MObetterBlue

I'm late to the party, but... ALWAYS establish who the head coach is at the plate meeting and make sure they understand they will be the only ones you will be communicating with. Then you can give the HC some slack and don't put up with anything from the ACs. If you are good with the "That's up, out, down, in" call on a close pitch, you don't need to communicate anything else to the bench. If it was close, as was stated earlier, maybe it was close enough to grab a strike.

I've had the Honig's cage for about 4 years now and love it. I wear a 7 3/4 - 7 7/8 hat so I have a big melon and I've never had any issues with this mask. Be sure to add the Team Wendy pads. The 6" throat guard is also a great idea as mentioned above - @acpar72

From the opening video with Hunter Wendelstedt welcoming us to the clinic to the high level of excellence demonstrated by the instructors both in the classroom sessions and on field drills, this clinic far exceeded my expectations. My brain still hurts from all the great information that was shared - but it's a good hurt. Also a great opportunity to meet many other umpires who share our passion for umpiring. The whole experience was more than worth the time and money invested.

... put the tool ex-pitchers up there who don't think a pitcher has ever done anything to deceive a base runner.

There is very little LL in northern MO. Maybe in the rural areas but anywhere that kids can play tournament ball, they do and that means USSSA. Bigger fields, leading off, better competition. I'm a fan of LL as well but the old adage has to apply (at least before you get to regionals) in that you get what you pay for. I think the talent for LL will continue to dilute as long as other associations continue to grow.

He looked kind of dazed leaving the field. Glad to see he did the right thing and left the game to take care of himself.

So was he catching his balance or signaling "that's nothing" on the way down from his jump? If he's signaling, that's impressive!

I love the incredulous look on Mr. West's face when Pagan tried to keep going after the EJ. Duh, you pointed the bat... You gotta go.

Registered last night. Can't wait!

I'd be sliding inside more. I think some guys call it the Super Slot around here. I'd probably have my right knee lined up with the inside edge of the plate (right-handed batter). I had this situation a few weeks ago and had a foul wiz past my right ear. I've used it enough that I still have a pretty good grasp of the outside edge of the zone so IT HELPS! Much better than 2 weeks off. Heal up soon!

Yeah, but who's on first...?

Do you offer incentives for umpires bringing in other perspective umpires? For my association, you get a break on your dues if you bring in someone. I would also hit the high schools hard. My son started when he was 14. Over the past few years, he's brought 8-10 of his friends into the association. He's 18 now.

I'll never tell a catcher to scoot up. If I ever did, I'm sure there'd be a CI coming soon after and then it's going to be perceived as all on me. Otherwise, for the ones that like to frame EVERYTHING. "The more you move your glove after the catch, the less it's going to be a strike." For 12s and below, I'll be trying to get them to stick pitches and dig the low ones if possible. I make it a point to be talking with both teams catchers when I do this so there's no perception of bias. 13s and 14s I'll talk to some depending on the level. Two weeks ago I had a 13AAA catcher that was letting his glove recoil back beside his helmet on pitches in the upper right quadrant of the zone. I "ball" one of them and say, "stick those out if front of you and there's a lot better chance of that being a strike". Sure enough, next pitch is roughly the same and he sticks it out in front, "Strike!"

I understood everything when I was 20 years old...

Deal with it early. Sounds like this kid was getting away with way too much - and for probably way too long in the season because other umpires weren't dealing with it. The budding prima donna probably needs a lesson by way of an early exit from the game. I think we'd all try to keep a 12 year old in the game but if they're working this hard to leave, no sense in putting it off on the next guy. My line for when a catchers is holding the ball is usually "the longer you hold it there, the smaller the zone is gonna get."

(3) Call “Time,” or employ any other word or phrase or commit any act while the ball is alive and in play for the obvious purpose of trying to make the pitcher commit a balk. PENALTY: The offender shall be removed from the game and shall leave the playing field, and, if a balk is made, it shall be nullified.

That's just plain crazy. A great example of a coach and a parent setting a high standard of character and leadership for their children to follow. Maybe even more so with a head coach/manager that will let that kind of crazy go on around his team by an assistant. Yes, youth travel ball can be a zoo and the coaches are the big, dumb animals.

First, hopefully the ball was out of play and the manager called time before coming down the line. Second, as long as time were called, I would listen to what the coach has to say. Then I'd tell him what I had making it very clear that a slide was warranted whether there was intention or not. Know and use the coach's first name here because it should help de-escalate the situation. "Bob, we've got a collision at the plate because F3 failed to slide. The rules are clear that this is an automatic out." I'd give him a small chance to respond and if he persists in saying it's unintentional, I would say "Bob, the contact was initiated by F3 so we have an out. That's what the call is so let's get the game going again." Then I would begin to walk away. If he were to chase me down, I would automatically warn him as soon as he started saying anything about the play. "Bob, we're done here and we have to move on. If you continue to argue this call, you'll be removed from the game." If this works, we play ball. If not, he takes a walk. It's his choice. The manager has had a chance to say his piece and you've let him know what you had and that you're trying to keep the game going. No disrespect. Let's play ball. Other more experienced guys will probably have some better suggestions, but this has worked for me before in similar situations. Sometimes coaches just want to be heard and can be diffused. Most are still rats but being willing to listen for a few seconds may save some headaches. I'm pretty surprised that a warning wasn't issued by your partner. If a manager is going to get personal that quickly, I would think that would certainly be warranted at the very least.

Me to catcher: Each time I get hit, the strike zone gets a lot smaller. Me to coach: If I get hit again, the strike zone will be the size of a Cheerio.

I believed they were streamed online. I almost didn't get to do the 4:00 game because my 12:00 semi game got delayed by a brief storm. Luckily it got over about 2 minutes after we restarted (long story) and I was able to get my gear off and work 2nd base for the 4:00 game. This didn't allow much pre-game so working 4 man was both exhilarating and terrifying. I blew the first fly ball to center by not going out. Fortunately it was routine and I settled down after that and had a great time. Got to call a couple of close steal plays at second. http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/109084354/v757729683/columbia-warriors-vs-altitude-baseball-full-game I was on the dish for the 7:00 game. We missed a couple rotations but they were on routine plays again. I didn't get to 3rd with the 2 HRs. 1st one I didn't go, the 2nd, 3B didn't go in. Probably lots to critique from you guys that are much more experienced with 4 man mechanics. Plus the announcers were right behind the backstop and hearing them was tripping me out a little. I really had to focus to block them out. http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/109084354/v758751083/stliowa-st-louis-outlasts-capitals-1411

OK, so it's 13 U Majors. Baseball has been decent so far this weekend. we have 2 championship games tomorrow afternoon/evening. 4:00 and 7:00. We're running 3 man for each. I should have the dish for one. From what im being told, games are to be televised on MLB network. I'm not 100% about that.

This is soooo sad and unfortunately true. If I've got a crazy mom screaming at someone on the field, I'll tell the catcher and batter (as long as they aren't the ones being yelled at), "baseball moms are VICIOUS." They always laugh because they know it's true.

He didn't ask if I could see it so I only answered the question he asked. I also wouldn't offer an excuse here as I wasn't asked to defend a call. Are you saying that if F4 has the ball, he has to adjust so that R1 can slide into the base? If I let him get personal with me, which he clearly did, he will continue to get personal with other umpires. His saying we were making things up is equal to saying we are lying. Most of the time upon getting a warning, coaches will back off. Essentially we warn to help keep them in the game which is what I did here. He just chose to react poorly to the warning.

USSSA 13U AAA ball. Ruleset is ORB. Sorry I forgot that in the OP. It has been a point of emphasis for me this year to use the coach's names during the game. It's more respectful and certainly helps diffuse situations. I was pretty surprised in this situation that it did not. Especially since I made the malicious contact comment in a low, conversational tone so that it was just between the two of us. I wasn't trying to make a statement by being loud for his dugout or anything. I believe it was a F4 that actually took the throw. The ball beat the R1 to the bag but R1 actually did a nice job of sliding to the back side of the bag making it closer than it should have been.