ilyazhito

I hope that happens, and that Umpire School also starts teaching 3-man. This would encourage college to universally go 3-man, and maybe trickle down to high school as well.

How do I get in touch with him? I've emailed the address on the USA Baseball website, have yet to here back from anyone.

I think Umpire in Chief is trying to say that if the number of minor league baseball teams is reduced, fewer umpires might be needed. This would mean that either fewer people get hired out of umpire school, or more people currently in the minors will get released.

Crystal Hogan got hired by Bobby Dibler to officiate men's college basketball in the Pac-12/West Coast Conference/Mountain West/WAC/Big Sky consortium. She won't be the last woman working men's basketball either.

He meant "every time other than the first". I'm calling a strike on every pitch over the plate that would be in a normal strike zone. Cut that crap out!

That would make sense, because it would allow the umpires on the site to answer the guest's questions accurately.

This doesn't make sense. The point of P/DH is to allow the pitcher to simulatenously occupy 2 positions, pitcher and DH. If one position is replaced, the P/DH remains in the other positions. Further substitutes for the replaced position (a P/DH remaining as DH, but replaced as a pitcher) can replace the original replacement (pitcher) in this example, while allowing the former P/DH to remain in his other role. If a P/DH gets replaced by a P/DH, that new P/DH can be replaced by either a pitcher or another hitter, and remain in the other role. Maybe NFHS will allow that in the official version of the rules for next season.

I have never seen any game administration personnel at the field, except for specific tournaments (e.g. the Cougar Clash, a tournament for 13 and 14 year olds in Vienna, VA every May) and for high school games, so no TD is apparently the norm for travel games in my area. Fortunately, most games do not have that level of idiotic and unsportsmanlike behavior by the participants. However, it would help if there were game administration personnel at travel baseball games to keep order, especially when only 1 umpire can be present.

I immediately called time when the catcher was knocked down, then spent a few seconds processing the situation, and finally made my ruling of malicious contact against Blue 8. I was in the wedge to rule on the tag play that was developing at home, so I could see what happened. After I called time, I stepped back, processed the information, and came up with the decision.

It would make total sense to have people from the state association attend games incognito, then observe violations, report back to the state office. In that way, state officials could observe coach behavior in its natural habitat, not just read ejection and unsportsmanlike conduct reports filed by game officials. Imagine the look on the coach's face when Bob in the black t-shirt who was sitting in the 3rd row of the stands walks into the locker room after the game, and tells him that he has been fined (or suspended) by the state office for his actions.

Isn't U1 looking up the ass of that play from C anyway? It's damned if you do, damned if you don't. Re: merit, I meant that in the literal sense. I wanted to play devil's advocate and see if there was a situation where U1 in D might make sense for a 2-umpire game.

2-man U1 in D for R2/R3 or R3 only was just a thought experiment on my part. I wouldn't do that on a real field during a real game. U1 in D with R3 only might have some merit, because R3 would disappear on a base hit, and U1 could cut towards 2nd base as a U3 would in a 3-man game, to pick up the BR. However, I would rather stay at C if there was a possible play at 2nd base or 3rd in an R2/R3 situation. The 3-man system has a better solution (U1 in B, to be able to go either to 2nd or 1st base, with U3 in a (short) D position), but it would take some time before 3-man is generally adopted during the regular season.

What's the loss? C is already a long way away from 1st base, and the saying for 2-man is angle over distance, so I don't see any major downsides to starting in D with R2/R3 or R3 only. With R3 only, U1 in D is in an excellent position for the pickoff, and can cover the back end of the rundown, with HP taking the front end of the rundown.

Why not be in D, and then cut inside a la U3 on batted balls? That should get U1 to the working area if needed for a call at 1st base (or at 2nd or 3rd base, since the plate umpire won't be rotating in those situations with any crew size anyway). This might lessen the learning curve to 3-man (D would already be a normal position, just generalize it to more situations, and it might provide better coverage on plays at 3rd base than the current mechanic of starting in C does.

Joe West is not working 2-man. There would have to be a catastrophic sequence of events to injure 2 umpires on a 4-umpire crew.

Yes. The appeal is a time play, not a force play. If the runner scores legally before the appeal is executed for the 3rd out, the run scores. Even though the conditions for an out on an appeal play are the same as those for a force play (either base or runner may be tagged), an appeal play is NOT a force play. This is important for everyone to know.

You are correct, because he needs to tag up from the base that he had at the time of the pitch (defined as when the pitching motion begins), and that base is 1st base. I would honor the appeal on R1.

Both are gone, if the situation is as you describe it. They can continue being assholes to each other in the parking lot.

I get sniped for calling a "Little League strike zone", but I still call the strike zone according to the rulebook dimensions. Bottom of the ribcage is my rule of thumb for the "midpoint between the shoulders and top of the uniform pants". Having a pitch tracker available at every high school field would vindicate other umpires like myself. I'd be calling the same strike zone high school, college, or pro. Players and coaches need to adjust to the rules, not the rules to them.

As Lou said, score the run. The uncaught 3rd strike rule exists as a holdover from the days when catchers did not wear gloves. The reasoning is that the batter does not become out unless he is put out, and the catcher securing strike 3 is the act that puts out the batter (this is why the catcher is credited with a put out on a strikeout, when scoring a game). The rule is suspended when 1st base is occupied with less than 2 outs, to prevent the catcher intentionally failing to put out the batter, and then throwing for an unearned double (or triple, if 2nd base was also occupied at the time of the pitch) play to retire the runners who were forced by the batter becoming a runner. Because the OP happened with less than 2 outs and 1st base occupied, the batter is declared out on strike 3. This removes the force on the runners, so they must be tagged out if they attempt to advance. Because there was no more force, the catcher could not retire R3 by tagging the base. Since R3 was not tagged, and he touched home plate, the run scores.

I use rubbing alcohol to clean my mask pads. Apply an isopropyl alcohol solution to a rag (I typically use an old sock), and wipe the mask pads with the rag. Let the mask pads dry. Your mask should be disinfected.

Only once did this happen in an actual high school game (a scrimmage). The other times were in travel or tournament games. For the record, I personally disagree with this rule, because there is limited, if any reason to suppose that a high school catcher cannot be well-protected in a traditional-style mask and helmet combination, if their collegiate and professional counterparts are well-protected wearing them, and if these same catchers use them in the off-season to no apparent ill effects. If umpires use traditional-style masks, I believe that they should be allowed for catchers as well. There is no distinction between a teenage umpire wearing a traditional-style mask working middle school games (in states where juniors and seniors are allowed to be registered as officials) and an adult umpire doing the same for high school, so there is no reason why a teenage catcher for a JV or varsity team should not be allowed to wear the 2-piece mask and helmet combination when his older brother, who is a college catcher, can do so.

MadMax, that is very interesting. Is there a document on the CHSAA website, or on the Colorado High School Baseball Umpires Association website that says this, or is it just an informal understanding between umpires and catchers that allows this to happen? I would be interested to see this actually play out. I have had catchers occasionally wearing a traditional-style mask and helmet combination in games under NFHS rules, and I did not say anything to anyone about seeing them wear such equipment.

I would have dealt with the situation differently if there was a partner. He would have been the rodeo clown removing the coach from my face and the field (or at least he should have been), and perhaps the game would have continued. I carry a cell phone in my back pocket for emergency situations, so I could call 911 if another difficult situation arises.

I had a crazy situation last night. I was working a 14U travel doubleheader solo. The games were played by NFHS rules with modifications (2018 pro visits to the mound, no headfirst slides at home, 1:50 no new inning time limits). The 1st game was a good, competitive game between two teams wearing blue. The away team won 8-7 in 6 innings due to the time limit. There were no complaints or incidents in the 1st game. The blue team that was the home team in the 1st game stayed for the second game, with the several other players joining them. A team in maroon jerseys came for the 2nd game. The blue team was away for this 2nd game. Both pitchers were throwing strikes, and neither team could score through 3 innings. I heard complaints about strike calls I made (he's calling a Little League strike zone, he's calling both low and high, we don't hit that, etc.) at different times in the 2nd and 3rd innings, but none were addressed to me, so I did not react. In the top of the 4th inning, with no score, 1 out and runners on 2nd and 3rd, a blue batter hit a ground ball to the shortstop, who made an errant throw to the catcher. He was able to recover the ball and set up in the baseline to block the plate. The runner, Blue #8, dove into the catcher and knocked him over, displacing the ball. I called "Time" to sort out the situation, and then decided that, because the catcher had legal position and possession of the ball, was contacted by the runner with an illegal slide, and that contact knocked him down and caused him to lose possession, that I would call malicious contact. When I announced the call, and declared that the runner is out and ejected for malicious contact, all hell broke loose. The coach went out to argue with me, asking me to change the call. I told him that the catcher had legal position, and that I cannot un-eject the runner. He then suggested that the other coach had influenced me into making the call. I told him to go back to the dugout. He went back to the dugout. I overheard him telling his assistant, "Sam, will you coach the team?". He re-emerged from the dugout, started yelling and waving his hands and hat. When he said, "The call is trash!", I told him that he was restricted to the dugout. He then replied, "You're trash!" I ejected him. I went back to the plate, but he continued yelling at me. Meanwhile, the fans of the blue team were yelling abusive comments such as "You suck!", "You're horrible!", "The call is wrong", "We will complain about this". Seeing that the coach would not leave, I told him that he needed to leave the field. This was met by more angry outbursts from him and the fans. I was then afraid for my safety, and I decided to end the game. I announced "This game is over!", dropped the game balls, grabbed my bag, and left to take shelter in the nearby bathroom. 10 minutes later, I was able to get picked up and leave the park. Is there anything that I could have done to handle the situation better? I thought that I might have called the runner out on an illegal slide and issued a warning that the next such slide would result in an ejection. However, I believe that my call was the best way to resolve the situation, in the interests of player safety, though it might seem draconian. Would you have handled the coach differently? As an aside, I have Asperger Syndrome, so I might not always know the best way to act in stressful situations, especially in de-escalating conflicts.