CanuckJoeWest

I would be inclined to say yes for two reasons: accuracy and authority I'm a physics nerd. The speed of sound is about 1125 feet/second. If you're 30-35 feet away, you don't hear the ball hit the glove for about .03 seconds, which doesn't sound like a lot but an 80mph throw travels 3 feet in that time, meaning if the ball beats the runner by less than three feet, you may get the call wrong. We can minimize this margin of error by being closer. In terms of authority, if the base coach is way closer than you, you may lose some authority and credibility on the call if you bang the runner / BR out. Being closer could be helpful for game management. Just my personal opinion. Whatever works best for you works best for you.

I mentioned to it after the game (He was in D/ P4) and dugout was on first base side. He said he didn’t see it.

Not directed directly at you, but I feel like the point of this post has gotten lost. 3 kids between both teams walked the whole game and only a few K'd- the offence was putting the ball in play and the defence was making outs. It wasn't really an issue. I'm asking for game management ideas when a kid has a hissy fit after striking out.

But I've been trying to work more using the catcher, to be certain that I know where the ball was.

I've had probably 30 different teams this season and only 1 has had an issue with the zone *shrug*. Number one pet peeve is having catchers set up way in or out, they catch the ball and it's not even FRAMED as a strike because of where they're set up, but because they catch it in the middle of the chest it looks great and I look like I'm way too stringent.

I decided to use discretion on the last one because he was a good kid and his team was up 17-0 in the 3rd and everyone just wanted the 18th to score to mercy it and move on. m The 10U and 11U travel leagues help us out by giving us a big orange 21-inch plate to put right over the one in the ground. Originally I wasn't a fan because of how much it moved, but I've grown to love it.

I hear you. I call a big zone in those HL\Select games. I find we can get the 7 innings in under the time limit a good 60% of the time in travel ball. I haven't quite figured out how to be consistent with the bigger zone, because there's nothing to go off of (If I'm calling a pitch off the plate a strike, how do I make sure I don't call one too far off a strike.) I find it easier to expand the zone on height as needed (Move the top from the midpoint up to the top of the letters or give a couple inches below the knees). In retrospect, Your suggestion probably makes sense. I had the team a couple weeks prior. Opposing pitcher had an unfortunate last name that sounded like slang for female body parts. Team was making fun of it in the dugout during T1, so I warned them to knock it off. Luckily, 3rd base coach was all over them abt it after the end of the inning. Helps when coach is on your side

That's an excellent question. Many games I have are 13U and down which play on 225-250-225 fields, meaning any deflected ball would be less than 250 from the plate. Although I'll likely never see this.

I also have a policy of say what you want, as long as it's not at me, my partner, or the other team. I'm PU for 12U travel playoffs, kid strikes out on a middle-middle pitch, he knows it, for the third out. Says "SH*#" just loudly enough for me, his coaches and dugout and a few fans behind backstop to hear while walking back as I go up the line between innings. I ignore it, and I plan to do so in the future. Thoughts on that?

Last weekend, I had the privilege of officiating 13U Travel / Competitive regional playoffs. As background, one of the teams was unhappy with the zone, as I like to keep it nice and tight because these kids are good, and they were irritated they weren't getting a lot of strike calls on pitches just missing. I was consistent however one team (coaches, parents, players (especially the catcher)) where chirping called balls, although it quieted down after the 1st inning. No one came out of the dugout to argue, just loud groans and shouts to open the zone up and constant questioning on where the pitch missed/ catcher holding pitches too long. Later, catcher comes to bat. Swings through the first pitch and fouls off the next to make it 0-2. Next pitch is a thigh-high fastball I call strike three. I keep my eye on the catcher and batter groans and walks away from the plate. About two seconds later, I hear a clank and turn around to realize the hitter threw hit bat off the backstop near his dugout in frustration. I didn't say anything, as I didn't feel like adding fuel to the fire on a borderline issue as I knew it would make the parents 10x worse (especially as a guy still in his teens who doesn't get the benefit of authority that adult umpires get). Plus, I didn't want to be a red-ass. My question is, should this have been an EJ/ should I have taken any other action? I'm certain it's not the first and won't be the last time the player has done it.