Mudisfun

Remember that the goal of the umpire is to remove the act of obstruction and determine what the obstructed runner 'would' have gotten if no obstruction was present. In your scenarios, runners who are not obstructed are out, so their out remains. The runners who were obstructed are being awarded the proper awards.

What, no title IX when it comes to the officiating space and making manufacturers produce like kind products for women? My daughter umpires and although she is still a teen, she is already complaining about the lack of adjustability for her. I wish I had a good option for her.

Check uline.com - search for white gloves... they have a bunch of different offerings. I use a mainly white with black on the top of the hand gloves for both baseball and water polo. It does not normally get stupid cold where I live, so mine are light duty, but they have thicker/insulated gloves as well.

I know a youth org a few years back put out a restriction that only a line of black could be used and the warrior stuff was not allowed. And then the tournament moved on to TV and we saw a bunch of players with warrior pattern, so not really sure where the line became blurry. Now, I just make sure they don't have anything objectionable written in the paint! In fact, think if it like jewelry now... ok unless unsafe.

So the question really comes down to this... Hey Mr. Umpire who works for me and wants to move up the ladder to the next level. Why did you not call that a strike when the batter swung at the ball? What is wrong with you? or Hey Mr. Umpire who works for me and wants to move up the ladder to the next level. Why did you call that a strike when it was obviously not an attempt to strike the ball? What is wrong with you? The answer to this scenario is do what your assigner wants, especially if you are hoping to move up the ladder and advance. The player, although most likely just trying to be funny just found out that not everyone has a sense of humor, and honestly, if the call was not made, the other team manager is going to have an argument with the umpire... No one wins here.

Our HS unit only assigns HS and some pre-season HS games. Our membership fee is $185 if you signup by a specific date and then it goes up, I think to $205? If you refer a new member, you get a $25 credit (up to $50) off your membership cost. The fees covers NASO insurance which from what I recall runs roughly $100 per official. The rest of the funds go to paying our Secretary and IC which are paid positions, purchasing rule books (nice that FED charges us a fee just to download their books to officiate their games), case books and providing the all important CBUA patch we all have to wear. The fee helps fund scholar-shipping new officials who cannot afford the joining costs as well as funding our pizza party at the end of the season. Members are required to purchase a CIF logoed hat which runs roughly $20 in addition to only 4 approved shirts. Our assigning fees are $4 per slot, which of course comes out of our game fees after the fact. So all in all, if you cover 25 games, the cost to you as an umpire just to work HS games in our CIF association is roughly $300 without adding in transportation, uniform or equipment costs. Game fee's for varsity this season are $92. The pre-season games the association is just throwing on Arbiter for self-assign and there are no fees. Teams are paying roughly $80 for one umpire at the plate. Other than this sort of high school assigning, there is no other levels assigned by my HS unit (pony, ll, college or travel). Other assignors I work for, some charge assigning fees, some do not. I know several who not only are collecting $10-20 per game from the league, but then they double dip to the umpire and hit them for $3-5 per game. Regarding the OP regarding training. Our association does a 3 man, 2 man, 1 man and cage clinic which is included in the costs. For the 3 man clinic this year, all of our instructors were Ju-co/NAIA/D3/D2/D1 and Minor League umpires. Members are required to attend at least one clinic, or attend a couple of outside approved clinics such as the MLB 1 day camp. Many of us work some HS winter leagues which are assigned 1 man but quite often end up being 3 man. 3 for the cost of 1. Often our rating committee folks will come out to watch these games and do evals on the umpires. We have in the past ran these where we rotate 6-9 guys through one game for eval purposes. I also work HS Water Polo... our membership fee is $100 per season (so $200/yr for boys and girls) and $140 per season ($280) to the assignor. Game fees are $60/game for Jv/Frosh soph only and $70/game for Varsity only (non-tournament) games. If you have a Frosh/JV/Varsity (3 games) the fee is $140, if JV/Varsity only the fee is $105. Tournaments are $48/game for Frosh/JV and $51/game for varsity. Keep in mind games run roughly 45 minutes, I walk on the side of the pool and only move roughly 35 feet side to side as the ball goes up and down the pool. Every game has 2 officials barring some disaster. In addition to the membership/assigning fees, I had to buy a pair of white shoes ($20 at Ross), white pants (another $25) a whistle ($6.95) and a yellow/red card for another $4. Not exactly the same 'all in' amounts for baseball officiating. I agree with @JonnyCat that the fees are getting out of hand. It kills me that we are charged to join each year but then do not get new rule books except for every other year. It kills me that NFHS charges its officials a fee just to have digital access to the rules they expect us to utilize when officiating their games when this should 100% be free for us to access. I agree that the assignor should be paid by the schools he is doing the assigning for and not by the umpires. When you figure for a plate assignment I am walking onto the field wearing at least $750 worth of stuff, just to do the game, the additional fees grind my gears.

So as I told one of my staff who needed his hip replaced... are you younger today than you were yesterday? Well then that means you will heal just that much slower. Get the surgery. If you have to turn back games, then you turn back games. I would think an assignor would understand, and if they do not, you may not to work for them anyhow, Hope you recover quickly!

Welcome back! Sorry to hear about your medical woes, but at least you are working through them. The site here seems to be slower than in years past, but I also think that across the board there are just fewer officials, so less people becoming engaged. I know our HS unit is low compared to some prior years, and the Water Polo group I officiate with is also seeing low numbers. Hope you bounce back soon and nice to see you posting again.

In my game, what you described for the most part would protect the batter on a snap throw to 3rd in most situations. The only one I think you can get hung up on is if the ball gets away from F2. If the catcher has time to play go fetch, then your batter has time to get out of the way. In that scenario, depending on the timing and location of the ball, remaining like a statue in the box may not provide him protection. I am not going to penalize a batter who in reaction covers his face, or rotates to show his back in a protective move on a split second throw to 3rd. Squatting as a reaction as well would likely not result in any interference. Heck, if the catcher is throwing at the batters waist, it is not like that was a good throw to start with.

My daughter should have had tryouts last week, but they were rained out. Moved the event to this Saturday. First HS game 2/11. Pony/LL start up, first games 2/25. So Cal is typically baseball friendly.

Don't feel bad... I was just doing our HS study guide and found a bunch of typos which make the obvious correct answers 'wrong', at least logically. Always love it when an educational organization cannot proof read their own documents. And yes, I AM perfect. I never make mistrakes.

Barring the pitching issues which @beerguy55mentions, I can actually see this hurting a fielder. If the glue is tacky enough to hold a ball in which may have popped out, I can then see it becoming more difficult for the fielder to extract and get out of his hand on a snap throw back to a base or to the infield.

Gerry Davis

What's sad is their forum use to have some really good members who were engaged and willing to share; just like here.

So to add on to some of the comments: I officiate mainly in Orange County, CA. Most HS fields have no lights on them for baseball. We have wanted to add lights to our LL fields and the costs are well over $150k for the work, not including the engineering and permitting required. Adding lights to a program which typically loses money for schools, and which is going to require way more than $150k due to field size is most likely not going to happen. A few districts have designated a specific school as neutral and have installed lights at that one location, effectively making that one field the home team for all schools in the district. Is it ideal, no. But it was/is an effective solution to getting lights when the costs are do darn high. Other lighted fields: There are plenty of city parks which have lit fields, and occasionally the local HS's will have the opportunity to play there, so again, occasionally there will be evening or night games. Sadly, many school districts and their city rec departments do not have good relationships, so this option is often never even considered. This really needs to be looked at by the AD's and district people and inroads and relationships established. After all, the students are residents of the city, and the parks are there for the enjoyment of the tax payers who live there, including the students and their families. Seems like an easy fix... but then, City Government... Sharing umpires for the JV and then V games... with the exception of some very specific schools, all JV where I live is assigned solo. So even if we have the games stacked back to back, the same umpire(s) would not share in the game. Sadly, years ago I could come out at be the 2nd on a JV game with a newer umpire to help mentor them (not getting paid of course) but that ship sailed and we are no longer permitted to do this in the official HS season. Makes it fun transitioning from solo to 2 man when there is no mechanism to get that experience unless you work off season and either get lucky to be assigned 2 man games, or you jump on games with someone willing to split their solo game fee. Game fees... in California, game fees are contracted through the CBUA (CA Baseball Umpire Association) and CIF. The fee schedule is published, typically has increases every year built in and is what it is. We do not as a local umpire association negotiate anything with the schools. This year, we actually have implemented the mileage fees which are included in the contract due to fuel costs, which is new for us. For non HS, we all work for various assignors... and this is where we screw ourselves. We take games which pay less than other assignor groups, we take solo assignments and then call up a buddy to come play and most likely share the fee. 2 umpires for the price of 1! We have the power, but fail to use it to affect change.

Believe it or not, but this is even a designed play by some teams... draws the catcher to make a throw that they shouldn't. Even if F2 THOUGHT this was an uncaught 3rd strike, all he had to do was step on home for the force out since you said bases were loaded, or barring that just walk down the 3rd base line until he encountered R3 and tag him. At some point in time, the umpire would have to rectify the problem by calling R3 out if tagged, rule him safe if standing on 3rd, or let everyone know that was ball 3 when F2 tried to get the force or tag out. Batter get back here...

One thing that I have found true in most sports is that the game evolves over time. I started refereeing water polo this year, which I played in HS like 30 years ago, and although much of the games core is the same, much of the nuance has changed. When I played, it was a more physical game and things which we got away with would now be classified as misconduct and get you quickly on the bad side of the officials. Now? even doing 1/2 of what we use to do as BAU is a foul or a turn over. Time moves on and so must we. Baseball is no different. The rules change, what players and coaches emphasize in practice changes, and our mechanics and interps change based on these events. How many times do we tell a catcher to stick that borderline pitch when if you watch any current catching videos, all of the coaches are teaching the snap the glove into the zone method. You are right, some guys and gals get on the field and show they have little understanding of the ebb and flow. Some get on their field and they become a different person (applies to coaches, players and fans as well) and some just do not have the ability to change or evolve in how they perceive the game or understand a rule. Sadly, many of these people post, especially on the FB forums.

I'll see if they have a web site... if their fall ball is like ours, we only play on sundays in the off season.

Couple things: In pro ball, the chance of them doing something really stupid is slightly less then on an amateur field. Not too often you watch F5 air mail the ball back tot he pitcher in an MLB game. In pro ball, once a play is completed, if the ball was hit or touched dirt, it is being replaced. So time is called actually a ton in pro ball, you just may not notice it due to TV camera angles. I have not watched a pro fielder hold a glove on a prone runner for what seems like forever. The runner diving back into base doesn't ask for time typically at the pro level. Calling time just so F6 can throw the ball back to F1 20 feet away, or for F2 to step in front of the plate to give signals is not part of the game and should be discouraged. The more time is out, the less that can happen, good or bad. We are taught as umpires, at least at the non-pro level to try and limit the amount of time the ball is out of play. We do that by not calling time when time is not required.

Morning! I'm traveling to NC next week, landing in Charlotte on 11/7 and flying out 11/11. I'm staying in Charlotte but will be in Greensboro all Wednesday 11/9... So wondering if anyone has suggestions on what to do in the off hours in either of those location? Anyone working any games around those areas next week or looking for a partner who would rather umpire or watch a game than sit in some crappy hotel bar? I know it is the off season for most of us, but throwing it out anyhow. Thanks!

6/7, but I cheated on that one to Schwarber... I recall seeing that ejection.

Party pooper! From the 2022 Little League RIM: Rule 8.05: With a runner or runners on base, it is an illegal pitch - Majors/Minor League (a balk in Intermediate (50/70) Division/Junior/Senior League) when- 8.05 (e) - the pitcher makes a quick pitch: Umpires will judge a quick pitch as one delivered before the batter is reasonably set in the batters box. NOTE: Rule 8.05(e) is an illegal pitch (Rule 2.00)/ Little League (Major)/Minor League: The penalty for Rule 8.05(e), regardless of whether there are runners present or not, is a ball. This is an instance in which an illegal pitch, by Little League (Major)/Minor League definition, can occur without runners on base....

What's funny is how many people think that as a referee that I am in the pool as well. Let me tell you, the older I get, the better I was, and I did play polo in high school... but now, if I needed to get in the pool with them, I would just put a bell and a light on my head and become a buoy!

You did well, and thank you for working LL games, the kids really do appreciate it. My daughter and I worked a LL Majors game yesterday for fall ball and both coaches (and the kids) were appreciative. They have been calling games from the mound as they have not had umpires for most games; which is normal for fall in my area. The VTHC is a jack ass and thank you for showing him the way to the parking lot. Working in pairs is best, but not always a saving grace. My son is working HS Varsity Water Polo as a referee. HIs partner is one of the senior guys in the group, always squawking at the meetings and inflating how much experience he has, big gaming his levels, etc... we all know this guy. Anyhow, my son red cards (ejects) the HC for one of the teams who also happens to be hosting this tournament. The HC got personal with my kid, so he punched his ticket. What did his partner do? Nothing. Never left his side of the pool or in any way was interested in what occurred. This is not part of the process. Like baseball, the non-ejecting official should be heading to the coach, intervening and helping the coach find the door. The coach prior to leaving tried to engage further with my kid, who thankfully has been exposed to game management and knew to just get the coach to leave and not engage with him further. The other official was promptly blocked after the tournament; why work with someone who is not going to have your back? Bottom line, just having a partner does not make it all better. If your partner is a bump on a log, you are just as screwed.

Had a play where F6 stepped on 2nd for out #1 and continued across the bag in pretty much a direct line to 1st. R1 coming in, slid feet first, buttock on the ground, etc... totally legal. Made contact with the fielder and that broke up the play. Nothing malicious, all good. DHC comes out and wants me to give him FPSR since everyone knows in Fed that the runner cannot make contact with the fielder. Obviously I didn't let him Jedi mind trick me into giving him the double play... said basically the same as @maven pointed out. If your fielder decides to put himself between the runner and the bag, that is on him and barring something overt on the part of R1, the attempt to reach 2nd is/was legal.