UmpCast_Wes

I wanted to let everyone know that UmpCast is going to be starting off season two on February 10, 2019 at 8:00 PM Central Time on Facebook Live! Join us as we talk about our pre-season preparations, and let us know how you are preparing for the upcoming season. We hope to see you there!

Jason Blackburn will be joining UmpCast this Sunday (Aug. 26) to talk about the Mid-American Umpire Clinic. Jason runs the Mid-American Umpire Clinic and posts on Umpire-Empire as @MidAmUmp. If you've ever wanted more information on the clinic, this will be a good episode to tune in and listen to. We will be broadcasting live on Sunday, August 26 at 8:00 PM Central Time on Facebook Live. You can find our Facebook page HERE.

The topic on UmpCast for our next episode is going to be ejections. We will be focusing on when you should eject, and what to do after you have ejected someone. If you can make it, please join us on Sunday, July 1st at 8:00 PM Central Time on Facebook to join in on the discussion and share your ejection stories with us! We've been looking forward to this episode for a while now and hope you will be able to make it!

Try to give the count before the pitch when the scoreboard is wrong. You may have to do that for a pitch or two until they correct it. If the person controlling the board is behind you, hold up the count above your head where they can see it. As to the play itself, the ball is live and the batter hasn't given up by leaving the dirt circle. I think standing off to the side like you did and waiting is the best thing to do here. Eventually someone is going to take the hint that something isn't right. Hopefully a coach asks "What's the count?" and you can answer "That was strike three." Eventually though, and I caution against this unless it's taken FAR too long, I would call the batter out for failing to attempt to reach first base. I had a play last year where a balk was called and the ball was put in play. F3 came close to touching 1B with the ball but never did, and the batter didn't run. My partner never signaled an out, and I stood a few feet up the first base line with my mask off. No one was moving, and I eventually asked him if he called an out. He said no. That was enough to make a play happen so we could get an outcome and move the game along.

We just found out today that UmpCast was approved to be listed on Spotify! You can now download all of our episodes there, in addition to iTunes, Google Play, Podbean, and our website.

No. After the pitcher has engaged the rubber he has to step to a base before he throws. If he steps off and throws he would be fine (although it would probably be difficult to do without falling over).

From the sound of things it seems like everyone in the place thought you couldn't see the play. Even though you did, I think it would have been a good idea to get together before a call was made. It never hurts to get their input for something like that anyway. Who knows what you may have missed as you fell. That's an instance where I can definitely see a manager getting himself thrown out when you refuse to get help. The call was correct, and now you know how to better "sell" the call next time so maybe there are fewer ejections.

Good point. I had a manager come out last weekend and I was certain he was going to argue that the HBP I had just called should have been a foul ball. Instead he asked me to get help on a check swing.

I am in agreement with @noumpere that it should have been fixed at the plate meeting. Errors like this are why it is so important for us as umpires to actually check the lineups prior to the game, not simply glance at them, fold them up, and then put them away. Most people are anxious to get the game started, and want to cover ground rules as soon as the plate umpire has the lineup cards in his hand. It's worth the extra one minute to check the lineups thoroughly for duplicate names/numbers etc. However, it should have been an easy fix even though it was found after the game had started. #25 was listed twice in the lineup but was playing 2B and was the first batter. That should have meant #44 took his place in the lineup where the pitcher was listed. Neither player should have been ineligible for that error. That said, umpires are human and make mistakes too. Hopefully they looked up the correct ruling when they got back home after the game so they won't make the same mistake twice.

Our upcoming discussion topic on UmpCast for this week is going to be game management. While it's always an important part of officiating, it's an even bigger part of the game when we get to the end of the season and enter playoff time. While the term "game management" can be pretty broad, what sorts of techniques do you use as it relates to trying to de-escalate a discussion with a manager? If we like your answer, we may use it on the show! Join us Sunday, June 24, at 8:00 PM Central Time on Facebook as we discuss this and other game management techniques.

Okay I'll do the shameless plug thing here. UmpCast did an episode over common baseball rules myths in Episode 6. We cover the "base the runner is going to plus one" myth as well as several others. I have to say it's been one of our more popular episodes, and we've been considering doing another episode about rules myths in the future.

I agree with @Gfoley4 on this. It sounds like what you are thinking of is the criteria for a catch from a batted ball. In order for a tag to result in an out, the fielder's release of the ball immediately after the tag must be an intentional, voluntary release. If it is knocked out of the glove by the offensive player (barring any intentional attempt to dislodge the ball), then the runner is safe.

Thank you everyone for your kind words. We are on Podbean, Google Play for Android, and iTunes. You can also listen via our website or on Facebook (links are in my signature). I've seen a few players that have single episodes available, but we directly upload to the places that I listed.

With virtually every tournament game working on a time limit, at some point you almost have to say something as the umpire. I had a similar situation where I just said, "The ball is still live." I wasn't coaching anyone specifically. No one was moving and we needed a play to be made on the BR.

There's nothing against a batter changing his bat during a plate appearance, even if there is nothing wrong with the bat he is using.