RWPatten

Getting to pick the brains of these guys is wonderfull. I have learned so many things. Combining this with rules book and casebook study, plus game experience has helped me exponentially. One of the best things is that you find guys of all levels of experience, who call all ages. They are willing to help evereyone, share stories and even let you know when they made a mistake. That's why I like this site.

I worked a 3 man crew this year for the 1st time as well. It was kind of strange.

I would try to talk to anyone I know that has been to pro school and/or is calling in the minors or majors. Try to get as much experience as possible at any level you can in CO- HS, NAIA, JUCO, DII or DIII. I don't think 29 is too old, but if calling pro ball is your aspiration, then now is the time. Each of the schools is around $3000 and a quite a committment in January and February. If this is what you want to do, get as many games as you can in the next few years. I f you can get the money and have the time, go for it. Just remember that very few make it to call in the minors and even fewer in the majors. Myself, I would like to call Big 12 baseball and football before I retire. I am 29 as well.

I had this one earlier this year in a HS playoff game: Runner on 1st, 1 out, I am BU. Batter hits pop fly, F4 loses it in the sun and it drops behind him. F4 throws to F6 for a force out. Pretty simple play. The crowd goes ballistic! "he didn't tag him! You called him out before he tagged him!" WTF! The same play happens later in the game, except F6 just plain misses it. Force at 2nd. Same result from the crowd. WTF again I actually asked my partner if I was missing something. He said "No, they're just morons."

NFHS Part 1 for Oklahoma. What kind of training are you talking about? That is a tough angle from A to see a LH check swing. But I have had it many times and called it as I saw it.

I was calling a 6A Freshmen game by myself, because my pertner cancelled at the last minute. I am behind the plate. Top of the 1st, no outs, runner on 3rd. 01 count.Catcher gets crossed up. He called a curveball away, gets a fastball down the pipe. Hits me in the top of the CP, knocking the wind out of me. I yell "time" as the ball is rolling down the 1st base line and the runner is coming home from 3rd. Whoops. The OC coach checks if I am ok and then asks "Does my runner have to go back to 3rd?" I said "Yea he does. I blew that one." He just smiled and said ok. Next pitch the kid hits it in the gap. Insult to injury.

Yeah it was fun. I am with you regarding when I appeal. I just didn't realize the strong feelings that this would bring out. I kicked a tag play on a rundown in the game before that. The team that was on the short end did not complain at all, even though it killed a rally. They came back and won. Forgive me that I did not put in detail all of what was said to the PU by the HC. I feel that I cannot disguise the expletives enough. There were too many expeltives and derogatory names. No one should have to deal with the kind of abuse that he had to put up with. It was a perfect example of why there is a shortage of umpires across the nation. The PU worked hard, hustled and always tried to be in the correct position. Should he have appealed to me, yes. Would the decision of ball/strike have been changed, no; because there was no swing. I just didn't see why not appealing a check swing was grounds for a coach to go apesh&%. The fact that the coach's daughter was crying and pleading for him to stop, wow. I am an assistant HS basketball coach. If our HC or any one of the assistants did what he did, we would be fired. Simple as that.

From position C, I almost certainly would have had an out. I don't understand the whole "out if the ball beats them" thing on a tag play. I think my response would have been: Me: Out! Jeter: He didn't tag me! Me: He got you! Jeter: No he didn't! I moved my hand away! Me: I saw you out. If I see a replay later that proves me wrong. Then I'll say I was wrong. Fantasy I know. Oh well, when is my next MS game?

What happens after both coaches for a team have been ejected? The more I think about it, the more I believe it was a HTBT. I never want to call a forfeit. I felt like in this situation, we had no choice. Both coaches for the team had been ejected. If what we did was wrong, fine. I'll accept responsibility. Please help me to understand what the correct call would be. This was still my first full year, so I am trying to learn as well.

Matt, I'm with you there too. I was just repeating what he said. I was going to go "no swing". It just didn't get to me. Oh well.

I am probably preaching to the choir, so forgive if I am. If you have not read "You're out and you're ugly too!" by Durwood Merrill, you should read it. It was funny and an easy read. I had forgotten that he was a fellow okie.

I agree. with you on the appeal. My partner said he was going to explain that my angle from position A on a LH batter was not ideal for an appeal. He never got to explain before the expletives started. It was a bad deal. Hot, humid and starting the "2:00" game at 4:00 made it a recipe for disaster. Walking toward the exit and listening to the coach call the umpire name after name and hearing the coaches daughter pleading with him to stop; it was sad. It was just an example of why school ball is more enjoyable to me.

NBC WS in Tulsa,OK. 13 year olds. 3 games to call. No time limit. 7 innings each. 100 Degrees. Yay! Game 1- Both coaches come out to argue calls in the 1st inning. Game goes smoothly the next 4 until the coaches get into across the field, yelling. I am UIC. We have a "meeting" at home plate. Needless to say, nothing else either coach. Game ends after 3 hours and 15 minutes. Game 2- Coach for the visitors decides to yell about everything from the 3rd base coaches box. When he argues with me about interference on a pickoff play, he also tells his runner to run over the SS next time. I tell him that I will throw him out if that comes out of his mouth again. That games ends after 2 1/2 hours. Game 3- Same visitors. Home team folks are great. Had them 4 times over the weekend and not one issue, gripe, anything. Home team hits an over the fence home run. I am BU. I see the runner touch 1st, 2nd. I also turn to see him touch 3rd, which he does. One of the visitors coaches, want the kids to appeal, saying the kid missed 3rd. They appeal, safe is the call. The coach blows up. He is ejected. 2 innings later, a LH batter check swings. I am in position A, since no runners on. The catchers appeals to me. I do nothing, waiting for the UIC to appeal. He says no, because the kid didn't swing. The other visiting coach goes ballistic! He starts yelling, gets ejected, and continues. He calls the UIC names and after leaving the field, tells the fans to "Stay on that fat ump's @$$!" UIC says "ballgame". We are leaving with the place in an uproar. The tournamnet director comes down and asks what happened. After listening to the UIC and one of the coaches, he asks the UIC what he decided. The UIC said "forfeit, I called the game". The tournament director says "fine with me". Needless to say, that was a crazy end to my 1st full year as an umpire. I am ready for year 2.:kissass:

To kind of illustrate my pet peeves: Things I want to tell , and sometimes do tell, coaches. I am a HS Basketball coach myself, so sometimes I feel it necessary: 1. Tell your players to take off the cloth necklaces. This is jewelry and needs to be removed. 2. Please stop having your batters cram right on the plate. I have watched so many kids cram right up on the plate, then they can't catch up to the pitch or can only foul it outside of 3rd. And you had better not gripe when I draw my own batters box. 3. There is no need to call pitches in 9 and under. If you have a kid that can throw that many different pitches or to that many spots in 9 and under, move him up. Calling pitches at this age just wastes time. 4. Stop and think before you say an umpire doesn't know the rules. It looks pretty embarassing after you vehemently argue a call, tell an umpire that he doesn't know the rules, then have to apologize an inning later when you find out the umpire was right and that he knew the rule.. 5. Stop appealing judgement calls, just because you don't agree with them. 6. The strike zone is not the exact same size for everyone. One kid is 6 feet tall, the next 4ft 9. Can't be the exact same size. ;)

I had no problem with the players or quality of play. I really enjoyed the players; they were fun and very sportsmanlike. The coaches just drove me batty. I don't know softball rules as well as I do baseball, but I know the major things. Maybe I am too leniant with the younger age groups on certain things. I just felt that many of the arguments they had, well, should wait until the girls are older and have learned about the issues. I really felt that the coaches griped too much about "gray" areas that maybe should not be worried about in 10 and under softball. I don't know if that is right or wrong, its just my opinion. I have nothing against softball umpires. You folks have some crazy rules that you have to know. Anyone who wishes to officiate ANY sport and wants to learn the rules and be good has my respect.