in, you only need to spend an hour or two each night reviewing the material. Some guys had study groups. I actually looked forward to the exams to test my knowledge. With that being said, I had no pressure because I was there solely for the experience. Don't get me wrong, I worked hard everyday in the classroom and the field. I took it very seriously, but I also had nothing to lose. Hope that helps, and I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

I'm assuming that you are asking as to why so many amatuer umpires calling youth ball have such tight strike zones. I see it in all levels up to and including HS ball. One of my many concerns with training umpires is making sure they call a proper zone in accordance with the level they are umpiring at. In my opinion, the reason for many amatuer umpires tight strike zone are two fold. One. Most peoples frame of reference is what they have grown up with, i.e watching pro baseball most of their lives. Many, many people apply what they see on TV to youth baseball, not just on the umpire side, but when coaching, as well. I see it all the time, they think what they have seen on the professional level is how the game is supposed to be played, either consciously or subconsciously. How many times have you heard people get mad at rule modifications for youth games (such as coach pitch) because it's not "real baseball?" Second, and more applicable, is the fundamental lack of training and an understanding of a proper zone for the level of play. Many umpires are not propperly trained, don't understand how the zone should be called, are often not set in the slot, and/or don't track pitches properly. It's easy to call a tight zone when you are not tracking the pitches properly. Pitches down the middle, ones that Grandma in the stands can call, are easy. When you're not seeing or tracking pitches properly, the ones in the periphery of the zone are harder to call. Lack of training and poor mechanics often lead to a tight and inconsistent zone. There are other factors, but in my experience, these are the two primary factors.

For the most part no, they cannot be in the game at the same time. There are exceptions due to injury or ejection, but those are not common.

Thank you Senor Azul. I really enjoy your contributions to this site! Yes, that is the same Mike Mussina. He is still listed as a member of the LL BOD and Rules Committee. I believe he was born in Williamsport PA, and still lives nearby.

Senor Azul. For some reason they changed the wording and didn't mention it in the front of the rule book. Normally, LL will announce significant changes in the front section of the rule book, but it is not in the 2019 edition on page 4 under "Significant Changes for 2019." Not sure if they just missed it, or if they did not think it was significant. I teach LL rules and mechanics at our District and am friendly with many of the Western Region instructors, and the WR UIC, so I'm usually on top of the rule changes. One of my colleagues helps teach a rules class at Western Region. He is the one that alerted me to the catch and carry rule change. I haven't seen any major announcement from LL regarding this change. I'll keep looking though, and report any findings.

It's not often someone can get one up on Senor Azul's library! His is very extensive!

This has changed for 2019. There is no more catch and carry. The wording for 5.10(f), page 93 in the 2019 rule book reads as follows: 5.10 - The ball becomes dead when an umpire calls “Time.” The Umpire-in-Chief shall call “Time” – (f) when a fielder, after catching a fly ball, falls into a stand, or falls across ropes into a crowd when spectators are on the field, or other dead-ball area. As pertains to runners, the provisions of 7.04(b) shall prevail. If a fielder, after making a catch steps into a dead-ball area, the ball is dead; In addition, the 2019 RIM reads as follows: (f) when a fielder, after catching a fly ball, falls into a stand, or falls across ropes into a crowd when spectators are on the field, or other dead-ball area. As pertains to runners, the provisions of 7.04(b) shall prevail. If a fielder, after making a catch steps into a dead-ball area, the ball is dead and any runners on base will be awarded one base from their location at the time of the pitch.

Let me get this correct. You're not calling balls 1-2 inches off the plate in LL minors strikes? You're giving the plate and nothing else? Your up and down sounds fine, but in/out is way too tight, especially for 8-10's. If so, that is not a proper strike zone for LL minors, or even LL as a whole. Western Region umpire clinics, of which I have instructed at and attended many, tell umpires that you should be calling pitches that are 1-2 balls off the plate outside, and 1 ball off the plate inside, strikes. This is not just for LL, but should be applied to all 8-10 levels, if not higher. You need to open up your zone and get the kids swinging. They are not MLB hitters, and they certainly are not MLB pitchers. They are 8-10 years old for gosh sakes. Crowd was probably getting chippy because you were too tight for this level. Even MiLB umpire school teaches a generous zone. JMHO

All organizations need to accept responsibility for player safety and not put it on umpires. You're absolutely right, what makes me qualified to be responsible for player safety? Each organization needs to have insurance for that as part of doing business. Another reason in the long list of why there is a shortage of officials.

LL just wants to avoid a lawsuit and uses the umpires as a line of defense. That's fine if they want to do that, I just take exception to the notion that as an umpire LL wants me to be responsible for equipment safety and if I miss something that's not even my fault, I could be held liable. I don't mind checking the gear and using common sense, but I don't like the threat of a lawsuit for something that is likely beyond my control. In other words, if someone is going to sue me because I supposedly didn't properly check a piece of equipment, whats to prevent them from suing me even if I did? They could still say I somehow missed something such as a crack, etc. I wouldn't mind if LL would say: "we want our umpires to check gear for safety reasons, but ultimately LL is responsible for player safety." Yeah that sounds great, I'll umpire your game for free, but feel free to sue me as I am somehow responsible for every players safety. Total BS. LL keeps this crap up, my long time tenure with LL will be coming to a close. As others have said, what makes me qualified to be the judge of equipment safety? I'm supposed to be the expert on bats, helmets, catchers gear, etc? LL needs to accept responsibility for their program and not use umpires as pawns. This will all be a moot point soon as the manufacturers will eventually comply (as many have already done) and it will be a non-issue. Then LL will probably find something else to annoy me with!

Exactly! It's the same thing when we have to check equipment at LL games. The liability now gets put on us plain and simple. Doesn't have anything to do with player "safety." Why is LL the only organization that requires it's umpires to check gear? Are other organizations unable to secure liability insurance because they don't check gear? Is LL more safe because of equipment checks? It's funny, because when I do HS or travel-ball, all I see is bats exploding, helmets shattering, and maimed and dead bodies at every game! Oh the horror of not checking gear in order to keep little Billy safe.

I enjoy umping LL a whole lot more since I decided that as a volunteer I was going to ignore the stupid crap LL constantly hands down. I don't give a rats a$$ about c-flaps in LL. Why do I want to toss a helmet with an enhanced safety feature, as long as it's not attached in some unsafe or half a$$ed way? If it has a c-flap that's properly attached, I'm fine with it. I don't need a letter and I'm smart enough to know if a c-flap is properly installed or not. Honestly, can't anyone make their own decisions anymore? Why does the use of a c-flap only seem to matter in LL and not any other organization that I'm aware of? What, a c-flap offers extra protection in HS or MLB, but somehow is mysteriously dangerous in LL? It's just another way for LL to deflect liability away from them. JMHO.

Especially if they're the losing team! BTW, I like how you post videos and invite discussion. I find it useful and helpful. Please keep it up!

Sorry Charlie? As usual, you're being obstinate trying to twist things around to suit your narrative. Regardless of the actions of their subordinates, the boss or owner is always 100% RESPONSIBLE for the actions and behaviors of their employees. I never said that the HC has complete control over what their assitants do or say, however, they are still responsible for their actions on the field. Did I not make it clear in my previous post? I didn't say they had control over them, but rather responsibility for their actions. If an employee makes a mistake at work, does the boss or owner give them a free pass because they're not "mind controlled robots?" Perhaps you can try that approach with your customers when you are the owner of a company and see how long you stay in business. Customer: "Your employee ruined my order and I would like a refund or you to fix it." Owner: "Sorry, not my problem because all my employees are not remote controlled robots and I'm not responsible. Would you like to pay for your order again and we'll see what happens?" Said no one ever. (Yes, sarcasm.)

I always try to hand the baseballs to the manager or an assistant or even sometimes a player. However, sometimes the coaches are busy and not paying attention and I drop the baseballs next to the dugout opening, but I never roll them accross the infield. I'm not going to actively seek out the coaches to give the back the baseballs. Most of the time they are probably mad at me anyway! That being said, I don't have a huge issue with what the umpire did here, nor do I find it disrespectful. Coaches probably don't even notice. Not something I would do or teach, but I see many guys do it. JMO.

Doesn't matter if he has "Magical Control" over his assistants. Just like the owner of a company, the HC is in fact responsible for the actions and behaviors of his employees and players. He is responsible for hiring the right assistants that should exhibit restraint and exhibit the proper behavior. Too many HC's don't hire assitants that promote the NFHS Mission Statement, as well as, the Coaches Code of Ethics. I have no problem with the HC getting restricted or dumped for the actions of his employees. He hired them, he is responsible for their behavior. Both the Mission Statement and the Code of Ethics can be found in the appendix section of any NFHS rulebook. HC's are responsible for their players, coaches, and parents to be aware and understand the Mission Statement and the Code of Ethics. Sadly most HC's do not convey that information, nor do they uphold the standards of behavior as expected by the NFHS. Just add it to the list of many reasons why there is a shortage of sports officials.

That is the exception rather than the norm. But for those of us that are older with careers and established lifestyles, it's not really an option. I suspect the OP is in the same boat. The OP wanted to make a little extra money umpiring HS ball, but is finding out the pay does not work out in his situation.

It is still not a lot of money for the work in my case, it's obviously different for others. But in my case, my regular job pays WAY more than umpiring. As I said in my post, it's a hobby for me. And it is not just for 2 hours of work, at least not in my case. Because of work, in the case of a HS game that usually starts at 3:00pm, I need to leave my job at around 1pm, go home and shower, grab my other truck and head to the game. After working the game, I'll hit 5:00pm traffic and usually not get home until 6:00pm. I realize that is not the norm for everyone, but for me, it's usually a 5 hour commitment, and sometimes more depending on where the game is located in our county. So yes, when I'm leaving a $200,000.00 remodel/room addition, it's a lousy $78.00. I understand each situation is different, but I was responding to the OP with my experience. As to your points 1 and 2. I've done both, even attending pro school. It's not a matter of getting games, I could be umpiring full time. It's just that it doesn't pay enough to pay the bills here in Southern California. Again, might be different in other areas, and I can't speak for everyone. Since I work full time and like my wife and kids, I'm not about to spend every weekend at tournaments. Fine if that is what you want to do, I have no issue with that, but it's still not a lot of money. It would be almost impossible to pay most mortgages with just income from umpiring. Hard to even pay rent on that kind of money. It's a great hobby and I like it, but as far as making money, not usually going to happen. Any way you do the math, It's only about $20.00 per hour gross pay on average. Good in some areas, not in So Cal with the high cost of living. If you're young and can work a ton of games, it might seem like a lot of money is to be made on the amatuer umpiring circuit. But if you're old and crusty like me and have mortgages, car payments, kids in college, etc. Can't do it with just umpring.

I used to do more games each year, but I've scaled back the past couple of years. I've always really just done it as a hobby, mostly because I enjoy it and working with my fellow umps. I have other hobbies that take some of my time, so I just don't spend all my free time officiating. If the pay was better, I might work more games. For me, working a lot of games makes no sense financially. I found myself neglecting my business in order to leave early for a mid-week HS game that pays a lousy $78.00. I was just leaving too much money on the table to justify working so many HS games. I completely understand why you got out of it, especially if you're trying to earn some extra money. There are much easier ways to earn extra cash. Even if I was retired, I just couldn't fathom working as many games per year as some of my colleagues do.

Must have been an awfully fast runner. In order to stay at 3rd base, the runner would have needed to acquire 3rd base prior to the pitcher starting his pitching motion. Sounds like this did not happen. Runner needs to return and umpire probably needs some more training.

You can't really make any money with umpiring, the pay is for crap, but not only that, the hours you can work are limited. In my area, you can basically only get one game per day during the week. More on Saturdays, but even Sundays are limited unless you're working some tournaments. The drawback to tournaments are the usually lower rate per game. Even if you do 10-12 games in a weekend, the pay still sucks for the hours you have to spend. I've done the math many different ways and it always comes out to about $20.00 +/- per hour gross pay. That would be fine if you could count on 40-50 hours per week, but still it's terrible, particularly in my area where the cost of living is so high. Remember, that's gross pay. All your expenses come out of those game fees. It can be an okay supplement to your regular job or if you're collecting some sort of retirement. But that also is dependent on the area you live in. In So Cal, you can work a ton of games each year, but that is not feasible in other parts of the country. Since I work full time and have a family, I'm not interested in working all weekend at tournaments. For me, the pay is basically extra beer money. For many in my HS association, it's a supplement to their retirement income. Still to make it worthwhile, you need to be working 300-400 games per year, which is a sh!t ton of games. Even if you did that many games as your full time job, it's still poverty in many areas of the country. I know a number of guys that umpire or officiate full time as their main source of income, and I can tell you they "ain't" making any money, and it shows. Even minor league guys start out at about $1900.00 per month, and that is working nearly everyday each month during the relatively short season. Even if you could do it on that level for 12 months out of the year, the pay is still terrible, barely enough to pay rent. I think best way to make a little extra pocket change umpiring is to be retired with a pension. That way you have free time to umpire more games during the year that will increase your gross earnings. I had an old boss once tell me that there is a difference between earning a living and making money. You're not really doing either one umpiring baseball. Most of us do it for the love of it and maybe a little extra change each month. But forget about ever making money as an amateur umpire.

If I was going to officiate another sport, it would definitely be swimming. My youngest son swam for 2 years in HS, so I saw first hand how it was. It's very low stress, pays better than baseball (what doesn't?), and no grief from anyone. All you basically do is start the races, and make sure no one leaves early. I only saw a few DQ's in 2 years. I think the biggest difference in swimming and other "timed" sports, is that you are competing against the clock, and the times don't lie and cannot be manipulated. Everyone knew who the fastest swimmers were. Either your times were good or they weren't. Also, swimmers can compete in up to 4 races per meet, so everyone gets more than enough swim time. No riding the pine for anybody. I never saw anything but great sportsmanship among the swimmers and parents. It really exemplified what I think HS sports should be. As a side note, my son played 4 seasons of water polo, 2 seasons of baseball, and 2 seasons of swimming in HS. He gave up baseball for swimming his Jr and Sr years and wishes he would have just swam all 4 years and didn't mess with baseball. Had a much better experience in the water.

We won't have to rule on anything, by then, we'll have Robo-umps! Kidding aside, looks okay to me from this vantage point. Can't tell if the ball is in front. Am I missing something?

I guess I have about a hundred years to get used to it!

Honestly, we never ran a drill with this particular situation, but we did run drills where you had to adjust to the fielder and ball. They were big on footwork and being able to move to a position where you could square up to the fielder and then drop step either left or right depending on where the fielder threw the ball. They said sometimes you just have to get out of the way of the ball or fielder and adjust to the situation. UTA felt that starting positioning was critical in getting your proper angles to make the call in different situations. They didn't want to give up what they felt was the optimum starting position. One of their big principles was that the 2 man system has its limitations, but they felt their methodology put you in the best positioning for the majority of the plays that will happen in any given baseball game. That was the rational behind their teachings. They felt that playing deep in this situation would put you at a disadvantage for many of the plays that commonly occur with the infield in.In what ever they taught, they felt that their positioning was the most advantageous for the 2 man system. Give up a little bit instead of a lot. I hope that makes sense. Although in this situation, I do practice what UTA teaches, but I'm not 100% sold on this positioning. It does feel uncomfortable at times, but even with that, I still prefer it over deep B or C.