Kevin_K

There's a 4th category @MadMax. (In the best David Attenborough voiceover)Perhaps the most pernicious of all umpires is the one who employs the MSU approach. There is no limit to age or or experience level for this most unpredictable of baseball arbiters. Each situation that may challenge the MSU umpire's comfort level is met with an astounding ability to confabulate edicts that have no connection to any rule set, yet satisfy the pressing need to engage in a courtship display with coaches where they are the dominant force that keeps the five game schedule on time for the true king of the jungle - the all powerful tournament director.

Nike Air Max 270 golf shoe They were on sale a couple of years ago 2 for 1

NFHS allows you to put him on the bench Max! If he is one of those ass hats who thinks his own rise to the show allows him to act like a two year old on a sugar high, the restriction will likely be far worse because he can no longer become the center of attention for all to see. Only the other rats in the dugout will be the beneficiaries of his antics. As an added bonus, the first time he tries to come out you get a a second opportunity to call him out as a tool by halting any further peacocking in public view

Courtesy of everyone's favorite gear hound and all around great influence here @MadMax, @Richvee and I had the chance to meet up with @cgroom and his crew before last night's Frontier League game here in NJ. The guys could not have been nicer and we had a great conversation about a whole bunch of things . Their work on the field was a joy to watch as it was a demonstration of how the three man system is actually supposed to work. There may have been one slip up, but nothing like I have seen recently, like when I as PU had to cover 2B because U1 was acting like a ticket holder as the BR was steaming around 1B as the ball and U3 (that being Richvee) were in left field. Many thanks to both Max and Caleb for putting us in contact with each other and hopefully we will be able to see them or anyone else on this forum if they come through Northern NJ for their assignents

I rarely call time to clean the plate. Most of the games I work are on HS varsity and JUCO/D3 with partners who are generally attentive and the majority of those games are played on turf so there's no real need to clean the plate in many instances. I have to admit that it irks me to see the reflexive timeout every time a partner cleans the plate. I get that it's no big deal, but I am of the philosophy of keeping the ball in play as much as possible. It's akin to not calling time to throw - toss really - the ball from F6 to F1 after a ball goes to the outfield. I lose no sleep over this and only mention it if my partner asks me for feedback after the game.

I wrote this about 6 weeks ago for catharsis. I wasn't sure about posting it, but what the heck. I've been at this umpiring thing for 25 years. I have seen a lot of baseball and a lot of partners. Yesterday was a whole new experience for me. Yesterday (Friday) actually started out on Thursday when I texted a new-to-me partner with my introduction, when I would be arriving and "Bring black!" because I like wearing black. About five hours later I received a message from my partner referencing his military career as a captain in the US Navy and that he only takes orders from superior officers, his assignors, and his wife. He has worked with 250+ partners and I was only the third person who presumed to be above his station because I was assigned as the plate umpire in a children's baseball game. When we met prior to the game I mentioned that my text was not intended to be an order as a way to break the tension, which was followed up with him advising my that he had been to 3 umpire schools, umpired in the Armed Service League, and he worked with 250+ partners (again). He said he never really understood the whole hand signaling thing, so we went through the typical pregame discussion about coverages, rotations, and hand signals. During the game he did things that suggested that he really didn't have a good understanding of proper positioning, communication, or, for that matter, how high school baseball was played on the field and off the field. As an example, when the bases were loaded and the infield was in with less than two outs, he was in on the outfield grass Little League C. A couple of times during the game I offered a suggestion and was summarily ignored. In about the 5th inning he said that the home team was acting unsportsmanlike because they would occasionally make some noise as F1 was delivering a pitch. If it was that bad, I said, I would have put an end to it. I told him that I didn't think it warranted any intervention and he once again referenced his credentials and how I had nerve to presume that I knew better than he did. (in retrospect, if he thought it so egregious he should have squashed it) The game went into the 9th tied up at 2-2. The visiting team got a couple of runners on and became loud, especially since their JV team joined them (their game had ended already). They began to do things to distract F1 as he would deliver a pitch and I told them to knock it off. Visiting team scores five in the top of the ninth. Between the top and the bottom halves of the inning my partner came in to tell me I should have done something sooner. Home team goes quietly in the bottom half. Game over. As I am handing baseballs back to HTHC and shaking the hand of VTHC, my partner approaches VTHC and advises him that he will be sending a report to the state organization about the other team's behavior. The coach is confused and says there is no need to do that and my partner insists that there is. As we begin to exit the field, my partner tells me that I was played by the HT and I should be embarrassed. He tells me that he will be reporting me to the state as well and I stop walking with him. I then tell him to get my name correct and I spell it out for him. As I walk to my car I have a lovely conversation with one of the parents for the home team about the game, his son, and how beautiful a day it was. When we are at our cars I said that he seemed to take offense very easily and that for someone who went to 3 umpire schools he was out of position a lot, didn't communicate at all, and seemed entirely overmatched in a midlevel HS game. He then asked me if I wanted to settle this like men. I asked him if he was challenging me to a fight. He asked me the same question and reiterated that he would be sending a report to the state. I told him to go ahead and to make sure he sent me a copy as well. He said he wouldn't, I called him a punk, and he drove off. Anyone who knows me will probably tell you that I am fairly low key and there isn't much that gets me all revved up. This guy did it because he was, as my eldest son would say, aggressively stupid. Not only that, he was not good as an umpire. He struck me as the kind of guy who has to hold the upper hand in every relationship he has. I spoke to my assignor about the pregame text, the in game performance, and the post game antics. Apparently this is not the first time this has happened. This person is only the second person I have asked to never work with again. All of my umpire friends will know what to expect should this name appear on their schedules. Thanks for the therapy!

I am required to bring a time piece on the field with me when I officiate collegiate ball since none of the fields I work have operating clocks when these games are played. In fact, I carry two. I have the timer for pitch clock violations and a stopwatch for between innings and pitching changes.

Not in FED! 2025 NFHS Interp: SITUATION 16: With the bases empty, B1 swings and misses strike three which rebounds uncaught off the catcher. The catcher secures the baseball and throws to first from a small distance in front of home plate. B1, in the last 30 feet to first base, is running out of the running lane on (a) the foul side of the running lane, or (b) the fair side of the running lane. RULING: In (a), this is no violation of the running lane rule and the play will be how it plays out. In (b), this is a violation of the running lane rule and B1 will be declared out for interference at the moment the catcher throws to first base. (8-4-1g)

I have had worked several games with @Richvee this year and probably close to a hundred with him in total. He and I are good friends and I enjoy working with him, poking fun at each other, and sometimes getting dinner after games. He and I have had the "Is this worth it?" conversation this year and I am beginning to think there is merit in considering hanging 'em up, especially for those 9-10 hour DH days for JUCO. Rich is a very good umpire who is technically sound and has good judgment on the field (I did say we were friends, so off the field judgment may be suspect). I think I do a pretty good job on the field as well and I am seeing a lot more of the stink eye, the histrionics from pitchers, and catchers shrugging when the dugout asks about location. I also officiate volleyball and I have issued more yellow cards this year than in several seasons combined. Perhaps the solution lies with the tools at our disposal that maybe we need to use more often. Rich and I were working a bad JUCO DH when there was an unnecessarily hard tag at 3B from a team that had been getting its ass handed to them all day and of course the runner had to come up shoving F5. I got in both of their faces and used language I probably shouldn't have but my aggressiveness immediately got their attention and the situation was diffused. I also had to issue my first official ball/strike warning this year to a team losing by 15 runs in the third inning. Truth told, I kind of relish doing those things sometimes. Like @SH0102 just mentioned and @BigUmpire used to say frequently, shooting one monkey usually gets the other to fall in line. Maybe that approach will work. Maybe not, but at least you may have the chance to work on your ejection mechanics. And fans aren't worth anything except the check they write for teams to pay our game fees. I treat them like red-headed step children (sorry gingers). Keep at it Rich. You enjoy this too much to let the rats take it away from you.

Yup. Its those weekly, or bi-monthly, or monthly videos that are directed at the D1 guys. One group I work for also sends out weekly "tests" that are also directed primarily at games played in facilities with pitch clocks and video review. While I get the focus on upper levels, there a lot more games and umpires not at that level. Maybe some attention there would be productive.

My NFHS 2025-26 Umpire Manual says something different about the two man crew with runners on base Page 73 - Crew of Two: Runners on Base

Jersey boy Phil Cuzzi is calling it quits. His story on the field and off the field is really inspiring. From losing his spot in the MLB to regaining it and the work he does in the memory of a HS classmate, Phil is a one of a kind guy who never forgot where he came from. Phil Cuzzi

I could put the same ad out today for my neck of the woods Enough of this arctic nonsense. Today's high 14 was at dawn and it got colder from there and the zephyr like winds lapped at my face from the NW at 45mph. At this rate we may have baseball starting in July. Maybe.

Disclaimer: I am not an accountant nor have I played one on TV. We independent contractors also need to be aware that just because we did not receive a 1099 NEC does not mean it was not reported to the IRS. If you look at your transcript at he IRS website there may be 1099s from payers who did not send them to us. Ultimately, each tax payer is responsible for their own reporting of income. The 1099s are a courtesy and if a tax payer is not reporting taxable income they are subject to the whatever the law proscribes.